But seriously, there are a boatload of producers for the Oscars. If he made it by all those guys, maybe they figured that it wouldn't be too horrible bad. I mean, we had Sacha "The Dictator" Baron Cohen parading around the fake ashes of Kim Jong Il. No one was offended by that, and that man is recently dead. Evil dictatory goodness aside, if the etertainment biz can joke about the recently departed, surely they can give Billy a break.
He was actually booted out of the ceremony after he did that. And I was offended. Just because he's not American doesn't mean we should make fun of a person and his death. And 'pouring his ashes' on a red carpet is aboustley disrespectful.
He was booted out because he poured the ashes on Seacrest, not for the costume and urn. If he'd left Seacrest alone, they might have just let him stay.
One doesn't need to paint their face a different colour. If they're talented enough we'll get it by his acting.
Not for a Sammy Davis Jr Impersonation. No one would have bought it.
Sorry, that's actually an absurd statement and as an actor, *I* take that personally.
By that argument, I can say the same about the Marlon Bros in
White Girls. Surely those two African-American men dressing up as blue-eyed blonde females and putting on the stereotypical rich "white girl" mannerisms was completely unnecessary then. Surely they could have portrayed those characters as themselves right? If they were good actors, I would have believed the bit without the costume.
Absurd. You're cherry picking where offense should be taken. As I said before, if it's okay for one, it's okay for all.
Anyone who is not African-American can't tell others to 'get over it', 'stop being so sensitive' That is horrifically rude and insensitive telling people to get over a situation we've never had to face and they have to live with every day. If we can avoid offence then we should. Billy Crystal doesn't need to paint his skin a different colour.
There's also a lot of things that were acceptable 25 years ago that are no longer OK. This is one of these situations.
Lauren, and I am not trying to be snarky here... I am genuinely trying to understand the offense.
Were you even around when "Blackface" was done? I am genuinely curious because if you were I can understand the extra sensitivity. If not, then I don't understand why an actor is being so harshly criticized for the offenses of the PAST. A PAST that we only know about through books and old videos. Crystal's being lambasted based on an impersonation. An impersonation that the family of the person he was intimidating didn't even have a problem with.
What's in the past is in the past. LOTS of offensive and oppressive things happened to LOTS of different cultures and races. We can't keep tip toeing around things because someone somewhere might be feel offended. The best way to avoid offense is to take these things in the spirit that they are done and not by rehashing past offenses of the days of yore. We should remember the past to avoid repeating it, not use it as a tool for a modern day witch hunt.
Plus, what better way to get over the past and take the power back from it then to laugh at it? Laughing at the ignorance of the past is the best way to take the power away from it and move forward IMO.
I repeat:
He did.not.do. "Blackface". PLEASE stop calling it that. "Blackface" is a bit and requires a lot more than just dark makeup and a wig; it was once a deliberate attempt to mock African-American people under the guise of entertainment. The performers in the minstrel days who did "Blackface" took on the perceived mannerisms, accent, speech, etc... They went out of their way to make African-American people look ignorant. Crystal did not do that. Not at all. In fact, his impersonation was probably a very sincere compliment to the fallen entertainer as they say mockery is the best form of flattery.
Yes. "Blackface" is a regrettable part of America's entertainment history but it's also something that happened a LONG time ago and you're right, it's no longer acceptable as a form of entertainment. That's why it's not done anymore. But a white actor dressing up as a REAL black person for an impersination is NOT "Blackface".