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I hear that the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has chosen someone "way outside the box" to host the Oscars on February 22nd. And the person is not a TV personality or stand-up comedian. In addition, I've learned that this year's Academy Awards won't have the traditional segment of joke-telling near the start of the broadcast. I say, smart move: these one-liners are usually at the movie industry's expense and always so inside that the average TV viewer is left bewildered. The host is in the movie biz, I've confirmed. The announcement could come as soon as Tuesday if all the i's are dotted and t's get crossed in time. I'm looking forward to surprises instead of the same old, same old.
I also have learned that protests are coming into the Academy about its Board of Governors' choice of Jerry Lewis to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The controversy is over his recent repeated and public anti-gay slurs. The Hollywood gay community, joined by much of the showbiz straight community, is already on edge because of Proposition 8 passed last month outlawing same-sex unions in California. So the vote by the AMPAS board selecting Lewis seems like "salt poured into an open wound", according to one of my sources. Already several prominent entertainment biz gays have questioned the Academy about the selection of Lewis, especially for a humanitarian award. I'm told the AMPAS response has been, "he's apologized". My insiders say Tom Sherak, the former 20th Century Fox and Revolution Studios exec who raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and has a family member with MS, was primarily responsible for lobbying the board to choose Lewis.
As recently as October, Lewis made an anti-gay slur on Australian television similar to one he amde on his annual Muscular Dystrophy association telethon a year ago. The 82-year-old was asked by a Network Ten national TV reporter for his opinion on the Australian nation sport of cricket. "Oh, cricket? It's a fag game. What are you, nuts?" Lewis replied. The network broadcast the comment in full on its evening news bulletin along with footage of Lewis handling an imaginary cricket bat with an effeminate gesture.
Lewis in September 2007 used a similar anti-gay slur -- calling someone was an "illiterate fag" on air -- during his annual Labor Day fundraiser in Las Vegas. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation immediately called on Lewis to apologize. "Jerry Lewis' on-air use of this kind of anti-gay slur is simply unacceptable," GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said in a statement posted on the group's Web site. "It also feeds a climate of hatred and intolerance that contributes to putting our community in harm's way."
So Lewis issued a statement: "I apologize to anyone who was offended. I obviously made a poor choice of words. Everyone who knows me understands that I hold no prejudices in this regard. In the family atmosphere of the telethon, I forget that not everyone knows me that well," he said. "That something like this would distract from the true purpose of the telethon pains me deeply. The success of the show and all the good that will come of it shouldn't be lost because of one unfortunate word. I accept responsibility for what I said. There are no excuses. I am sorry."
Yet there he was in Australia, doing it again, and apologizing again. I say this is a terrible choice by the Academy. AMPAS isn't bestowing on Lewis an honorary honor for his long career in the movies. The Hersholt is an award given to an individual in the motion picture industry "whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry. Despite Lewis' laudatory 42 years of raising money for MDA, his publicly demonstrated debasement of gays doesn't make him a humanitarian in my eyes.
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42 years of work helping fund medical science is negated by saying ‘fag’ twice. Go onto any gay web site and look at the language they use. Then activate common sense.
I’m no fan of Jerry Lewis’ brand of comedy but the PC police are going overboard big time here, as they are hounding those folks from their jobs over donations to Prop 8. Just imagine if these intolerant cretins were actually in charge of CA.
The next host won’t tell jokes.
Neither did the last three.
(Ba-dum-dum)
As for Jerry Lewis and his uncontrollable mouth, since I never found him funny, I think it’s just another reason to not care about the Oscars again this year.
The French will love it like cigarettes.
Is it WALL-E and EVA?
You’re so wrong Nikki. Lewis may be old and have a big mouth with no filter, but his “old school” expressions in no way negate the hundreds of millions of dollars he has raised for MDA. The Hersholt usually goes to industry insiders who routinely lend their name to “benefit” evenings for various charities. Lewis has spent over 40 years working tirelessly HIMSELF in the pursuit of raising money to cure muscular dystrophy.
Yes he may be obnoxious, but he is well deserving and way overdue for the Hersholt.
The man saying “fag” here and there doesn’t discount his years of service for research on muscular dystrophy. It’s obnoxious and repugnant, yes. But the man deserves the award for his work.
By the silly logic of the PC left, then Mother Theresa couldn’t win a humanitarian award because of her stance on gays.
For crying out loud, unless you subscribe to the “correct” ideology, you aren’t a humanitarian? Well, I guess the rest of society better give up and stop. If we don’t behave the “right” way, then we won’t be “humanitarian enough.”
Who the hell is the judge of this, and why shouldn’t a guy who has given four decades of his life to raising money for MD not be given a (mostly) meaningless award from narcissists patting themselves on the back?
YES on JERRY LEWIS!
Let’s also not forget his moronic statements about women, including that there are no funny female comedians, or some such thing, and that some of the make his uncomfortable. It was on Larry King, so I don’t know if he was doing a bit or if he’s still living in the 50’s.
lemme take 3 guesses. kevin spacey. chris rock. al gore.
“Lewis has spent over 40 years working tirelessly HIMSELF in the pursuit of raising money to cure muscular dystrophy.”
After about 20 years of non-results, I’d have changed tactics.
The Queer Mafia at work again. This excessive pandering to 3.5 percent of the population is exactly why there are so few jobs in Hollywood. The average viewer – the people who pay our salaries – is going to see a Hollywood legend (not to my taste) who has spent most of his life helping others being denied his rightfully won award because of two comments that hurt the feelings of the terminally offended.
You have to give him credit for always giving 100% to his acting choices, whether they work or not. Having worked with Jerry on a few occasions, I can honestly say that I’ve been the butt of some of his jokes, he’s an equal opportunity prankster and if he makes fun of you, he loves you. Despite all of his own problems, cancer, diabetes, 2 heart attacks, etc. he’s still there, every year working for MDA. He’s not ashamed to use every bit of his celebrity to help these kids and he doesn’t do it by writing a check, he does it by setting up 2 days of ENTERTAINMENT. He could be lounging around in Vegas all year, basking in residuals from France, so what if every once in a while he says something that pisses someone off. WHO DOESN’T?
I sometimes wonder when it was that we got so friggin’ thin skinned?
To counter this, the Socialistas and Bleeding Hearts will have to cart wheelbarrows of statuettes out for Milk, and yet another completely unremarkable film will be remembered in the annals of cinema history for nothing more than winning Best Picture. Go on, walk down that corridor in Hollywood & Highland, and see how many films there are that are notable only for winning Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley, Cavalcade, <Ordinary People, The Greatest Show on Earth, Tom Jones, The English Patient, A Beautiful Mind, and on and on. Milk will soon join that list of award-winning mediocrity, just to soothe Hollywood’s conscience about Prop 8 and now poor Jerry Lewis. After all, how could the Academy think of honoring a man who has devoted his life to fighting a horrible disease after he was caught dropping a few f-bombs here and there?
Could it be Arnold??????
A half-hearted show of support for a beleaguered industry? A try to gain support for a 2010 Senate Race perhaps?
Lame.
Woody Allen mused in the Eric Lax biography that he would have loved to get a shot at hosting the Oscars. But he would be telling jokes.
Tom Hanks was once revealed to be a “back-up” host during a year when Billy Crystal was fighting an illness ahead of the show.
But “way outside the box?” I wonder. It’s not Queen Latifah, because she just hosted the People’s Choice Awards last year.
Pobably not Hugh Jackman but he was a solid Tonys host.
And pretty much anyone who has told a joke on TV is ruled out by NF’s report.
Steven Spielberg?
Angelina Jolie?
Who would really bring out people to watch? Famous but not overexposed? In the movie business.
Oh I know.
Robert Evans.
The man is 82. My grandma is 82 and we’re always amazed and the words that come out of her mouth. They’re from a better time, back when people still had a sense of humor about themselves. And once you hit the 80s, you start to lose whatever tact you may have had.
To those of you who say, eh, no big deal he slams gays, would you feel the same way if he said, “that’s a kike game” or “that’s a nigger game.”
Not so pretty.
And he wouldn’t be getting the award.
No, the slur doesn’t mean he hasn’t done good deeds and no man is perfect, but I certainly don’t want to see a bigot honored by our community.
That’s right, Rocco — watch out, the Queer Mafia is coming after you next…! Bwaaahahhahahah!
I’m not particularly a fan of Lewis…….actually the opposite. However, he has spent much of his life raising money for MS, a great cause. I don’t excuse his utterances, but, believe me, many respected honoree’s have said much worse.
And when did Gay become so PC. Isn’t that an oxymoron?
The gays are terminally offended? How about constantly attacked by Christians that do nothing but spew hate and cling to their Bibles because they are too weak and dumb to know any better?
If Jerry Lewis had used the “N” word a couple of times on television, would that be okay. Of course not. Everyone would be all over it. How about if he actually pointed out how stupid Catholics are for just being alive? Would that be permitted? No.
The rest of you sound like a bunch of bitter A**holes who can’t get a job in the industry because you are not talented enough. Ever consider that possibility?
Poor taste, but it should not disqualify him. Way too much political correctness these days.
Judging by the homophobic drivel posted here, I’m guessing this post got linked to Drudge again. Honoring Jerry Lewis will result in the same half-the-audience-awkwardly-applauding-while-the-other-half-stays-seated-with-pissed-off-expressions that occured when that creep Elia Kazan got an honored for the same irrelevant award.
My guess (or is it wish) for host: someone like George Clooney.
Comedy doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to be funny, and it isn’t like Jerry Lewis’s use of the word “fag” or knocking other comedians or being generally obnoxious has deprived anyone of his or her livelihood or reputation the way Kazan did. Not only has Lewis raised billions to save lives, he also saved Paramount, NBC, and countless audiences who laughed at his genius over the decades. It is precisely because he has no taste that he reaches the childhood spirit in all of us. He should be honored by every man and laaaaaaaaaaaady.
I’m still waiting for the Criterion Collection of “The Day The Clown Cried.”
Thanks for the great commentary Nikki.
As for the rest of you, just admit you’re homophobic jerks.
Here’s the test you just failed:
Change the slur and then ask yourself if you’d be singing your nasty little tune. If Jerry Lewis called someone:
A) an ignorant nigger
B) an ignorant kike
would you be defending him and suggesting he still receive this honor? Notice what happened to Mel Gibson and Michael Richards when they did just that folks? And can you imagine if they did it TWICE? The mind reels.
It’s still perfectly ok to bash gays in Hollywood (such a liberal place, dontcha know, or so Fox News keeps telling us).
And while I’m on the subject, I lost count of how many times the word “Fag” was used in Paul Rudd’s movie “Role Models”. Considering Mr. Rudd was a screenwriter on the project and that he also played a gay man in “The Object of My Affection” you would think he would not subject gay ticket buyers (and gay teens who get bullied by straight kids enough already) to having to hear such racist shit over and over for 90 minutes.
My guess it will be Tom Cruise. He just got a golden globe nomination. Plus he has been trying to claw his way back into the hearts of America.
omg freepers GO AWAY! what is it with the commenters on this site lately? go back to powerline and scream about the gold standard.
Please god, don’t let it be Ryan Secrest.
Wow. Question: How would this town feel if he dropped an N-word twice? Would that be OK? Gays may be 3.5% or 10%..or who cares…the point is that his disparaging marks DO in fact diminish his humantarian work. Disparage me once, ok. Disparage me twice, not ok. That makes you a hater.
And in this new Obama America, it seems odd to honor a man who clearly does not subscribe to the inclusive spirit (Prop 8 notwithstanding) spirit of our country. He is a relic of the less accepting old-school.
I’d be curious to read the difference in the reaction here if Jerry Lewis had said the “N” word instead of the “F” word. If a different minority group had been the target of his attempts at 1950’s style humor, they wouldn’t have considered him for an award in a million years, no matter how much money he’d raised for charity.
And Rocco… it’s 10% of the population, but thank you for playing.
He’s gross in every way. Give him an award. Have it presented to him by an anti-semite to make things really special.
The Oscars are as over as the Miss America Pageant and will be joining them on CMT or cable access or wherever they disappeared to very shortly.
This is PC madness. If you excluded everyone from the Oscar ceremony who’s ever let fly an offensive slur, there’d be tumbleweeds blowing through the Kodak Theater.
It’s terrible to take a man who has never been properly acknowledged by Hollywood (and whose fascinating Tashlin-era movies hold up better than half of today’s releases), and who craves just a few minutes’ formal recognition from this community at the end of his life, and suggest withholding the honor over minor sins like these — sins that suggest not ingrown prejudice or intolerance, but an old man from another era ad-libbing carelessly to try for a laugh.
Lewis may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he was an extremely important filmmaker and cultural figure and he’s done more good in the world than any 50 of the people complaining about him.
Please… like no other celebrity in Hollywood has ever uttered something undesirable. Who cares if he was caught saying ‘fag’?! He said it, he apologized. Move on.
So fer cryin’ out loud… give the man his award! MDA Telethon or not, he’s given a helluva lot to motion pictures, and his duet with Sammy Davis Jnr. on ‘Playboy After Dark’ is reason enough for me to award him.
I love you Jerry!
The mantra of the gay community seems to be moan and whine and accuse everyone of inhumane tratment until the powers that be give in to their demands.
That is why a substandard film like MILK will win and that is why non left straight people in this state voted they way they did.
Try walking at the Grove some afternnon with your family and see two men feel the need to make out in the middle of the street because they can.
Get over it and honor a man who has given more time and energy to a cause, so it’s MDA not AIDS, than any performer living.
Bet they haven’t chosen a SAG member.
Never liked Jerry Lewis. I felt he was obnoxious not funny. His “humor” lacked in humor for me. His fag jokes are not jokes. Nor are his other jokes. But he does help children, including children who might or are gay. So I think, “What the hell. Give him the award.”
No, but Mother Theresa shouldn’t win any humanitarian awards because her anti-condom policies doomed a whole lot of people to waste away from AIDS.
The simple fact is that The Catholic Church (pardon the pun) screwed itself on condoms. They came out against them for the wholly self serving reasoning that more Catholics=more money. And since a pope arbitrarily determined that he was infallible around the 9th century, they can’t go back and fix anything without tearing the entire fabric of their dogma. Of course, the fact that there was once 2 popes at once, both of whom excommunicated the other, and were then replaced by a third man sort of destroys most of Catholic Dogma anyway…but I digress.
If you can love Polanski in spite of the fact that he raped and sodomized a 13-year old girl, or read Charles Bukowski in spite of the fact that he beat the crap out of his wife, you can surly forgive A few passing slurs from a guy who has raised a 100,000,000 for sick children. I mean, sure, he called people “fags” but he didn’t create a ballot initiative to take away queer rights or spend general funds from his church to endorse such a thing. Conflating him with the Pro-Prop 8 bigots is foolish.
Is it Elvis?
The host is Clooney.
Bet on it.
Clooney was my first instinct too.
“Try walking at the Grove some afternnon with your family and see two men feel the need to make out in the middle of the street because they can.”
Making out in public is annoying straight or gay. But it should not offend you or your children because it is two men.
Being gay is something you’re born with.
It is not shocking. It is a natural variation. If you don’t react with shock and outrage, neither will your kids.
It’s sorta like being born left handed or blonde. Not typical, but not wrong.
Here’s to a future where it just as boring to be gay as it is to be left handed so we can focus all this energy on the REAL problems we face.
That Jerry Lewis, homophobically opposed to gay marriage for religious reasons. Oh wait, that’s Barack Obama.
Calling someone a “fag” is not the same thing as calling someone a “nigger”. Calling someone a “nigger” is not the same thing as calling someone a “kike”.
They are different. The intent is different. The impact is different. They are different words. The fact that you arbitrarily put them all together exposes deep flaws in your logic.
And I say all of this as a guy who has survived 2 hate crimes and not only voted no on 8, but put a sign in his window opposing the initiative.
Jack Nicholson?
AMPAS’s homophobia doesn’t really surprise. They snubbed Brokeback Mountain for best movie in 2006, giving the award to the insufferable Crash. During the awards ceremony, numerous jokes were cracked about gay men, thus indicating that AMPAS was essentially an old farts’ club of uncomfortable straight men. AMPAS is pathetic, basically. The sooner the gay community protest against it, the better.
Well, you moronic straight guys seem to have no problem if it’s “two hot chicks” making out in public, now do you? A bit of a double standard, don’t you think? You straight guys are not only sleazy, you’re also stupid.
Funny how straight guys always seem to whine about two men making out but not if it’s two women. Talk about double standards. Face it, guys – you’re inconsistent on the issue of homosexuality. If you’re opposed to homosexuality, you need to be opposed to both male and female homosexuality.
Yikes, such angst over nothing. One thing’s for sure – the new host will definitely be a lib. Count on it.
Stop hating on catholics- we’re people too.
nyguy – Gay isn’t a “race”, and gay slurs aren’t racism. At least get your terminology right if you’re going to make an argument.
Prediction for this year, if it goes on: Incredibly pro-gay sentiment by not giving Lewis the award, Milk sweeps the show, and America continues to not care about this increasingly irrelevant Hollywood circle-jerk awards show. Then, the day after, everyone involved will either wonder what happened to the ratings, or condescendingly (as usual) call the rest of America ignorant or bigoted for not “appreciating” what Hollywood has done.
Jerry Lewis may be a moron, but he’s no bigot. I would think that left coast gays have a lot more on their plate than to start a tempest in a teapot over his getting an award. He’ll come out, give his speech, and fade back into obscurity, a blip in a telecast that fewer and fewer people are watching every year. I mean, come on, how times have you heard Don Rickles use the “f” bomb? I don’t see pickets in front of Caesar’s Palace when he plays there.
Really? This is where the gay community feels their energy and attention is best spent? Really?
I am glad the Academy is finally doing something to honor Jerry Lewis.
I guess people forget things, but it was Lewis who came up with the idea for video assist. That accomplishment alone should garner him an award.
Sadly, we have lost the ability to laugh at ourselves.
I for one am happy that Lewis and his efforts are being recognized, despite anything he may say that offends or bothers others.
To: WTF
Yes – just like I have to witness fat ass guys and their skank girlfriends groping each other at the Grove on a daily basis. And no, there isn’t some left bias that will nominate “Milk” for an Oscar. It didn’t even get nominated for a Globe, you idiot. If there was a bias, “Brokeback Mountain” would of won (like it should have) instead of that cliche of a movie, “Crash”
“Try walking at the Grove some afternnon with your family and see two men feel the need to make out in the middle of the street because they can.”
……for the anti-catholic bigots who feel the need to show how tolerant they are by also showing how bigoted they are against catholics, against catholic saints such as Mother Teresa, & against catholic morality, if people had followed catholic morality the way they did not so many years ago, we wouldnt have had AIDS.
I am not saying not having gay people I am saying when people became sex-o-holics, whether they be straight or gay. Lets face it, conservative catholic moraltiy saved lives for centuries from deadly sexual diseases.
….and yet….when the world decided to throw away this moral code, as well as throw off their cloths, and throw down with their multiple lovers & partners, the world got AIDS.
anything used in a abusive and uncontrolled way will kill, whether it be alcohol, drugs, food and yes folks..even sex.
too much of anything will kill ya…..
go figure. I guess ignorance is bliss eh? …but who is being ignorant? …and who is pushing ignorance?
oh and yeah J. Lewis deserves his award but i never watch the academy awards anymore anyway so……
cheers.
I loved Jerry Lewis films when I was a kid during the late fifties and early sixties. I lost interest about the time I turned 12 or so.
The Marathon used to be a spectacle of embarrassing behavior by Lewis. Now it is just sad. I say that if he were younger, you’d be right, but he ain’t younger.
Cut him some slack and honor him.
I’d like to go back to the days before the comment page on internet blog & news sites, back when the opinions of the angry, bitter, uninformed and crazy weren’t published or taken as a barometer of the public’s real feelings on issues. Online everyone is a producer, screenwriter, industry insider, Navy SEAL, super genius or pundit. Keep up the rants
I consider myself mainstream America. I live in St. Louis and Nikki’s page is about all the entertainment news that I seek out. Before this posting, I hadn’t heard of Jerry Lewis making those comments. I wonder how many people who haven’t looked for them would know. Of the people who are going to watch the Oscars on TV, how many will know about it. For the great majority of the people, a man who has given himself to a worthy cause for 40 years is going to get a couple minutes of glory.
I swear, I’ve been in LA for five years now and this town just eats it’s own at every turn.
C’mon, everyone has made a slur, be it around the water cooler during “joke time” or stuck in traffic and pissed off at the (pick your ethnicity) driver. To say you haven’t is a lie. A slip-up form the likes of Lewis or the myriad of other actors on down the line to Senators (Robert Byrd) and the likes of Jesse Jackson come out smelling like a rose – but that’s another story for another time.
But, I notice that the lush liberal left can’t help but smear their jeans at every little indiscretion and yet what purpose does it serve? To feel good about themselves for pointing it out? And this time worn garbage of we-are-not-the-racists PC junk? Puleez!
I’ve seen enough drivel from both sides of any argument try to take the high road by way of the low road.
Jerry Lewis, whatever his faults may be, gave more to this town and children in general than any whiner crying about Prop 8, Bush vs. Obama, SAG strike Yes or No, or any other myriad issue du jour.
Those doing the finger-pointing, who claim to be tolerant, actually are the least tolerant in practice.
A non-comedian host is a terrible idea. The Oscars are so far up their own ass (montages, dance numbers, 2 hours of tech categories) that a monologue will be missed BIG TIME.
Unless the Oscars follow SNL’s lead of Digital Shorts, this sounds terrible.
THE HOST WILL BE ARNOLD SCHWARZENNEGER I HAVE CONFIRMED
If Laurence Marks and Bill Condon are producing the thing, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t Jamie Foxx. He did a great job hosting the Emmys and worked with both of them in Dreamgirls.
“Judging by the homophobic drivel posted here, I’m guessing this post got linked to Drudge again.”
I was surprised at how long it took for a left-wing douchebag to trot out the ol’ pro forma Drudge-linkin’ chestnut.
Usually they start in right away…
Lewis dedicated himself tirelessly to a noble humanitarian cause, not just lending his name for a press bump, but actually contributing his blood, sweat, and tears. For decades. That’s admirable.
He has also said some offensive things. But I think equating two usages of the word “fag” in public with some kind of entrenched anti-gay stance or agenda from the man seems like a big leap, not to mention simplistic and arrogant. I don’t know how he really feels about the gay community; I don’t know him personally. But for the sake of argument, let’s paint him with the bigot brush. In which case that’s a character flaw, ranging from distasteful to completely repugnant depending on the observer. Fine.
But it’s a humanitarian award, not a “perfect human” award. Why is it that because he is flawed, we’re not allowed to acknowledge the good work that he has done? Are we so shallow and simplistic that people can only be judged on one criterion?
If Lewis gets this award, I’ll tell my son that he is being honored for acting selflessly on behalf of sick children. And that is something good and worthy of emulation. Is that not a valid object lesson for our children?
And if my son sees coverage of the “‘fag’ scandal”, I’ll tell him that that behavior is small-minded and shameful and not how good people act. He’s a smart kid. He’ll be able to make the distinction. Some things Jerry Lewis does are good. Some aren’t. Emulate the good stuff — you’ll be a better person and other people will like you.
My son. Lewis. Me. Every damn one of us. We have our virtues and our faults. There are no perfect heroes — just other people. I think that instead of expending so much energy on righteous anger so we can vilify others for their faults, we should work harder to celebrate and emulate the virtues they demonstrate.
If you really think Lewis, who has done so much noble humanitarian work, is a poor or reprehensible human being due to his offensive remarks, then take it upon yourself to be the better person.
Yes, he’s said some offensive things. But that doesn’t change the fact that he has helped many sick children. Now ask yourself how attacking him on a message board (or in your blog) has improved the world in any way.
Protest away, gay community! It’s what we’ve come to expect from you…hissy-fits from drama queens. Makes for great TV.
Scream. Chant. Assault little old ladies. Alienate the mainstream EVEN FURTHER.
(That wildly successful “Call in gay to work” tactic should only encourage you to REDOUBLE your efforts.)
Seriously, pull your fists out of each others’ asses and get to work on some signs!
I am not anti-Catholic at all. I am anti-blind-adherence-to-dogma-at-the-expense-of-human-life-and-liberty.
What did I say that can’t be backed up with facts? If I had gone on a rant about pedophile priests and classified that as a representation of the whole of the religion, THEN you would have a point.
But I didn’t.
I mentioned The Great Schism/The Occupation of Avignon. And you know what, it IS fair to judge a religion by the single man who is, you know, considered the religion’s friggin link to G-d. The man’s word is considered law for chrissakes! (Pun very much intended).
For the record, actually, I said nothing about Catholics, just Catholicism as a philosophy and the ethical problems and failings of the current set of Catholic regimes.
You wanna talk about bigotry? Do you? You want to talk about discrimination? Let’s play a game, shall we? Ready? Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a gun shoved in your mouth by a gang of Neo-Nazis. Ever had a bottle broken over your head because of your ethnic or religious heritage? How about some brace knuckles to your teeth? Looks like I “win”. Don’t pretend that you know anything about what it’s like to fear walking around at night in your own neighborhood because of how you look. You. Have. No. Idea. And I hope you never have to learn.
As for Catholic “morality” Do you REALLY want to get into that one? I seem to remember a couple hundred years of the most efficient and successful genocide machine of all time. Forced Ablution anyone? The Pograms? The Crusades? The Children’s Crusades? Have you ever seen the torture devices of Catholic “morality”.
And gay people did not cause AIDS. Hell, we don’t even know that sex started AIDS. What we DO know is that ignoring the problem and saying, “just don’t” kills people. What we DO know is that undue influence from “The Moral Majority” exacerbated the spread of AIDS and helped it grow to epidemic proportions.
Again, I got nothing against Catholics. In fact, I sorta dig some of the stuff. I’m a fan of St. Jude, amongst other holy figures and some of the art work is truly amazing. But blind allegiance to something that clearly doesn’t make sense to the critical eye is stupid.
And I AM vehemently prejudiced against THAT.
Brass-Knuckles, rather.
To DMS:
Thanks for a bit of uncommon sense in all this. Amen!
The best guesses so far and why they’re wrong:
Clooney has a long history as a TV personality. Plus he tells “jokes” all the time in his ironic chat show appearances. He’s done monologues of a sort before at various charity functions (Tom Hanks did an EXTENDED comedic bit at the Producers Guild awards in 2007. It would be dumb for the same reason to bring him in and not have him do a monologue).
The actual pick sounds much more offbeat than that (taking the above report at face value).
Governator is not in the movie business anymore. Plus his accent is too thick for him to emcee a four hour telecast. It would seem silly to hear him pronounce “Marrianne Cottilard.” or “Live Action Short Subject.”
Cruise did the cold open in 2003 right?
(…whatever the first show in the Kodak was.)
That didn’t go over well at all.
But a really right-on guess from above?
Nicholson. He’s always an electrifying presenter, and he is entertaining even when he’s bailing on the teleprompter stuff and just cutting right to the envelope opening. Plus he’s synonymous with “The Oscars” and a genuine living legend. Fuck it, let him do the show in shades.
But the problem is, he might be too old. ABC must grow the show this year and that probably means reaching out to young viewers.
Really tempted to guess Oprah, but she’s a “television personality,” even if she does make a movie here and there.
“Younger” types, who might be averse to a traditional “stand up” monologue:
Greg Kinnear?
Tyra Banks?
Anderson Cooper?
Simon Cowell?
Steve Carrell?
Richard Roeper?
Matt Damon?
Tina Fey?
James Gandolfini?
Vince Vaughn? ( he was a great fill-in for Letterman and is coming off a genuine hit movie)
None of them really seem to fit the bill, do they?
However, guess who has a movie ready to debut next spring, and who is more passionate about MOVIES than just about anyone.
Guess who is a household name but not really overexposed at the moment.
Guess who is working witht he biggest star in Hollywood on his next film.
Quentin Tarantino.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of these homophobes are conservatives who drool over sex scenes involving two women. LOL. They’re so into female homosexuality, these upstanding conservatives. Maybe they need a lobotomy to remove their double standard.
I like Jerry Lewis as a comedian – indeed, he’s a real legend – but I really find his homophobic slurs quite childish and moronic. You need to stick to staying funny, Jerry.
Shame shame shame Nikki.
Five million dead. Israelis killed in a Chabad and you let DMS FULLY POST THE K AND N WORD.
shame on you.
Lots of concern about ‘freepers’ and drudge readers, but a lot of the left comments sound like they came from a mass email campaign or marching orders from where ever. The same comment slightly altered over and over. N and K words, 3.5 percent
Jerry Lewis is old-school and comes from a much different age than our enlightened post-racial paradise. Give him a tiny bit of credit for a lifetime of charitable work before crucifying him over the way he talks. And get a sense of humor on your way out. Not everything has to be scandalous, outrageous, shameful etc. Grow up and pick your battles.
We’re not born bigots … we learn it from somewhere.
As far as using the “N” and “K” words, when we are talking about racism, homophobia and racial slurs it is perfectly ok to use those words in a (supposed) intellectual discussion of racism. It gets so tired when in adult company hearing people talk about “F” words, Peepees, Weewees, #2’s, the infantilization of the culture.
And as far as gays not being a race of people, we are a percentage of every generation on Earth worldwide and we were part of the genocide of WWII, the first ones rounded up in fact along with the political left. Hitler wasn’t just trying to eradicate a ‘category’. Just because one doesn’t like that term doesn’t mean gays can’t consider themselves a race of people.
I feel as though I’ve wandered into a youtube comment section.
Look at how these fine upstanding citizens, who have all the same rights as everyone else, (we can all get married, we just can’t marry our sister, mother, brother the twins down the block, or someone of the same sex), attack and slur and denigrate those that disagree with their trying to get special rights.
Jerry Lewis is a great man, who has devoted his life to raising money for sick people.
These fags should shut up before this armed society reaches the tipping point and “thins the herd” because they are to violent to remain in polite society.
They tried to change the law, they lost. This is America, that is how it works. They have the freedom to go to a different country where they can deviate from the societal norms, o wait, there is no successful country, and never has been in history, were deviancy is considered normal and forced on it’s citizens. There is a reason for that.
These genetically flawed people are to be pitied, but their genetic flaws are not normal, any more than downs syndrome of a hair-lip is normal.
If you don’t like it, don’t go, just stop being fags about it.
Hey, if the Academy can honor a rat fink like Elia Kazan, they should have no qualms about an old bigot like Jerry Lewis, who on occasion thinks of other people besides himself.
Um, Jerry Lewis is one of the gayest performers on the planet. His partnership with Dean Martin was a great, tragic example of unrequited love. A few years ago, there was an excellent biopic called “Martin and Lewis,” and the even though it’s just a movie (and subject to libel suits, etc), it took the very strong position that Lewis was profoundly in love with Deano. Lewis saw the movie and never sued; indeed, he publicly praised the actor who portrayed him.
This is no surprise and one of Hollywood’s best known open secrets. Jerry’s slurs are just the mutterings of a self-hating gay man, forced into the closet by the bigotry of the times he grew up in.
Not that that justifies them.
Lighten up and don’t be such a nazi. Jerry Lewis is a living legend. He’s old and in poor health and occasionally says things which, for all of his formative years, were acceptable but now aren’t. He’s had trouble adapting, big deal.
These left wing thought police are possibly the meanest, most vile people in the country. Give Jerry a break. He won’t be around much longer given his age and health. You can then spit on his grave to heart’s content.
Till then try and show a smidgen of human decency and recognize the lifetime of service and comedy Jerry Lewis gave the world.
Sometimes I think the Left has some hint of a human soul, and then they go attacking a man like Jerry. Just sad.
RON REALE -
You poor sad man. You should do a little demographic research before you start blathering on about our armed society spontaneously rising up and murdering homosexuals. Today’s youth care about sexual orientation about as much as they care about hair color. Demographic studies prove conclusively that around 3/4s of people aged 18-34 support gay marriage, have no objection to gays serving in the military, and have gay friends.
Homophobia is an old persons’s bias. And once your generation dies out, sexual orientation will cease to be a political or social issue. Although I am proud to say that my devoutly Catholic mother has embraced her gay son and his life partner, and is currently encouraging them to adopt a child so she can have more grandchildren to spoil. My first-grader has three classmates (out of 19) with single-sex parents; do you think she is horrified or outraged by this? Her best friend has two dads, and they are wonderful parents.
Half the high schools in America have gay-lesbian alliances! What does that tell you?
Homophobia will soon be a fringe disorder, and i can’t wait for that day when homophobes are forced into the closet.
I’m a gay Hollywood person, but not a AMPAS member.
I love Jerry Lewis and think it’s terrific the Academy is giving him its humanitarian award.
Jerry Lewis is not anti-gay. He comes from a school of comedy – think Rat Pack – that makes fun of everybody and use epithets in their comedy. The type of Vegas lounge comedy that you’d hear from a Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, or particularly Don Rickles commonly employs epithets and has been consistently controversial. But I believe, and as these performers frequently said in their own defense, they were lovers not haters and they were equal opportunity offenders and made fun of themselves most of all. This comedy is not for the thin-skinned, but I truly believe that you have to look at Lewis’ comments in the context of who he is – a Rat Pack comic. I understand the opinion of those who believe that there can be no positive use of the word “fag” or “nigger” or “mick” or any epithet. But while I understand this argument, I do think you need to cut some slack for those who came from a different time and are not as modern, sophisticated and PC as us much wiser contemporaries (sarcasm intended). Lewis is from a different time – give him a break. The core point is that Lewis is not a bigot. And he is certainly a humanitarian. He is long overdue for an Academy Award, whether it be for his humanitarian work or a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to film. Lighten up, my fellow gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.
“Way outside the box?”
Obama?
kent,
Bravo, I couldn’t have said it better.It’s nice to read the comments of someone who is obviously more stable and secure in his sexual identity than those who would deny a man who has done more for the unfortunate than any one of the “Velvet Mafia”.
No what he said was not at all popular but as I often say; you can create all the civil laws and PC statutes that you want, but at the end of the day you can not legislate a man’s heart.
P.S. He is being honored for his “humanitarian” efforts not his “socially/politically correct” efforts.
and im still lobbying for a “year without a queer” since the “day without a gay” went over so well..
take a deep breath, Jerry has achieved mass amounts of love, courage, hope and alot of cash while doing it for society. I think a few words he wishes he used behind closed doors cant be looked over. Hang Micheal Richards though.
I’m a fag. He apologized. He’s 80. He’s done more for MS than science. Get over it.
Worse things have been said on this comment board like the genius Rocco. There is no Gay maphia or Velvet maphia. Believe me they like you to think it exsists but I know these people…it doesn’t. There’s no need to bash the LGBT community when they point out perceived discrimination. But in this case whomever is complaining has it wrong. Jerry Lewis is a solid entertainer, one of the biggest box office stars of all time and a tireless humanitarian. He deserves respect from Gays, straights and idiots.
Mr. Lewis can call me a fag anytime. The man is a national treasure.
Lighten up, Queer Hollywood.
Kent — EXCELLENT comment and I salute you. That is what compassion and tolerance and forbearance sound like. Jerry Lewis’ whole career has been a quest for acceptance and love. He has gone to extraordinary lengths on behalf of his fellow humans. The collective cold shoulder he’s received from this town over the past 30-35 years is shameful. I think the man has earned two minutes of peer recognition, and I thank you for being the bigger man, seeing the context of his occasional unfortunate remarks, and standing up for Lewis.
Jesus, the litmus tests people want to lay on other people.
That’s right Gay America, keep it up, alienate everyone who might be sympathetic to your issues, over mindless trivial bullshit like this. See how far you get.
Where are the protests for black comedians insulting whites? Or gay comedians insulting straights (or their favorite pejorative: breeders)?
Oh…right. I forgot. They’re allowed.
Homophobia is a term that has been invented by haters to demonize people who object to the homosexual lifestyle. It is possible to object to homosexuality on intellectual and moral grounds without hating or being afraid of it.
93 comments and no one has mentioned the condescension and slurs he’s directed toward the very people he’s fundraising for?
There’s more than a few people with muscular dystrophy who are incensed by things like the magazine article where he described them as “half persons” and the CBS interview where he said “You don’t want to be pitied because you’re a cripple in a wheelchair? Stay in your house!”
Jerry’s history of hate-spewing goes back a lot farther than these two recent homophobic utterances, folks.
To deny Jerry Lewis the award is once again the absurdity of political correctness run amok. The award is long overdue. Just because Jerry twice used the word fag is nothing compared to all of the good he has done. Only the political correct group think crowd would say Lewis is undeserving.
Good lord Nikki, I respect your views and love your column, but you are in need of a dose of reality if you think 42 years of raising money for sick children is negated by using a offensive slur twice. Come work with me at an MDA camp or affiliated hospital sometime, and see the kind of good this man’s efforts have brought about for the truly less fortunate in this world, and then try make the sort of judgment call you did in this article.
I’m sorry, but these prop 8 protesters are a disgustingly self serving lot, and have no business denying the life’s work of one man just because he insulted their sensitivities. I’m not abdicating or excusing what he did, twice, but I’m sure as hell not going to judge him by them alone. Pull the stick out, and open your eyes to some real human suffering before you hop on your judgmental high horse.
Jerry Lewis’ Oscar is long overdue not only for his decades long charity work, but his genius as a comedian and ingenious filmmaker after he broke up with partner Dean Martin. His ability alone to write, direct and produce “The Bellboy” in less than six months shows his brilliance as a an award deserving filmmaker.
Comedy has always been slighted by the Oscars, and to finally acknowledge one of the last of the comedy greats from the golden age of cinema should make it a special evening for those of us who love Lewis’ work and have been inspired by it.
If the Academy can leave Vanessa Redgrave’s, Jane Fonda’s, Marlon Brando’s, Bert Schneider’s, Mel Gibson’s and others personal beliefs and political stances at the door and give them Oscars, they certainly can give Jerry Lewis his long awaited one.
Nikki:
I’m saying this as an openly gay man, but could the “Hollywood gay community” build a #^$!ing bridge and get over themselves? Jerry Lewis may well be a crass jerk whose mouth and brain need to get into couples therapy, but while the velvet closet is alive and well in Hollywood I don’t think there’s much in the way of moral high ground to be occupied here.
And thanks for bringing up Mel Gibson, nickhronis. Hollywood couldn’t stick it’s collective tongue far enough up that bigot’s backside when he was raking in the dollars.
Hey, laaaaaady! Giving Lewis the Hersholt is a slap in the face to the people with disabilities he made a career out of mocking. As far as the telethon goes, pity does not equal progress. To call a wheelchair user a “half person” to say that if you “don’t want to pitied for being a cripple in a wheelchair, then stay in the house” is not humane by any measure. Lewis’ antics may make some able-bodied people feel good about themselves for writing checks but don’t kid yourself into believing it has made any real progress for the disabled people Lewis claims to fight for. Lewis is a classic narcissist if there ever was one. Too stubborn to change even if he knows he’s wrong and too arrogant to ever admit it. This award only feeds the monster.