Foul from the mouth of Naomi Judd (Calls Black Dancer a "Monkey" on Live National Television)

MSNBC ^ | March 12, 2003 | Jeanette Walls with Ashley Pearson

[Timesink]

Foul from the mouth of Naomi Judd
Plus: Pam Anderson — banned at ball? Crowe goes basilica

With Ashley Pearson
MSNBC

March 12 —  CBS was bombarded with complaints last week after “Star Search” judge Naomi Judd referred to a black dancer as a monkey. “I was stunned,” a source tells The Scoop. “She said it in a way that was meant to be funny and playful, but it was astonishingly racist and insensitive.”

       “I HEARD THAT the [CBS] switchboard really lit up,” the source said.
       Only moments later, after a trio of tap dancers, the un-PC singer announced that she loves it when white people tap dance.        “Totally bizarre comment, but yet another reason to make fun of Naomi,” one poster on Television Without Pity.com commented. “You’ve got to admit, she unintentionally provides comic relief to the show. Every time it’s her turn to vote, I think, ‘What stupid thing is she going to say now?’ ”
       “It’s a real problem,” said another “Star Search” fan who says that the country and western crooner once referred to a dance by three black women as “tribal.”
       Spokesmen for Judd and CBS didn’t return calls for comment.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

It just occurred to me -- if you say "white men can't jump", a statement asserting that members of a race are incapable of something, nobody would bat an eyelash. If you said "black people CAN jump", a statement which says that members of a race have a skill, then that is racist. To my eyes, the first statment could be interpreted as more insulting than the first, because it asserts a negative.

Both statements are overly general, and perhaps exaggerated, but they can be subjected to empirical tests in a scientific manner, which is far better than most hypothetical racist statements (such as " people are evil"). Yet the two sentences are treated vastly differently. This is a double-standard.

If 'victims' want to be treated as equals, then they ought to stop drawing attention to themselves as victims. You don't see Condaleezza Rice talking about how black she is, or how hard she had to fight 'whitey'. She just worked her butt off. As a result, she isn't primarily a black to me, or even a woman. She's a qualified, eminently competent human being. Contrast her to someonle like Harry Belafonte, who practically screams "look how black I am!"

I apologize if I come off as too blunt, and I'm sure liberals would find some way of accusing me of being a bigot, when in fact it is just the opposite. But I felt I needed to say it. Mods, it's your call if my post is deemed inappropriate. I'm tired of walking on eggshells about this issue.

[Noslrac]

I believe it was something like "funky monkey" and some other descriptive words to the dance.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Now we know.

[steveo]

I can hear him even now.

[MaggieMay]

Yes, it was John Riggins,thanks for the heads up, very funny story.

[Jonathon Spectre]

That was incredibly excellent.

[APBaer]

And now a word from Howard Cosell, a/k/a/ "Monkey":

Aba Daba Honeymoon Words and Music By: Arthur Fields & Walter Donovan Copyright MCMXIV by Leo Feist Way down in the Congoland Lived a happy chimpanzee. She loved a monkey with long tail (Lordy, how she loved him!) Each night he would find her there, Swinging in the cocoanut tree, And the monkey gay, At the break of day, Loved to hear his Chimpie say: "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Chimpie to the Monk, "Baba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Monkey to the Chimp. All night long they'd chatter away, All day long there were happy and gay, Swinging and singing in their hunky-tonkey way. "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Means "Monk, I love but you." "Baba, daba, dab," in monkey talk Means "Chimp, I love you, too." Then the big baboon one night in June, He married them and very soon, They went upon their aba, daba honeymoon. "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Chimpie to the Monk, "Baba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Monkey to the Chimp. All night long they'd chatter away, All day long there were happy and gay, Swinging and singing in their hunky-tonkey way. "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Means "Monk, I love but you." "Baba, daba, dab," in monkey talk Means "Chimp, I love you, too." One night they were made man and wife, And now they cry, "This is the life," Since they came from their aba, daba honeymoon. Well, you should have heard that band Play upon their wedding day, Each Chimp and Monkey had nutshells (Lordy, how they played them) And now it is ev'ry night, High up in the cocoanut tree. It's the same old thing, With the same old swing, When the Monk and Chimpie sing: "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Chimpie to the Monk, "Baba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Monkey to the Chimp. All night long they'd chatter away, All day long there were happy and gay, Swinging and singing in their hunky-tonkey way. "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Means "Monk, I love but you." "Baba, daba, dab," in monkey talk Means "Chimp, I love you, too." Then the big baboon one night in June, He married them and very soon, They went upon their aba, daba honeymoon. "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Chimpie to the Monk, "Baba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Said the Monkey to the Chimp. All night long they'd chatter away, All day long there were happy and gay, Swinging and singing in their hunky-tonkey way. "Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab," Means "Monk, I love but you." "Baba, daba, dab," in monkey talk Means "Chimp, I love you, too." One night they were made man and wife, And now they cry, "This is the life," Since they came from their aba, daba honeymoon.

[PallMal]

It just occurred to me -- if you say "white men can't jump", a statement asserting that members of a race are incapable of something, nobody would bat an eyelash

The ironic thing about it is that all the world record holders of the high jump at the time the movie "White men can't jump" was released -- were white.

[cajun-jack]

no...no, you didn't, but i am a lo-tech redneck and i can't do that fancy posting

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

The ironic thing about it is that all the world record holders of the high jump at the time the movie "White men can't jump" was released -- were white.

Yeah, that is rather ironic. Just imagine trying to make a movie called "Black Men Can't Play Hockey". Imagine the outcry!

[TxBec]

My kids were lovingly called "the monkeys" (by me and most of my friends)

What else would you call kids who climb on everything in sight?

[Revenge Of Daffy-Duck]

One of The Rock's parent's is a Pacific Islander ( I forgot which island , maybe Fiji). The other is African-American, which means that he is also partly White.

[dark_lord]

It is also the case that real tribal dance is difficult, requires a lot of practice, and is pretty neat. So it is funny that "tribal" is automatically assumed to be an insult -- when refering to dance.

[jackbill]

I would like to know just what all of the hoopla is all about.

Don't the evolutionists tell us that we are all descended from monkeys?

Aren't we supposed to worship at the evolutionists' altar?

So what's the problem?

[stylin19a]

I'll be darned is I can find the actual statement.

What did she actually say ?

[jackbill]

Plus: Pam Anderson ? banned at ball?

I guess that's better than being "balled at the ban"?

[rabidralph]

I collect Curious George figurines, will I get in trouble?

[rabidralph]

The curious thing to me is, it can't be a racial comment unless the people who are offended by it actually think that black people look like monkeys.

[L,TOWM]

Only if you display them with the pants around the knees, and put about 18 little, teeny, tiny gold chains around their necks.

[LaineyDee]

If the exact same thing had been said by Arsenio Hall, about the exact same contestant, there would not be a second thought given to the comment.

I agree. Personally... it's a bit wearisome to walk on Politically Correct eggshells and be human at the same time. Anyone that easily offended by an offhanded remark is looking for a fight anyway. They need to get a grip... and get a life.