Examples of why many many celebrities can be very very problematic
Here are some examples of some current or former celebrities who showcase the fact that Hollywood is still a 1) white, 2) male, 3) straight, 4) cis, 5) ableist, 6) (I should
probably add Christian here) -dominated and bigoted environment. (The same goes for the music world, clearly, as well as several other places, ugh.)
So far I have deets on Kevin Sorbo, Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, music legend James Brown, Eric Clapton, Motley Crue's lead singer Vince Neil, Sean Penn, and
Donald Trump.
1) Kevin Sorbo's misogyny and racism
Misogyny: He is not so famous NOW, but he was in the 1990s when he played the leading role in the TV show 'Hercules'. The spin-off show 'Xena Warrior Princess' starred Lucy Lawless.
Sorbo has, apparently, stated in interviews that Lawless got the part because she was involved with producer Rob Tapert. ( Another article which appears to be more
of the same.) He also appears to contradict himself in saying this, because it isn't what he said here.
(I'll admit those aren't the best links. I'll post better sources if I find them.)
Racism: More recently, he has gone on a rant on his Facebook page where he refers to those protesting the murder of unarmed black teenager
Michael Brown by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, as "animals". More precisely, he accuses protesters of using the shooting as "an excuse
to be the losers these animals truly are." He goes on to say, " Hopefully this is a reminder to the African Americans ( I always thought we just Americans.
Oh, well.) that their President the [sic] voted in has only made things worse for them, not better." (Part of the rant is here, though the source has been
deleted. I wonder why? /sarcasm)
2) Charlize Theron's racism
She went on Newsweek's Oscar roundtable which was overwhelmingly white. During the discussion, fellow actress Viola Davis commented on the difficulty in
finding work as an African-American actress. “I’m a 46-year-old black woman who really doesn’t look like Halle Berry, and Halle Berry is having a hard time,” said
Davis.
Theron interrupted her and spoke over her to say that she was 'hot as shit'. Her exact words-“You have to stop saying that, because you’re hot as shit.’’ The
discussion then veered completely away from race issues as Davis was effectively shut down. (See the video here.) Here is an article which discusses how
problematic Theron's comment was.
This is not new for Charlize Theron. Here is an (old) article in which she discusses her reasons for leaving her native South Africa: "Growing up an only child
on her family's farm, Theron says, her pet goat Bok "was like my best friend." As an outlet for her boundless energy, she took up ballet at age 6 and soon was
dancing professionally in Johannesburg. But at 15, she says, "everything just went wrong." Her father, Charles, died, leaving the family's road-construction
business in the hands of her mother, Gerda. Theron had little time to grieve; with the dismantling of apartheid and the creation of new affirmative action
laws, she became convinced "there was no future for a white South African." One week after turning 16, she accepted an offer from an Italian model scout,
and-with her mother's blessing-headed for Milan. Looking back, she says, "I just ran." (From People.com)
Um, yikes.
3) Mark Wahlberg's extreme racism and hate crimes
Mark Wahlberg is guilty of hate crimes. Yes, really. And yet he continues to enjoy a very lucrative Hollywood career.
-He assaulted a group of black schoolchildren
-He assaulted an older man of Vietnamese origin, causing serious injury (the man remains blind in one eye as a direct result of the attack)
-He assaulted his neibour, again causing serious injury (among other injuries, the man's jaw was broken and needed to be wired shut)
On this topic, here is what Wahlberg had to say.
"And though the right thing to do would be to try to find the man and make amends, Wahlberg says, he admits he hasn't done so -- but says
he's no longer burdened by guilt.
"I did a lot of things that I regretted and I certainly paid for my mistakes," Wahlberg says. "You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't
until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a
problem going to sleep at night. I feel good when I wake up in the morning."
So in other words, he forgave himself. How nice of him!
4) James Brown's domestic violence
Also known as 'The Godfather of Soul', Brown "was a prolific singer, songwriter and bandleader, as well as one of the most iconic figures in
funk and soul music from 1956 to 2006".
It would be nice if the mention of his 'turbulent personal life' included the fact that he beat his wife.
5) Eric Clapton's extreme racism
Another legendary musician, Clapton "is ranked among the greatest rock and roll guitarists of all time, with songs such as "Layla," "Crossroads"
and "Wonderful Tonight."
It would be nice if bios mentioned that he is a racist scumbag. The summary is as follows. One: Clapton was a supporter of former UK politician
Enoch Powell, a member of the British Conservative Party and full-blown racist. He gave a speech in 1968 (i.e. "Rivers of Blood" speech), which
basically foretold of an England in tatters if (non-white) immigration was allowed to run rampant. But Clapton stood by him. Two: "In 1974 (...) a
drunken Clapton was performing at a concert in Birmingham, and apparently saw an Arab man leering at his wife. This was too much for Clapton,
who began a diatribe lambasting "wogs," "blacks," "Jamaicans," and anyone else who lived in England and wasn't white. No official recording exists
of the speech, but some choice quotes that witnesses agree on include Clapton saying, "I think Enoch's right ... we should send them all back. Throw
the wogs out! Keep Britain white!" and that Britain was on its way to becoming "a black colony." Three: "When asked about it, Clapton bafflingly says
that of course he isn't a racist, but still insists that Powell was "outrageously brave" and "misunderstood," and that his own views on the matter
haven't changed".
6) Sean Penn's domestic violence
When Penn was married to Madonna, he didn't just beat her: "(...) After he got good and drunk (...) [one evening], Penn climbed into Madonna's house, where
she was alone. He then grabbed her, tied her to a chair, and assaulted her for hours, both physically and emotionally. He then went out for more booze,
came back, and kept up the beating. Madonna only escaped after telling Penn that she had to go to the bathroom, which meant he had no problem
battering, beating, bloodying, and bruising the supposed love of his life, but felt it would have been too degrading to make her pee in front of him".
(He obviously has anger issues since he has often done horrible things to paparazzi figures. I mean, I get that being constantly photographer has to be really
annoying, but he reportedly shot at them, dangled them upside down from balconies, and smacked them with rocks.)
7) Lead singer of Motley Crue Vince Neil's vehicular manslaughter
Don't know who this guy is/was? (The link contains some info.)
On December 8, 1984, Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil was having a party at his house. Neil decided to drive himself and his rocker friend Razzle to the
liquor store. Neil was speeding and lost control of the car and collided head-on with a Volkswagen coming the other way. Razzle was killed instantly, and the two
people in the other car were hospitalized, with one comatose for a month. (More on this here, including the fact that Neil got off ridiculously
easily as he only served 20 DAYS IN PRISON.)
8) Donald Trump's extreme misogyny, homophobia, and racism
Biography page.
Extreme misogyny: Ever heard of the Trump rule? "In 2009, Carrie Prejean, the beauty queen who became a household name after she told a nationwide
audience that she didn’t believe in the rights of gays and lesbians to marry, published a book. In it, she detailed the Miss USA pageant’s requirement that contestants
parade in front of pageant co-owner Donald Trump so he could separate those he finds sexually appealing from those he does not. “Many of the girls found this
exercise humiliating,” Prejean wrote. “Some of the girls were sobbing backstage after [Trump] left, devastated to have failed even before the competition really
began . . . even those of us who were among the chosen couldn’t feel very good about it - it was as though we had been stripped bare.”
Lovely, no? The following link details MANY egregious examples of this turd's horrible misogyny. (Did I mention he is a pox on the face of humanity? I should have
mentioned that, shouldn't I?)
*Extreme* misogyny? Here, have some Trump quotes and get back to me.
I rest my case.
Massive homophobia: Aside from the misogyny involved in his hatred of Rosie O'Donell, I would venture to guess homophobia was an element as well.
Trump also is against gay marriage. Trump has also stated on at least one occasion that he was against CIVIL BENEFITS for gay couples.
Again, I rest my case! (Some of the quotes are vomit-inducing, I warn you.)
Extreme racism: Definitely worth noting here is Trump's involvement with the so-called 'birther' camp (i.e. those who wanted to see Barack Obama's
'real' birth certificate, OMG). His continued harassment of the only black president EVER is also incredibly racist as is discussed here.Trump also
recently blamed crime on Blacks and Hispanics. He was also once sued by the U.S. Justice Department for NOT RENTING TO BLACKS.
Need I say, I rest my case? Didn't think so!!
---------------------------------
More examples to come (because Hollywood in particular is a really white/male/straight/cis environment -enough said).
probably add Christian here) -dominated and bigoted environment. (The same goes for the music world, clearly, as well as several other places, ugh.)
So far I have deets on Kevin Sorbo, Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, music legend James Brown, Eric Clapton, Motley Crue's lead singer Vince Neil, Sean Penn, and
Donald Trump.
1) Kevin Sorbo's misogyny and racism
Misogyny: He is not so famous NOW, but he was in the 1990s when he played the leading role in the TV show 'Hercules'. The spin-off show 'Xena Warrior Princess' starred Lucy Lawless.
Sorbo has, apparently, stated in interviews that Lawless got the part because she was involved with producer Rob Tapert. ( Another article which appears to be more
of the same.) He also appears to contradict himself in saying this, because it isn't what he said here.
(I'll admit those aren't the best links. I'll post better sources if I find them.)
Racism: More recently, he has gone on a rant on his Facebook page where he refers to those protesting the murder of unarmed black teenager
Michael Brown by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, as "animals". More precisely, he accuses protesters of using the shooting as "an excuse
to be the losers these animals truly are." He goes on to say, " Hopefully this is a reminder to the African Americans ( I always thought we just Americans.
Oh, well.) that their President the [sic] voted in has only made things worse for them, not better." (Part of the rant is here, though the source has been
deleted. I wonder why? /sarcasm)
2) Charlize Theron's racism
She went on Newsweek's Oscar roundtable which was overwhelmingly white. During the discussion, fellow actress Viola Davis commented on the difficulty in
finding work as an African-American actress. “I’m a 46-year-old black woman who really doesn’t look like Halle Berry, and Halle Berry is having a hard time,” said
Davis.
Theron interrupted her and spoke over her to say that she was 'hot as shit'. Her exact words-“You have to stop saying that, because you’re hot as shit.’’ The
discussion then veered completely away from race issues as Davis was effectively shut down. (See the video here.) Here is an article which discusses how
problematic Theron's comment was.
This is not new for Charlize Theron. Here is an (old) article in which she discusses her reasons for leaving her native South Africa: "Growing up an only child
on her family's farm, Theron says, her pet goat Bok "was like my best friend." As an outlet for her boundless energy, she took up ballet at age 6 and soon was
dancing professionally in Johannesburg. But at 15, she says, "everything just went wrong." Her father, Charles, died, leaving the family's road-construction
business in the hands of her mother, Gerda. Theron had little time to grieve; with the dismantling of apartheid and the creation of new affirmative action
laws, she became convinced "there was no future for a white South African." One week after turning 16, she accepted an offer from an Italian model scout,
and-with her mother's blessing-headed for Milan. Looking back, she says, "I just ran." (From People.com)
Um, yikes.
3) Mark Wahlberg's extreme racism and hate crimes
Mark Wahlberg is guilty of hate crimes. Yes, really. And yet he continues to enjoy a very lucrative Hollywood career.
-He assaulted a group of black schoolchildren
-He assaulted an older man of Vietnamese origin, causing serious injury (the man remains blind in one eye as a direct result of the attack)
-He assaulted his neibour, again causing serious injury (among other injuries, the man's jaw was broken and needed to be wired shut)
On this topic, here is what Wahlberg had to say.
"And though the right thing to do would be to try to find the man and make amends, Wahlberg says, he admits he hasn't done so -- but says
he's no longer burdened by guilt.
"I did a lot of things that I regretted and I certainly paid for my mistakes," Wahlberg says. "You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't
until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a
problem going to sleep at night. I feel good when I wake up in the morning."
So in other words, he forgave himself. How nice of him!
4) James Brown's domestic violence
Also known as 'The Godfather of Soul', Brown "was a prolific singer, songwriter and bandleader, as well as one of the most iconic figures in
funk and soul music from 1956 to 2006".
It would be nice if the mention of his 'turbulent personal life' included the fact that he beat his wife.
5) Eric Clapton's extreme racism
Another legendary musician, Clapton "is ranked among the greatest rock and roll guitarists of all time, with songs such as "Layla," "Crossroads"
and "Wonderful Tonight."
It would be nice if bios mentioned that he is a racist scumbag. The summary is as follows. One: Clapton was a supporter of former UK politician
Enoch Powell, a member of the British Conservative Party and full-blown racist. He gave a speech in 1968 (i.e. "Rivers of Blood" speech), which
basically foretold of an England in tatters if (non-white) immigration was allowed to run rampant. But Clapton stood by him. Two: "In 1974 (...) a
drunken Clapton was performing at a concert in Birmingham, and apparently saw an Arab man leering at his wife. This was too much for Clapton,
who began a diatribe lambasting "wogs," "blacks," "Jamaicans," and anyone else who lived in England and wasn't white. No official recording exists
of the speech, but some choice quotes that witnesses agree on include Clapton saying, "I think Enoch's right ... we should send them all back. Throw
the wogs out! Keep Britain white!" and that Britain was on its way to becoming "a black colony." Three: "When asked about it, Clapton bafflingly says
that of course he isn't a racist, but still insists that Powell was "outrageously brave" and "misunderstood," and that his own views on the matter
haven't changed".
6) Sean Penn's domestic violence
When Penn was married to Madonna, he didn't just beat her: "(...) After he got good and drunk (...) [one evening], Penn climbed into Madonna's house, where
she was alone. He then grabbed her, tied her to a chair, and assaulted her for hours, both physically and emotionally. He then went out for more booze,
came back, and kept up the beating. Madonna only escaped after telling Penn that she had to go to the bathroom, which meant he had no problem
battering, beating, bloodying, and bruising the supposed love of his life, but felt it would have been too degrading to make her pee in front of him".
(He obviously has anger issues since he has often done horrible things to paparazzi figures. I mean, I get that being constantly photographer has to be really
annoying, but he reportedly shot at them, dangled them upside down from balconies, and smacked them with rocks.)
7) Lead singer of Motley Crue Vince Neil's vehicular manslaughter
Don't know who this guy is/was? (The link contains some info.)
On December 8, 1984, Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil was having a party at his house. Neil decided to drive himself and his rocker friend Razzle to the
liquor store. Neil was speeding and lost control of the car and collided head-on with a Volkswagen coming the other way. Razzle was killed instantly, and the two
people in the other car were hospitalized, with one comatose for a month. (More on this here, including the fact that Neil got off ridiculously
easily as he only served 20 DAYS IN PRISON.)
8) Donald Trump's extreme misogyny, homophobia, and racism
Biography page.
Extreme misogyny: Ever heard of the Trump rule? "In 2009, Carrie Prejean, the beauty queen who became a household name after she told a nationwide
audience that she didn’t believe in the rights of gays and lesbians to marry, published a book. In it, she detailed the Miss USA pageant’s requirement that contestants
parade in front of pageant co-owner Donald Trump so he could separate those he finds sexually appealing from those he does not. “Many of the girls found this
exercise humiliating,” Prejean wrote. “Some of the girls were sobbing backstage after [Trump] left, devastated to have failed even before the competition really
began . . . even those of us who were among the chosen couldn’t feel very good about it - it was as though we had been stripped bare.”
Lovely, no? The following link details MANY egregious examples of this turd's horrible misogyny. (Did I mention he is a pox on the face of humanity? I should have
mentioned that, shouldn't I?)
*Extreme* misogyny? Here, have some Trump quotes and get back to me.
I rest my case.
Massive homophobia: Aside from the misogyny involved in his hatred of Rosie O'Donell, I would venture to guess homophobia was an element as well.
Trump also is against gay marriage. Trump has also stated on at least one occasion that he was against CIVIL BENEFITS for gay couples.
Again, I rest my case! (Some of the quotes are vomit-inducing, I warn you.)
Extreme racism: Definitely worth noting here is Trump's involvement with the so-called 'birther' camp (i.e. those who wanted to see Barack Obama's
'real' birth certificate, OMG). His continued harassment of the only black president EVER is also incredibly racist as is discussed here.Trump also
recently blamed crime on Blacks and Hispanics. He was also once sued by the U.S. Justice Department for NOT RENTING TO BLACKS.
Need I say, I rest my case? Didn't think so!!
---------------------------------
More examples to come (because Hollywood in particular is a really white/male/straight/cis environment -enough said).