Cameron Diaz’s Purse Faux Pas
Poor Cameron Diaz…she just wanted to be fashionable. But her purse caused quite a stir in Peru. Cameron unknowingly carried a purse that offended the citizens of the country while she was in Machu Picchu. Her purse was olive green with a red star and had the Chinese words for “Serve the People” written on it. Turns out those words are a reminder of the Maoist Shining Path insurgency. This insurgency by the communist party of Peru during the late 80s/early 90s resulted in almost 70,000 losing their lives in massacres and bombings. It is certainly NOT a period their history that the people of Peru would want to be reminded of on a celebrity’s handbag!
Cameron released a statement to The Associated Press that read “I sincerely apologize to anyone I may have inadvertently offended. The bag was a purchase I made as a tourist in China and I did not realize the potentially hurtful nature of the slogan printed on it.”
Isaiah Washington…Will It Never End?”
After being fired from the popular show “Grey’s Anatomy” for his homophobic remark towards a fellow co-star, Isaiah Washington is fired up. He says that T.R. Knight wanted both he and Patrick Dempsey off the show because he was jealous of their storylines. He said, “T.R. Knight was very tactical in trying to remove me from the show because he knows that I know, and I was gagged, that he has been working on a conspiracy to get Patrick Dempsey and myself off the show for the last year and a half. I know Patrick Dempsey has supported me by stating that if there is anyone that needs to be fired it is T.R. Knight because he has created such a negative environment on that set because he felt like he has not been treated and given the same leading man kinds of story lines.”
I tried to find online where Patrick said that T.R. needs to be fired, but I couldn’t. But, it does remind me a bit of a double standard that recently occurred. Robin Williams, maniac that he is, went off on a skit about Catholic priests on the “Tonight Show” last week. He pretended to be playing a game where he found a pedophile priest under a cup and moved him around.
Now I find it odd that Isaiah Washington, who did everything asked of him to try to repent for his comment (which was unfathomable), but Robin Williams can slam the Catholic church on air. I know he is a comic, but where does the boundary end? I was not the only one to sit up and take notice of the connection between these two events – Catholic League President Bill Donohue said, “Isaiah Washington lashes out at one gay person in private, and he is banished from ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ Robin Williams lashes out against all priests in public, and he suffers no consequence.”
What do you think? Is it okay for comedy’s sake to make fun of a religion (or anything else for that matter), but someone who utters a slanderous remark on the set should be fired? What if Robin Williams had made fun of homosexuals, cripples, or blacks? Would that have been okay? Could Isaiah Washington have done anything to make up for his remark and remind on the show?