Hollywood businesspeople can be shady. But you already know that. And you were probably reminded of that recently as the scandal at Sony Pictures heated up. As a result of a recent massive cyber attack, tons of internal personal emails detailing some very un-personable tidbits between various executives became public.
I admit it. It’s been entertaining to read Angelina Jolie described as “a minimally talented spoiled brat” and that Seth Rogen earned more than James Franco in their latest movie, “The Interview.” Understandably, Sony’s ashamed.
Perhaps most humiliating is a joke about President Obama’s race. According to Buzzfeed, Sony Pictures chair Amy Pascal emailed film producer Scott Rudin this before a Hollywood breakfast:
“What should I ask the president at this stupid Jeffrey breakfast?” (She was referring to an event hosted by DreamWorks’ head Jeffrey Katzenberg.)
“Would he like to finance some movies,” Rudin replied.
“I doubt it. Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?” Pascal wrote.
“12 YEARS,” Rudin responded.
“Or The Butler. Or think like a man? [sic]” Pascal countered.
You’ve got to wonder, though, are these comments racist, or merely racial?
The answer is tricky because context is everything. It seems to me that Pascal and Rudin’s main crime was telling jokes that fell flat—and racial humor is not unethical. Racist humor is. Indeed, some of the best comedians draw jokes from race, religion, gender, etc. If you’ve ever seen a Comedy Central Roast, you know what I mean. And you’ve probably laughed, too.
Granted, this isn’t a comedy club. It’s two bigwigs privately making race-based remarks. But I think it’s important to cut them some slack. After all, what would happen if I peered into your email account?
That said, I’m sensitive to many in the black community pointing to this incident as yet another in a long line of white people speaking differently—derogatively—about black people behind closed doors. But ultimately, if Pascal and Rudin are ready to join the KKK, their emails don’t prove it.
Rudin has apologized: “Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended,” he told Deadline. “I made a series of remarks that were meant only to be funny, but in the cold light of day, they are in fact thoughtless and insensitive — and not funny at all. To anybody I’ve offended, I’m profoundly and deeply sorry, and I regret and apologize for any injury they might have caused.”
Pascal, too, issued a statement in Variety: “The content of my emails were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am,” adding that “although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.”
Naturally, such explanations have induced plenty of eye rolls. This is all boilerplate PC schlock. I don’t believe them, and neither does TV powerhouse producer Shonda Rhimes, who tweeted: “Calling Sony comments ‘racially insensitive remarks’ instead of ‘racist’? U can put a cherry on a pile of sh*t but it don’t make it a sundae.”
Still, I also don’t believe these emails suggest racism. If you were to look at all of my personal correspondence and listen to conversations I have with friends, you’d think I hated blacks, gays, Jews, Asians, women, men, Angelina Jolie, and children. The truth is that we have gotten too politically correct when it comes to our tolerance for dark humor. (Remind me to tell you about the funny thing that happened on the way to the Holocaust.)
We are right to question people’s intents with their remarks, but we must also not judge them poorly based on nothing more than (subjectively) bad jokes.
