Welcome to the March 2, 2015 edition of Outrage Watch, HitFix's (almost) daily rundown of all the things folks are peeved about in entertainment. Today's top story: Michelle Rodriguez is really really sorry, kind of.
After calling rumors that she'd been tapped to play the Green Lantern “the dumbest thing I've ever heard,” the “Fast & Furious” star followed up by taking aim at fan demand for color-blind casting in superhero movies: “I think it's so stupid… this whole minorities in Hollywood thing, it's so stupid,” she told TMZ. “It's like, stop stealing all the white people's superheroes. Make up your own.” Uh-oh!
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Rodriguez addressed the controversy by kind of apologizing via Facebook Monday: “I”m just saying that instead of trying to turn a girl character into a guy or instead of trying to turn a white character into a black character or a Latin character, I think the people should stop being lazy, and that people should actually make an effort in Hollywood to develop their own mythology,” she said.
Cesar Vargas, founder of UPLIFTT (United People for Latinos in Film TV and Theater), offered the following rebuttal: “Those people who complain about minorities not getting roles are the same ones who managed to fight for you to get in through the door,” he wrote in part. “People before us fought for the right for us to exist and be treated like human beings and they were accused just the same of being lazy and chronic complainers.”
Want more? There's plenty of indignation to go around. See below for a full roundup of today's kerfuffles.
Outraged: Twitter, various media writers
Target: Russell Tovey
Why: The “Looking” star's comments in a new Guardian interview have ignited a firestorm online, with many interpreting his statements as bashing “effeminate” gay men. “I feel like I could have been really effeminate, if I hadn”t gone to the school I went to. Where I felt like I had to toughen up,” said Tovey in the interview, referring to his father's refusal to let him attend drama school. “If I”d have been able to relax, prance around, sing in the street, I might be a different person now. I thank my dad for that, for not allowing me to go down that path. Because it”s probably given me the unique quality that people think I have.”
Not surprisingly, the comments were harshly condemned by many observers, including gay advice columnist and author Dan Savage:
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I wish I could say the quotes were taken out of context, but…eesh. Read the full interview here.
[The Guardian via Fusion]
Outraged: Twitter
Target: William Shatner
Why: After tweeting that he felt “really awful” about having to miss “Star Trek” castmate Leonard Nimoy's funeral on Saturday due to a charitable commitment, a few delightful fans quickly lashed out at the actor on Twitter:
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The New York Daily News later did its journalistic duty by summing up their feelings in a sensationalistic headline:
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Shatner then took to the social network to defend himself…
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…before entertaining several questions about Nimoy from fans on Twitter to “celebrat[e] his life.” You can read a roundup over at Shatner's official page (look for the hashtag #LeonardNimoy).
Outraged: “SNL” viewers
Target: “SNL”
Why: A number of folks who tuned in to the series' Dakota Johnson-hosted episode this weekend were less-than-amused by the show's pre-taped ISIS sketch, which saw Johnson playing a girl who joins up with the militant group after graduating high school.
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Watch the pre-taped sketch below.
[Salon]
Outraged: Addictinginfo.org contributor Wendy Gittleson
Target: Oregon state representative Bill Post
Why: The Republican lawmaker paid tribute to late “Star Trek” actor Leonard Nimoy on the floor of the Oregon Legislature Friday by stating: “Today is a sad day in history. Today, the greatest Republican in the history of the galaxy, passed away. He was a legal alien who believed in prosperity.” Gittleson subsequently blasted the comment in an article headlined “No, GOP Rep. Bill Post, Mr. Spock Was Not A Republican,” calling him “self-serving and political.”
Post's response? “The funniest part about my 'Spock tribute' is the amount of people, mostly on the left, who didn”t 'get it,'” he writes. “My wife says it”s the 'dead pan humor' of my delivery. That was part of the joke! No emotion….logic. I know Spock is not a D or an R. Sheesh. I am so grateful for the wonderful sense of humor that my colleagues in the Oregon House have. They 'got it'!”
Everyone's a comedian now.
Outraged: Bill Cosby and his lawyers
Target: Cosby accusers Eherese Serignese, Tamara Green and Linda Traitz
Why: Cosby's attorneys have asked a federal judge to throw out a defamation lawsuit brought by three women who accused the embattled comedian of branding them as liars while defending himself against allegations that he sexually assaulted them. “The law does not require that one stand idly by while he is publicly attacked,” argue the lawyers in the filing. “Instead the law entitles an individual who is accused of serious wrongdoing to rebut the allegations without facing defamation claims.” Speaking of Cosby, he performed in Georgia this weekend to an “adoring” crowd of people who aren't too concerned with the horrifying claims of those measly 34 accusers.
[Mass Live]
Outraged: An unidentified Bloomington, Indiana eight-year-old
Target: The Herald Times
Why: Seemingly egged on by his terrific parents, the outraged eight-year-old called the newspaper staff “jerks,” “idiots” and “shitholes” (twice!) in a voicemail for removing several of his favorite comic strips including “Peanuts,” “Garfield” and “Doonesbury.” “I want back these comics now,” he demands. I predict a bright future for this child.
[Buzzfeed]
Outraged: Cindy Crawford
Target: Media outlets who posted an unflattering retouched photo of her
Why: The supermodel is seemingly furious over a photo circulating that was allegedly doctored to make her body look like that of an average human, prompting her lawyers to send out a letter ordering all media outlets who posted the image to remove it. “Not only have you published what was a stolen and doctored photographic image, but you have also sought to afford credibility to what is a fraudulent photograph,” reads the document obtained by TMZ. “…And in the tenor and content of your article inferring that Cindy Crawford has endorsed and authorized the photograph.”
Can we also take legal action against whoever styled her that day?
