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.

[IYAS9YAS]

There was a little bit of a fuss over him playing a Hawaiian king in a movie because he was not Hawaiian and was actually from a group of people the Hawaiians were at war with at the time...Samoan may be right, but I don't remember for sure.

[AUsome Joy]

Jimmy the Greek was in New Orleans for the Saints wild card game the week before he made that comment. I remember because my husband and I were down for the Sugar Bowl game between Auburn and Syracuse. We had breakfast at Brennan's one morning and Jimmy was there, also. He had eaten on the patio and had gone into the kitchen to talk to the staff.

The following site has this information and more about his comments and life:

http://www.goodbyemag.com/apr/snyder.htm
Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder was ejected from the public eye in 1988 when, on Martin Luther King's birthday, he said that blacks are better at sports because of slave plantation breeding techniques. "During the slave period, the slave owner would breed his big black with his big woman so that he would have a big black kid–that's where it all started."

This idiotic remark led to his firing as a "commentator" at CBS, where he was in the business of predicting winners and losers from a bettor's perspective.

[Andiceman]

You mean there might actually be something different other than the color of their skin? That's brave, non-PC stance if I've ever heard one...

[Xenalyte]

Oh, man, Joe Bob is HILARIOUS. And he has his own site now - The Joe Bob Report.

[Andiceman]

Tribal mimes? Sounds scary!

:)

[FireTrack]

"she needs to get indignant and counterattack and not act like she is a racist caught in the act"

In this instance, I think the racists here are the ones who have taken offense. Believe it or not, some people just see people and not their race. It was an innocent remark and we all need to grow thicker skins - Hmmmm, is that a racist statement?

[F.J. Mitchell]

"Niggardly." Now there is a totally innocent word that has been tried , convicted and strung up, by a lynch mod of the ignorant, urged on by educated fools.

[sweetliberty]

"They instead resort to knee-jerk, animal comparisons"

Oh please, there is something very natural about comparing a person's appearance to that of an animal...sometimes with negative intent and sometimes not. When I was in high school, my best friend and I compared almost everybody to some kind of animal and in some cases the comparisons made us laugh even past high school. For example, there was one guy we knew that she remarked looked like a buffalo. These kinds of comparisons are nothing new and while some folks may find them distasteful it seems to me that voicing an opinion is still protected speech under the Constitution, whether it is a popular opinion or not. I guess I was wrong.

[PallMal]

The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) grandfather on his mother's side is the late wrestler Chief Peter Mavia. The Chief was originally from Samoa, but I believe he moved to Hawaii.

Rock's father is the famous wrestler from the 60's and 70's, Rocky Johnson.

Therefore "The Rock" is half-black and half Pacific Islander -- which group of islands depends on the birthplace of the Chief's daughter (Rock's mother).

[Republican Red]

Former Braves pitcher John Rocker lost his career when he said among many unPC things that one of his black teammates was a fat monkey. John Rocker was an idiot true but not the racist he was made out to be. The ballplayer (can't remember his name) had the nickname "Chunky Monkey". There is a reason the boy was in sports, he obviously couldn't make it with his intellect.

[MaggieMay]

Thankyou I bookmarked it in my favorites. Love all JoeBob's reviews!!!!

[ricpic]

Lots of energy. ZERO finesse.

[Abigail Adams]

Actually, the remark I remember from Naomi last week was after a black woman "sang" a rap song. She said "I just love diversity!" It really seemed strange to me. What did she mean by that??

[snooker]

See I knew you everyone would think it was a joke.

IMHO ...
This whole hip-hop rap craze came from SA tribal mine dancing. I swear I saw some of todays moves over there nearly 25 years ago. Have pictures even. They still do it today.

There is a lot of real history around mine dancing in SA.

snooker

[sweetliberty]

" I refer to my granddaughter Meggy as a monkey all the time."

I used to call my daughter a monkey when she was little too, because of her antics, and my mama called me a monkey as well, because I loved bananas. So what? I guess we'd have to be called "arctic monkeys" to be offended since we're white. Funny, I don't think it would make any difference. I have sense enough to choose what I listedn to and take to heart, apparently unlike sopme people who need the thought police on the job to protect them from hearing things they might not like.

[F.J. Mitchell]

While watching that animated monkey, it suddenly dawned upon my feeble mind, that if having opposing thumbs is all that puts humans above the animals, as the wise and learned among us have led us to believe,then the Monkey with opposing thumbs on it's feet as well as it's hands, is twice as superior as us humans. So why would a mere human, feel dissed by being called a monkey?

Arrogance is bliss????

[ricpic]

Cosell's wig was much more offensive than any remark he ever made.

[Illbay]

Re-read the article.

[sweetliberty]

Wonder if Naomi will be taking Trent Lott on her apology tour as an advisor.

[farmfriend]

Another one bites the dust.