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In a Comic Book, the Line Would Have Been Followed by TFFHTWAANG!
Ever since Robert Downey Jr. let it slip that he does not gargle progressive ideology when he wakes and rub it into his skin before retiring, you might have wondered if Hollywood would turn on him. Not the studios; he makes too much money. No, the Hollywood press. Well, here’s a story I’m seeing on Digg:
Robert Downey Jr. Criticized For ‘Racist’ Remark During Press Tour For ‘Avengers’
Uh oh. Did he go full Mel? You never go full Mel. The excerpt:
In an interview with The Guardian, the “Iron Man” star was asked what he thought about Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s comments regarding superhero films, and he answered, “Look, I respect the hell out of him, and I think for a man whose native tongue is Spanish to be able to put together a phrase like ‘cultural genocide’ just speaks to how bright he is.”
Here’s the quote to which Downey refers: the director of Birdman is asked why he doesn’t like superhero movies.
The problem is that sometimes they purport to be profound, based on some Greek mythological kind of thing. And they are honestly very right wing. I always see them as killing people because they do not believe in what you believe, or they are not being who you want them to be. I hate that, and don’t respond to those characters. They have been poison, this cultural genocide, because the audience is so overexposed to plot and explosions and sh*t that doesn’t mean nothing about the experience of being human.
These are the insights you’d associate with people who are admired in their circles for gluing a handle to a bong to make for easier tokin’. The sort of person who would stare at Downey after hearing his remark, not quite getting it, but suspecting something bad just happened.
It seems obvious what Downey is saying: Dude, if the Crusades have been recently evoked for their relevance to current events, you might not want to be throwing around “Cultural Genocide.” It may have sounded jarring to the interviewer, who possibly thinks that the Iberian relationship with Central and South America cannot be called a Spanish thing, when everyone knows the problem was Christianity.
The actual E! story is headlined “Avengers Press Tour Continues to Fail as Robert Downey Jr. Makes Tasteless Joke During Interview.” Quote:
“Many are displeased with RDJ’s comment, deeming it racist and offensive by implying that native Spanish speakers couldn’t be as smart as native English speakers. “
Another tweeted, “F–k you, Robert Downey Jr. and your surprise at how Spanish-speaking people can ‘put together a phrase.’”
Funny. And meaningless in the end; Avengers will gross thumdidy billion dollars and 63 cents, but the media got “Downey” and “Racist” in the same headline, so it’s all good.
Published in Culture, Entertainment
Yes, this! This whole post needs to be tattooed on each forehead, so we can just point up to it at the beginning of every interview, save a lot of time.
If we’re all going to be singing RDJ praises here, this is my favorite story about him, and it’s apparently true because Reader’s Digest says it is.
http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/robert-downey-jr-saved-grandma/
(Never posted a link here before, so I don’t know if I did it correctly…)
He may be my favorite actor.
That is truly a beautiful story.
I had a friend who needed help with mental illness. As we were sitting in the waiting room, we were reading the literature left about for the patients. One was a little pamphlet with the words on the cover: “You are here because of your strength, not your weakness.”
I respect people who get through addiction recovery. I respect them more than those who haven’t faced that particular challenge. I really do. I don’t think I could do it.
It’s almost always foolish to bother answering an obvious “gotcha” question like that. Downey shoulda known better than to fall for such an obvious trap.
Better answer: “I love it when somebody says I shouldn’t enjoy something that I enjoy. It means I’m having a better time than they are.”
Although that new BatDrone may prove to be just too tempting…