Calling somebody a racist usually tends to leave plenty of people offended and quick to point out you’re wrong. But what about when you call everybody a racist, including yourself? That’s what Danny DeVito did in an interview at the Sundance Film Festival while discussing the Oscars diversity controversy.
Instead of hitting on just the Oscars, or “the symptom” as Don Cheadle would put it later in the clip, DeVito hits on the country and society as a whole:
“It’s unfortunate that the entire country is a racist country…
“Even though some people have given really great performances in movies, they weren’t even thought about. We’re living in a country that discriminates, and has certain racist tendencies.”
This certainly takes a different approach than many other Hollywood celebrities over the past few days, some either calling for a boycott of the show and others claiming that complaints are unfounded and unwarranted. DeVito added to his thoughts in a chat with The Daily Beast:
“We do live in a racist country. We have to evolve and have to realize that truth and reconciliation is here, too—it’s not only in South Africa or Cambodia. Young people have to learn what happened in our history, and we need people to know that we’re walking on the boards of genocide.”
He pauses. “This is a place where people settled in and they came to be called Native Americans. Now all of a sudden these big ships appear out of the blue like demons in the daylight, and everything changed. Genocide happened and we’re all in it. But we can’t lean on that xenophobia. We need to understand what happened and realize that we’re all human beings who are cut from the same cloth.”
“Listen to Noam Chomsky, get the Howard Zinn, and try to elevate your children, brothers, and sisters…”
Also well worth a read if you’re interested in his interests politically — like loving Bernie and hating Trump — or want to hear about his wild stories with George Clooney. They are much more than just coffee commercial friends. Well worth it if you have the time.
(Via Deadline / The Daily Beast)
