When yesterday started, Jason Bateman was still a regular guy we loved. Sure, he is on television and in movies, but with the exception of some times in a drug fueled 80's, he has been as down to earth as any celebrity ever. This morning, when people started lining up for the new iPhone, Jason was right there in line with all of his other 2,000 enthusiasts.
At some point, an Apple employee saw Jason standing in line, asked him if he wanted to cut in front of 2,000 people and Jason said yes. At that point, Jason made 2,000 enemies for life. He could have refused. Refusing has happened before. I seem to recall David Beckham and his kids waiting patiently in line for a video game and refusing the chance to move ahead.
At the same time, what would you do, if you are a celebrity or not and some employee says you can move to the front of the line. If your brother is the manager of the store, and says come to the front, are you going to refuse?
Probably not, but you are not going to end up in every tabloid either. Apparently the crowd booed and hissed, which is something Jason has probably never experienced, although when that movie with Jennifer Aniston comes out, there is a further chance for it.
Meh, I don't know. I respect Beckham for not seizing the opportunity to cut the line, but I can't say I really blame Bateman for doing it. It's not cool, but part of me feels like it must be so nice to get special treatment. It's probably hard to say, "No thanks, I think I'd like to stand here for another 2 hours." Of course, he also didn't have to get the phone the first day it came out...
ReplyDeleteI still love him.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably take the chance too. Standing in line isn't all that much fun.
I am up in the air about this. although he could have refused, if i was given the opportunity to cut i most likely would have done the same.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I was talking to a woman who went to purchase the phone. she didn't wait on line, she cut everyone, went into the store and said she wanted the phone right at that moment and she wasn't going to wait on the line to do it. The apple workers gave in to her and let her cut all of the people. mind you this is in NYC where the line was ridiculously long and people were waiting forever. I don't know how she was able to pull it off but if you can get away with it why not? mind you, if i had been on that line and saw her cut all of those people i would have been PISSED.
Tacky and seemingly entitled. I would have refused. 2,000 other people and some of them were in line before he was. TACKY.
ReplyDeleteYep...I'm judging him!
Oh Jason, why did you do it?
ReplyDeleteHe fucked up!
ReplyDeleteHe should have called the store and sent over an assistant to pick it up or just had an assistant wait on the long ass line like everybody else
I don't think it's that bad. I mean he did cut but if most of us were given the chance we probably would as well. It's not like he demanded to get it first.
ReplyDeleteC'mon...I would have cut...you would have cut....we ALL would have cut. Now, if I'm rolling with Batemans bank account I at least hand out 50 dollar bills to everyone I jumped ahead of or have donuts and coffee for 2000 delivered...some sort of gesture to say yeah it's unfair but at least I'm grateful.
ReplyDeleteI would have cut line.
ReplyDeleteI would not have cut. Never. I always look behind me at the big ass Costco line to see if there is anyone who only has a few items and tell them to go ahead. Alot of people behind me huff & puff like it's going to hold them up for hours. So much for graciousness.
ReplyDeleteCostco turns even the classiest people into social degenerates.
I am sorry, but I would have booed at him, too!! I thought he would be above that, but I guess he thinks his time is more valuable then everyone else's. It is not! Is he going to teach his kids it is okay to not have common courtesy and manners because they are his children? when everyone keeps pandering to these stars, it snowballs and that is why blohan has never been to jail over drug use and possession that I would have been sentenced to 10 years for! I know this was a long rant, but this shit pisses me off! and disapoints me about him, too
ReplyDeleteIf I'm being honest, I would have taken cuts. I've done it at clubs when the bouncer saw me and my friends in line and brought us to the front and let us in without waiting (b/c they know we're going to drop cashmoney at the bar).
ReplyDeleteWhen I started reading this article, I was worried it was going to go in a dark direction (i.e., he insisted on moving to the front of the line b/c he's a celebrity). He was a passive recipient of good fortune in this case, and since he didn't actively push his way to the front, I'm okay with it.
and I would not have cut, either.
ReplyDeleteTHEY asked HIM so I'm giving him a pass. If he had walked up there and demanded that they take care of him first then I would judge him.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't judge. To wait that long for a phone makes me question ones sanity anyway. And for the commenter (sorry I disagree) who said he could have sent his assistant - I give him props for not making someone stand in line that long for something that was for him.
ReplyDeleteI mean its a phone - not a new liver or kidney.
I would have taken the cut, and I don't blame him for doing so. Was he in the pre-order line or the show up and hope for the best line? If he pre-ordered that's not too bad, its not like him getting a phone prevented anyone else from getting one.
ReplyDeleteI'd be more pissed if it was given to him for free by Apple.
As I waited 90 minutes in line for my own (and first) iPhone, I saw this story and had mixed feelings about it. I'm impressed he went himself & didn't send an assistant, and he was asked...but he didn't have to take advantage of it. That being said, while I did my own waiting I saw friends of Apple employees get in the doors quicker in our little town of Cleveland, so...whatever. Still love the guy.
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed. I wouldn't have cut. I'd be really tempted, but I wouldn't do it out of common courtesy. Yes it would suck to wait in that line, but at the end of the day, do you HAVE to have it that day? Apple comes out with a new version every year and every year there is a line that wraps around the store. Someone who intends to buy it on the first day knows that they will be in line for hours. I'm sorry. Poor form and there is no excuse.
ReplyDeleteIf Bateman was Mel Gibson, people would be pissed off and wouldn't even give him the benefit of a doubt. But because it is Bateman, he's given a pass.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd hesitate about cutting the line. But then, I'd just order the phone online, have it delivered to my home or office, and save myself the hassle. Life is too short to wait on line for a fancy phone with a faulty antenna.
I'm with makaveli - I would have cut but then send for pizza for everyone! *L*
ReplyDeleteDon't hate the PLAYA, hate the GAME!
ReplyDeleteAnd what Harriet said.
I just don't understand what is so great about a phone that people have to stand in line for it.
ReplyDeleteIn another site they showed pics of him waiting in line sitting on the floor just like everybody else and I'm glad he didn't send his assistant to pick it up.
ReplyDeleteIt was the Apple guy who wanted him to cut in and get the phone, I know...he could have said "No" but this type of thing doesn't make me dislike him. It's not the same as getting a free pass out of jail (Lohan) as another poster said.
I would have cut. No doubt. I'm a very impatient person who works two jobs that lives her life timed to the minute. I despise lines and leave stores if they have an over 10 minute wait for a cash register...lol But ordering pizza and beer for the line would have made me happy if i was cut in front of.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Little Miss Smoke and Mirrors. He was perfectly prepared to wait in line with everyone else and was asked by Apple if he wanted to jump the line. If I was in the same position (having seen how long the lines are on release day), I would have done the same thing. He didn't play the "do you know who I am card" and got a perk. I'm okay with that.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who (stupidly) waited in line for 10.5 hours yesterday for my new iPhone (ONLY because my older version broke literally 2 days before and otherwise I'd have to wait over a month for it to ship) I don't blame him AT ALL. I was ready to flash boobs to get to the front of that line after a few hours. Plus, as other people pointed out, he was prepared to wait and it seems like he actually paid for it.
ReplyDeleteBFD. It's going to take a lot more than this to make me dislike him.
ReplyDeleteI'd have done the same thing anyway.
Order online. No way I'm standing around in this heat
ReplyDeleteI don't care. I still like him. A LOT. This is minor, and I don't blame him.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that he didin't play the I'm a celebrity card or throw a fit about waiting w/all the "regular people" (Thnx Dina Lohan) but was instead asked if he wanted to line jump, well I'm okay w/that. I would have done it too. Shoot I'm nobody but I might have been throwing a fit just to see if I could get bumped up! LOL
ReplyDeleteI also think its totally cool that he jumped the line w/an offer, I mean, I have done that. I've waited outside forever and didn't manage to purchase new game consoles...PS3...so whatever, I love Jason Bateman too much to let this even matter. Boo 2000 people that would have all jumped at the chance to do what Jason Bateman had the balls to do.
ReplyDeleteholla@ brendalove!
ReplyDeleteok,this has actually happened to me and i still kinda feel bad. my brother was managing a record store that had a band coming in that day for an instore signing and i got the front spot of the line and a girl behind me almost cried. i was 15 at the time and prob wouldn't do it now. always let 1 item'ers go ahead of me.
what MontanaMarriot said. Phone ahead to reserve, send assistant to wait to pick up.
ReplyDeleteWe're talking about a fucking PHONE people, geez
ReplyDeletewaiting in line for new technology has got to be a lot less fun than camping out in a Wookie costume in a parking lot for 3 days before the new Star Wars movie hits the screen...
ReplyDeleteI would not have cut. I hate line-jumpers. I also do not comprehend the need to have every new gadget that comes along the very minute that it is available. I am very disappointed in Jason. I still like him, but if he was willing to wait in line before being offered the chance to cut, he should have just stayed in line. It would have earned him lots of good press.
ReplyDeleteI'm not disappointed. If anyone else there were asked if they wanted to cut the line, they would most likely do it. It's not like he coordinated the event with his publicist or pulled a don't-you-know-who-I-am or even asked to go ahead. He just got lucky enough to be recognized and pulled along. It's pretty minor as far as celeb offenses go.
ReplyDeleteWell for one, I would not be standing in that stupid line to begin with. I don't hate him for it. I don't like people that butt ahead, but in this case it was offered to him. I would have a hard time turning that down. It didn't look like he went out of his way to get the special attention.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a celeb, I would not cut the line even if asked. It's a no-brainer that someone will take a photo and sell it. I wouldn't want even a hint of bad publicity, especially when the situation is completely avoidable.
ReplyDeletei think i'd be pissed at the manager who put jason in that position. it's hard to say 'no, that's ok. i'll just wait for 5 hours.' i don't blame him and think it was the other dude's fault.
ReplyDeleteIf there is a such thing as 'Line Rage' - I have it. Nothing pisses me off more or faster than to see someone cut a line that I'm waiting in. Even 'everyday people' who cut a line, are a$$holes.
ReplyDeleteMeh--I give him a pass. If I'd been there, I probably would've been so thrilled to see Jason Bateman in the flesh I wouldn't have cared he got to go ahead.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I'm also a Blackberry chick, and won't be waiting in any iPhone lines anytime soon, LOL.
I love the Aniston diss. VERY funny Enty!
ReplyDeleteNancer -- You've formulated the "Toddi" defense -- The other dude did it. Now there's an alternative to Soddi. Thanks! [And, yeah, i would have jumped, too, if offered the chance. No blame from me to JB.]
ReplyDeleteI consider this his reward for being such a decent all this time. Free pass from me!
ReplyDeleteWhat surprises me most is not that Bateman cut the line due to his obvious superior status as a celebrity (read: sarcasm) but finding out how many commentors would also cut. What happened to common courtesy???
ReplyDeleteThis must be part of the same phenomenon that has caused 3/4 of the driving population to forget how to merge properly! We're really turning into a planet of assholes.
I'm giving him a pass on this, and only if it happened the way the article describes. If he had demanded that he go first, or pulled a "Do You Know Who I Am?" or in anyway acted like he shouldn't have to wait in the line, then he's acting like an asshole.
ReplyDeleteIf, like the article says, he was patiently waiting in line like everyone else and a salesperson noticed him and offered to let him cut, and he took the option- eh, I would have done it (I have done it at the airport before, and no line is worse than a line at the airport).
Thin ice, Bateman.
I'm kind of on same page with Little Miss Smoke & Mirrors...
ReplyDeleteThey came and got him...so I give him a pass.
And as much as I hate sounding like an a-hole, if someone offered me the cut I'd probably take it.
What I want to know is why he is waiting in line and not his assistant? I am sure he has one and why does he not have connections with Apple? I did not know celebrities even paid for anything anymore.
ReplyDeletethe era of douchery arrives!
ReplyDelete