Letters threaten actors(Taye Diggs & wife Idina Menzel recieve death threats)

newsday.com ^ | 12 5 04 | ROCCO PARASCANDOLA AND DEBORAH S. MORRIS

[freepatriot32]

Threatening letters critical of the interracial marriage between a Tony Award-winning white actress in the Broadway smash "Wicked" and Taye Diggs, a popular black film and TV actor, have sparked a NYPD probe and an increase in security at the famed Gershwin Theatre, sources said.

One of the letters "threatens bodily harm to Taye Diggs," according to a police source. That letter was received Wednesday by Jed Bernstein, president of the League of American Theaters and Producers, the industry's major trade group, with offices on West 47th Street.

Sources said that before Wednesday, two other handwritten letters were sent to the Gershwin Theatre, on West 51st Street, addressed to Diggs' wife, Idina Menzel, who stars there in "Wicked," a revisionist look at the "Wizard of Oz."

"The letters go on and on about their marriage," a second source says. "They say they're each a sellout to their race."

[freepatriot32]

2 to 1 odds that the letter writer ends up being a kerry voter

[Darkwolf377]

I wish I had the kind of time these jerks have--you must have nothing to do all day if you can be worrying about what color people are.

[freepatriot32]

one for your XER ping list ?

[Nick Danger]

This has the smell of a self-inflicted hate crime, like that woman in California who spray-painted slogans on her own car.

[marty60]

This is so 50's. Maybe one of Calypso Louie's followers.

[freepatriot32]

the letter from new york maybe but there were two others mailed from ohio and pennsalvania it looks like an organised letter writing campaign to me

[mhking]

Ten to one the writer is black.

Oh, right. Only black people are stupid enough to send hate mail, right?

[rolling eyes]

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[mass55th]

Bet nobody sent Whoopi and Ted Danson or Whoopi and Frank Langella death threats when they were together. Sounds like a disenchanted male or female fan who fantasized about one or the other of these actors.

[Lil'freeper]

Never heard of 'em.

[varon]

Ten to one the writer is black..........woman!!!

[cyborg]

How strange. At least they only got three! Whether a black person or white person sent it, I don't know. However, when Essence writes one of their manhater articles they get more letters with this same tone than they can print. I didn't even know Taye Diggs was married!

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

I've never understood the "reasoning" behind disapproval of interracial relationships. I've heard the cats and dogs analogy too many times. But we're all human beings. If black and white people weren't supposed to be romantically involved, we wouldn't be able to produce children.

[gracex7]

Sounds about right. Maybe some stalker, male or female.

If the other letters are from Ohio and Penn. that's no biggie...someone coming to NYC from Ohio could mail letters in all 3 places on the same day. (There are also other ways of the same person could have done it).

[Pippin]

This is so 1960's!

[Dan from Michigan]

Probably one of those 'tolerant' democrats.

[monday]

"Ten to one the writer is black."

hmmmm... to judge by your attitude, the writer could be you.

[olde north church]

Actually, there is a higher probability of the writer being black than white. The nation of islam is very much against race mixing as is the new black panther party.
There is also a greater likelihood of the writer of the letter being a woman. Many black atheletes, actors, professionals view a white wife as a trophy or a sign of their personal success.
To disagree with those to points would be a denial of reality.

[monday]

The reality is ...to quote from the article.."One of the letters "threatens bodily harm to Taye Diggs,"

If the letter writer was a black woman the obvious person to threaten would be Idina Menzel not Taye Diggs, and the KKK is also very much against race mixing. This could lead one to the conclusion that the letter writer was a white man.

The truth is you have no idea who the letter writer is. There is not enough information for anyone to know for sure. The fact that you would use your preconceptions to even hazard a guess says much more about you than it does about the letter writer.