UPDATE: Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), has declared Gary Oldman’s “apology” insufficient saying, “We have just begun a conversation with his managing producer. At this point, we are not satisfied with what we have received. His apology is insufficient and not satisfactory.” Original post follows…
Gary Oldman has issued an apology for his comments in a yesterday afternoon saying Oldman “should know better than to repeat tired anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish control of Hollywood.”
The chief comment, I assume, that got him into the most trouble in this instance was in his defense of Mel Gibson when he said, “Mel Gibson is in a town that’s run by Jews and he said the wrong thing because he’s actually bitten the hand that I guess has fed him–and doesn’t need to feed him anymore because he’s got enough dough.”
What’s amazing here is the interpretation of Oldman’s portrayal of Jews in Hollywood is all he’s apologizing for, nothing else, even though he refers to Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, as a “fucking useless cunt” and has a few things to add about people such as Bill Maher and Jon Stewart not to mention he seems to think words such as “fag” and “nigger” are things people just sometimes say, therefore making a “slip of the tongue” okay(?). The number one question I have about the apology, beyond whether he should have issued it at all, is if it actually makes things “better” and if so, how and for whom?
Before I go any further, I would like to say I actually understand the points Oldman was trying to make about political correctness and hypocrisy, I just think he chose the worst examples possible and presented his case in the worst possible way. He went straight for hot button issues and when it comes to Gibson and Alec Baldwin, you really couldn’t choose two public figures that have displayed their feelings in more despicable ways.
Oldman’s opinion in that interview was blunt and to the point. He may have been a bit too blunt for some and his choice of words and the examples he chose were clearly controversial, but would it be any better if he beat around the bush? You have every right to get upset with what Oldman has said, but must he really apologize to you for it? Does that make things better?
I’ve never understood the apology seeking audience, especially considering all throughout that “Playboy” interview Oldman clearly understands what he’s saying isn’t going to be a popular opinion, no more so evident than right after the Gibson comment when he says, “All right. Shall I stop talking now? What else can we discuss?” and before that he says, “I’m being brutally honest here.” Yes, you are, and since he realized that, acknowledging his honesty, what is he apologizing for?
I wonder, how many people out there actually think Oldman is an anti-Semite and if they were given the chance to sit down with the actor one-on-one they would say as much to his face and believe with the same conviction after hearing him out. I’ve never interviewed Oldman, but I get the impression he’s a very smart man and a very passionate man. I can tell he and I would probably disagree on quite a bit politically, but at the same time I think we would find a lot of similarities.
After reading that “Playboy” interview I will say this, the apology below, while most likely sincere (and possibly a little condescending) in that Oldman didn’t mean to offend (at least it wasn’t an outright goal of his) anyone with his words, I still have to assume he wasn’t exactly keen on having to issue the apology at all.
Dear Gentlemen of the ADL:
I am deeply remorseful that comments I recently made in the Playboy Interview were offensive to many Jewish people. Upon reading my comments in print–I see how insensitive they may be, and how they may indeed contribute to the furtherance of a false stereotype. Anything that contributes to this stereotype is unacceptable, including my own words on the matter. If, during the interview, I had been asked to elaborate on this point I would have pointed out that I had just finished reading Neal Gabler’s superb book about the “Jews and Hollywood, An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews invented Hollywood“. The fact is that our business, and my own career specifically, owes an enormous debt to that contribution.
I hope you will know that this apology is heartfelt, genuine, and that I have an enormous personal affinity for the Jewish people in general, and those specifically in my life. The Jewish People, persecuted thorough the ages, are the first to hear God’s voice, and surely are the chosen people.
I would like to sign off with “Shalom Aleichem” — but under the circumstances, perhaps today I lose the right to use that phrase, so I will wish you all peace – Gary Oldman.
