Chronicles of cancelling: A lesson from Jamie Foxx

[mprotsenko]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/08/06/jamie-foxx-apology-jewish-community-instagram/

1. Jamie said a stupid thing that could have been - and was! - read as anti-Semitic.
2. After getting well-deserved backlash he had several options:

a) pretend that nothing happened
b) complain about cancel culture, "wokeness" etc.
c) take responsibility, acknowledge his ignorance and apologize.



He choose "c": "I know my choice of words have caused offense and I am sorry."

Not: "it is not what I meant - you're attacking me for no reason"
Not: "First amendment! I am being cancelled!!111".

No, it was the opposite: "my choice ... have caused offense".

It doesn't sound so hard - yet many people (in industry and in academia, in politics and in entertainment) find it impossible to say something along their lines when public notices them putting a foot in their mouth (and yes, I am being generous here).

Comments

[tijd]

Jamie Foxx has no history of hatred, his explanation for the poor choice of words is plausible.

Jeff Ihaza, a Senior Music Editor at Rolling Stone, writes: "NYT and WaPo literally published a raging racist who believes in the genetic inferiority of black people but this weekend's big scandal is jamie foxx posting a teenage level meme about fake friends. I am actually seething".

By "raging racist" he means Richard Hanania https://puppet-djt.livejournal.com/182788.html

Writing in WaPo in 2015, Hanania justified Trump’s manner to never apologize for anything he says: "Here’s why Trump might be right not to apologize." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/10/21/donald-trump-never-apologizes-for-his-controversial-remarks-heres-why-he-shouldnt/

When his own long history of raging racism was exposed, Hanania issued a non-apology apology. It might be enough to keep his publisher (HarperCollins) from canceling his book and Stanford from canceling his invitation to teach a seminar.

[mprotsenko]

I cannot help but notice that "Hanania is a racist troll" was not a secret. He used to say outrageous things without hiding behind a pen name.

But remove the "wink-wink" part and suddenly people start clutching their pearls.

[tijd]

The problem is not so much with him but with powerful people who provide him with a veneer of respectability.

"Hanania shows we need the sticks and stones of government violence to exorcise the diversity demon" writes Peter Thiel and means it: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-origins-of-woke-richard-hanania?variant=41004650528802

Purposefully making the society unable to shun racist trolls is an invitation to racist violence.

[mprotsenko]

Agree. And not just Thiel - Thiel's reputation itself is pretty shady, to say the least.

NYT and WaPo were happy to provide a forum for Hanania.

[tijd]

Thiel is about to launch Tucker Carlson, another racist troll and one of Putin’s best weapons.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson could see two of the wealthiest GOP business megadonors, Rebekah Mercer and Peter Thiel, invest in his new media company, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mercer has spoken with Carlson since his April departure from Fox News about possibly investing in his as yet unnamed media company, sources told CNBC. Thiel has hinted to allies that he could invest in the venture after hearing from Carlson’s side, these people added.
It was unclear Monday whether Thiel or Mercer had officially moved ahead with a financing plan, and their spokespeople did not respond to multiple requests for comment over several weeks, including outreach on Monday. A spokesman for Carlson did not return a request for comment.
But both of them have privately expressed interest in helping Carlson, said numerous sources, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The move by Carlson and his team to cultivate potential investors like Mercer and Thiel signals that the former Fox News host’s new project could be on the brink of gaining financial support from some of the nation’s most recognized conservative megadonors.
The news of Mercer’s and Thiel’s interest in Carlson comes as the TV host and his longtime business partner Neil Patel are reportedly looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the company.
Any business between Carlson and Mercer could be part of a larger financing effort led by investment firm 1789 Capital, which is already planning an eight-figure investment into the former Fox News host’s media venture.
Mercer is listed on the corporate database PitchBook as an “executive officer” at 1789 Capital and has already reportedly invested into a 1789 Capital fund worth $150 million.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/08/tucker-carlson-may-see-rebekah-mercer-peter-thiel-invest-in-company.html

[mprotsenko]

Thiel is about to launch Tucker Carlson, another racist troll and one of Putin’s best weapons.

And I am pretty sure that Thiel's friend, Elon Musk, will be happy to promote this crap on a platform formerly known as Twitter...