This B- list mostly television actor who had a great role on a great hit cable show walked out of an interview last week when a reporter called him black. The actor said he isn't black and it really ticked him off.
Seven - I assume the purpose of this blind IS to imply that whoever this is about is probably racist because they got so made about being called black.
If a person's cultural and racial identity is important to them, of course it matters. I love the Momoa guess fwiw, and it's like calling someone Chinese when they're really Korean; it's not the same, and pretending it is, is just being ignorant and dismissive of someone's culture. Get it right.
well to play devils advocate--and this might stir-things-up a little BUT if it was a very light skinned black person and the reporter mentioned him being white and he got offended and ended the interview people wouldn't say shit...(I PERSONALLY think buddy is being a drama queen but it is true)
Is there anyone in a cable show that is bi-racial? That is the only way I can see this happening-as an example only--Kris Humphries who is almost white but is bi-racial, or Griffith from the LA Clippers.
or the actor could be from a race that is underrepresented in Hollywood such as latin or philipeno and he could be tired of people lumping him into a category of black or white and assuming he is something he is not without doing any research or even asking
I also doubt that Mamoa is racist since he is married to Lisa Bonet, but I could see him as being proud enough of his heritage to take offense to the ignorance
FWIW, Jason Momoa isn't racist. He's mostly Samoan and Native American. So if some dumb reporter asked him, "What's it like to be a black actor in Hollywood?" I can see why he'd be ornery.
I had this whole train of thought re: Jessie "Dreamy Eyes" Williams; there was such (created) controversy regarding his almost / not at all being cast in The Hunger Games, and if someone asked him about being black in reference to that, I could see huffy
"BUT if it was a very light skinned black person and the reporter mentioned him being white and he got offended and ended the interview people wouldn't say shit"
What? Of course people would say something, probably quite a bit. Can't you just hear the "White people are sooooo picked on" crowd going mental if some actor got offended for being called White on television? I can - easily.
What's the point of asking such a question? How about, what's your ancestry? Oh, wait, it must be E! news journalism! (Also, ticking Jason Mamoa off... I'd do it just so he'd haul me off to the bedroom for a time-out - wink, wink, nudge, nudge - but instead of asking him if he was black, I'd ask his opinion of GRR Martin.)
@VIP, thanks for confirming. @Talks, I hated that Jesse wasn't cast as Finnick. He was so Finnick to me - deep skin, gorgeous eyes, oozing sex appeal. I've heard the guy they cast works, so I'll just cast Jesse in my mind. :b
Momoa was at Sundance. He fits. Agree with those above saying he wasn't angry because he's some racist. His marriage indicates he's not. Rather, he was unhappy that reporter didn't do his/her homework.
Yes absolutely if it's Jason, the reporter should have done background checks, and it's insulting to push a black agenda on someone who isn't even black and is also proud of his ancestry.
Crila-some people just dont have an eye for that. I dont-i am constantly surprised by someone identifying as black when i either never thought of it or just dont have good eye for that. So the opposite cld totally happen. It cld be annoying i guess. People always think im jewish-since im a kid-and i dont get offended.
Yeah pushing a black agenda, because he's darker than white the journalist assumes he's black and asks about what it's like working in movies? That's insulting and racist, that's what I meant.
This is why you are all wrong about Giancarlo Esposito -- he was in "Do The Right Thing"...as a black character. He's Italian and Black. That man does not deny his heritage, especially considering he's played several black characters, especially historical.
Perhaps the actor is African and took offense at being called "black?" I know a lot of people from various parts of Africa that cannot stand being considered an American Black.
Having scrummed down with a lot of islander brahs (Samoans, Tongans, Fijians), those guys can be a little touchy about being mistaken for black. They take their tribal heritage seriously. You really don't want to piss of one of the brahs.
Very interesting comments and guesses, but all I can think of is Dave Chappelle as Clayton Bigsby, the blind, black white supremacist. I miss the Chappelle Show.
Cocopuff, Wentworth Miller actually did have a bit of a run-in with an interviewer who assumed he was white (around the time of The Human Stain). He's always said he can identify as either black or white, but he also has said, "But I'm not white."
WM gave an extensive discussion about this in the directors discussion of the Human Stain. He discussed what it meant to be biracial and his own life. It's on the same CD as the movie.
Interesting discussion. I do think it wld be tiring to be called black if African or another ethnicity, much the same as being called any number of Asian distinctions except for the right one, etc; In an interview an actor should be able to expect an interviewer to have basic knowledge of their subject.
Will Smith pffft
ReplyDeleteJesse "Dreamy Eyes" Williams?
ReplyDeleteCurrently on a network drama.
DeleteAlso he self-identifies as black.
DeleteJason Momoa
ReplyDeleteVIP -So do you think enty is off the whole premium/paid cable vs cable as far as show clues?
DeleteI like the Jason Momoa guess too. For the longest time I thought he was black too. He's 1/2 Hawaiian and white.
DeleteWalton Goggins from Justified.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Jason Samoan? The reporter needs to get a clue.
ReplyDeleteJames Franco
ReplyDeleteWhy would he be ticked off? It's not like it's an insult. Unless you're a racist. You better not be a racist, Khal Drago.
ReplyDeleteSeven - I assume the purpose of this blind IS to imply that whoever this is about is probably racist because they got so made about being called black.
DeleteDefinitely not racist. He's married to Lisa Bonet (Zoe kravitz mom)
DeleteDefinitely not racist. He's married to Lisa Bonet (Zoe kravitz mom)
Deletethat is dumb....now people are offended because someone calls them a different race? by accident?
ReplyDeleteI thought it wasn't supposed to matter
If a person's cultural and racial identity is important to them, of course it matters. I love the Momoa guess fwiw, and it's like calling someone Chinese when they're really Korean; it's not the same, and pretending it is, is just being ignorant and dismissive of someone's culture. Get it right.
Deletewell to play devils advocate--and this might stir-things-up a little BUT if it was a very light skinned black person and the reporter mentioned him being white and he got offended and ended the interview people wouldn't say shit...(I PERSONALLY think buddy is being a drama queen but it is true)
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't be Jesse Williams, he is married to a lovely dark skinned woman who does not fit the Hollywood prototype for women of color.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone in a cable show that is bi-racial? That is the only way I can see this happening-as an example only--Kris Humphries who is almost white but is bi-racial, or Griffith from the LA Clippers.
ReplyDeleteI believe Kris Humphries is a quadroon.
Deleteor the actor could be from a race that is underrepresented in Hollywood such as latin or philipeno and he could be tired of people lumping him into a category of black or white and assuming he is something he is not without doing any research or even asking
ReplyDeleteI also doubt that Mamoa is racist since he is married to Lisa Bonet, but I could see him as being proud enough of his heritage to take offense to the ignorance
ReplyDelete*Philippine
ReplyDelete@Derek Filipino :)
DeleteFWIW, Jason Momoa isn't racist. He's mostly Samoan and Native American. So if some dumb reporter asked him, "What's it like to be a black actor in Hollywood?" I can see why he'd be ornery.
ReplyDeleteVIP, I'd like to put in a request for some Jason Momoa for FFF... Pleeeeeeeze!?!?!
Delete@LowKey, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, however the order of demand goes!
DeleteGiancarlo Esposito.
ReplyDelete@Erin That's who I was thinking. He's Dutch, non?
DeleteItalian and American but spent his childhood in Europe.
DeleteI had this whole train of thought re: Jessie "Dreamy Eyes" Williams; there was such (created) controversy regarding his almost / not at all being cast in The Hunger Games, and if someone asked him about being black in reference to that, I could see huffy
ReplyDelete@trainrides THANKS!!! I really did try!
ReplyDelete@Derek And I love you for that. :p
DeleteHere, have some dinuguan
Onboard with Erin's guess.
ReplyDeleteLOL @Michael H - FTW!
ReplyDelete"BUT if it was a very light skinned black person and the reporter mentioned him being white and he got offended and ended the interview people wouldn't say shit"
ReplyDeleteWhat? Of course people would say something, probably quite a bit. Can't you just hear the "White people are sooooo picked on" crowd going mental if some actor got offended for being called White on television? I can - easily.
What's the point of asking such a question? How about, what's your ancestry? Oh, wait, it must be E! news journalism! (Also, ticking Jason Mamoa off... I'd do it just so he'd haul me off to the bedroom for a time-out - wink, wink, nudge, nudge - but instead of asking him if he was black, I'd ask his opinion of GRR Martin.)
ReplyDelete@VIP, thanks for confirming. @Talks, I hated that Jesse wasn't cast as Finnick. He was so Finnick to me - deep skin, gorgeous eyes, oozing sex appeal. I've heard the guy they cast works, so I'll just cast Jesse in my mind. :b
He's fine, you know, he does NOT have dreamy eyes, but he works.
DeleteMomoa was at Sundance. He fits. Agree with those above saying he wasn't angry because he's some racist. His marriage indicates he's not. Rather, he was unhappy that reporter didn't do his/her homework.
ReplyDeleteYes absolutely if it's Jason, the reporter should have done background checks, and it's insulting to push a black agenda on someone who isn't even black and is also proud of his ancestry.
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn't he just chuckle and make the correction? The storm-off-in-a-huff thing.. smh
ReplyDeleteSundance. If the altitude doesn't get you, the lack of sleep will!
ReplyDeleteJason Momoa is Hawaiian. Not Samoan or Black.His father was Native Hawaiian and his mother was of German, Irish and Native American ancestry.
ReplyDeleteJason Momoa is Hawaiian. Not Samoan or Black.His father was Native Hawaiian and his mother was of German, Irish and Native American ancestry.
ReplyDeleteJust to change a bit, Raj from Big Bang Theory.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree this is not racism, just ignorance by the American journalist.
I wouldn't want a Samoan pissed at me. Them people is tough as nails.
ReplyDeleteFred Armison
ReplyDeleteJason Momoa doesn't look even remotely black. Not even a little bit.
ReplyDeleteCrila-some people just dont have an eye for that. I dont-i am constantly surprised by someone identifying as black when i either never thought of it or just dont have good eye for that. So the opposite cld totally happen. It cld be annoying i guess. People always think im jewish-since im a kid-and i dont get offended.
DeleteMichael Ian Black.
ReplyDelete+1 for Giancarlo Esposito - I dimly recall him being a bit tetchy on the subject back in the 90s.
ReplyDeletealso, "pushing a black agenda" on Jason Momoa? wow.
Yeah pushing a black agenda, because he's darker than white the journalist assumes he's black and asks about what it's like working in movies? That's insulting and racist, that's what I meant.
ReplyDeleteThis is why you are all wrong about Giancarlo Esposito -- he was in "Do The Right Thing"...as a black character. He's Italian and Black. That man does not deny his heritage, especially considering he's played several black characters, especially historical.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the actor is African and took offense at being called "black?" I know a lot of people from various parts of Africa that cannot stand being considered an American Black.
ReplyDeleteIt's Wentworth Miller, formerly of Prison Break. His father is African American, but he identifies as bi-racial.
ReplyDeleteHaving scrummed down with a lot of islander brahs (Samoans, Tongans, Fijians), those guys can be a little touchy about being mistaken for black. They take their tribal heritage seriously. You really don't want to piss of one of the brahs.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comments and guesses, but all I can think of is Dave Chappelle as Clayton Bigsby, the blind, black white supremacist. I miss the Chappelle Show.
ReplyDeleteCocopuff, Wentworth Miller actually did have a bit of a run-in with an interviewer who assumed he was white (around the time of The Human Stain). He's always said he can identify as either black or white, but he also has said, "But I'm not white."
ReplyDeleteWM gave an extensive discussion about this in the directors discussion of the Human Stain. He discussed what it meant to be biracial and his own life. It's on the same CD as the movie.
ReplyDeleteI think Erin got it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting discussion. I do think it wld be tiring to be called black if African or another ethnicity, much the same as being called any number of Asian distinctions except for the right one, etc; In an interview an actor should be able to expect an interviewer to have basic knowledge of their subject.
ReplyDeleteKey is the past tense "had". Giancarlo Esposito had a great role on Breaking Bad. Jason Momoa HAS a great role on Game of Thrones.
ReplyDeleteJason doesn't have a current role on GoT mydarkredpassenger; he was only in season 1 and had a short cameo in another season.
ReplyDelete