Jon Hamm and the cast of Mad Men were on this morning’s Today Show, and the interview is totally worth a viewing for those Mad Men-fanatics, so I’m including the video at the end of the post. But really, I just want to talk about Jon Hamm and how he’s not backing away from his comments about Kim Kardashian whatsoever. The Hamm got the ball rolling in an interview in Elle UK when he said, “Whether it’s Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated. Being a f–king idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture because you’re rewarded significantly. Incuriousness has become cool… It’s celebrated. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Kim Kardashian deigned to respond days later, saying: “I just heard about the comment Jon Hamm made about me in an interview. I respect Jon and I am a firm believer that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that not everyone takes the same path in life. We’re all working hard and we all have to respect one another. Calling someone who runs their own businesses, is a part of a successful TV show, produces, writes, designs, and creates, “stupid,” is in my opinion careless.”
Jon then responded in kind: “It’s surprising to me that it has become remotely a story. I don’t know Ms. Kardashian, I know her public persona. What I said was meant to be more on pervasiveness of something in our culture, not personal, but she took offense to it and that is her right.” And when The Hamm was asked about it again this morning, he said:
“I don’t think they were careless. I think they were accurate. It’s a part of our culture that I certainly don’t identify with, and I don’t really understand the appeal of it other than in a sort of car crash sensibility. And it’s not something that I partake in or enjoy, but it is what is and here we are…. There are a lot of channels on the dials and those channels need to be filled up with things… It’s different strokes for different folks.”
Can I just say something? I love that he doesn’t feel the need to back down whatsoever. He’s not offering a half-hearted apology, he’s not claiming to be misquoted, he’s not saying that he meant something else. He’s having a conversation about what we consider entertainment and the celebration of stupidity. It’s not the most important battle to wage, but I like him even more for conducting himself like an adult and talking about real things.
Here’s the video – The Hamm talks about this stuff around the 6:30 mark.
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Photos courtesy of WENN.
Fair enough.
Still don’t really like him. (I was never a Mad Men fan.) Still think it was kind of a douchey thing to say.
But kudos for not backing down at a little blowback. He said it outright and he took it like a grown up.
How was it a douchey thing to say? Please don’t tell me that Kim Kardashian is anything but a vapid idiot.
Douchey? I say forthright.
And clearly many of us here on Celebitchy are in complete agreement with him.
How many times have you sat down to watch TV with 152 channels of cable and said to yourself, “There’s nothing on.”
Too much reality garbage is pervading our collective mindset. (But it is cheap to produce, with no payments to actors or many writers, so it will continue to fill the airwaves…)
‘Bottom’ common denominator stuff is what the Kardashians are. They think they can make veiled legal threats and hope their father’s inexhaustible supply of shark lawyering friends will always step in. Hamm is no Kris whatever his last name is.
Team Hamm.
Lis, I can’t believe you used the word ‘douchey’ in relation to Jon Hamm, the guy is pure class. He’s a stunning actor and has certainly more than earned his fame unlike that family.
I’m not concerned about the self esteem of the Kardashians. They’ll be fine.
What makes me angry is that people use their own dislike of reality TV and its stars as a springboard for shanking the fans. Or the picture of “reality TV fans” they’ve built up in their heads.
Jon Hamm can’t just call KK an idiot. He has to whine about the culture which likes her.
autumndaze can’t just dislike it/them, she has to say it’s pervading the cultural mindset.
Dislike the people of reality TV as much as you want. But stop using them as a way of bashing other people. Or at least be open about who you’re really attacking.
But what I got from it was that the fans are the problem. So yea, blame them. As long as folks are tuning in to watch and talking about these people, it will never end.
What he is saying is 100% spot on. It IS the fan’s fault. If people dont watch, the shows don’t get made. If “Keeping up with the Kardashians” wasn’t a hit, they NEVER would have made “Khloe and Lamar”, “Kim and Kourtney Take New York”, etc.
Hollywood is a business. They try to produce what people will buy. A society’s entertainment is reflective of that society itself.
@Tiffany: “It IS the fan’s fault. If people dont watch, the shows don’t get made.”
Why does it have to be anyone’s “fault”? Why can’t it just be a show that you happen to not like?
No one is forcing you to watch, or pay attention, or kvetch about it on the internet.
Frankly, I’m sick of all the bashing of reality show fans that go on here. I’m not a fan myself, but I don’t think that makes me better, or they worse.
Hate the Kardashians all you want. But the way people use them to claim that vast swathes of people are stooooopid is just sick.
And I think it’s pretty funny that people commenting on a gossip site are lambasting people for having lowbrow tastes. Have a little self awareness, y’all.
Wow, talk about the need for self awareness! If you can look at our society and the tawdry state of our entertainment culture and think we are doing just fine, then that is pretty sad. What does it say that women regularly tune in to see other women call each other whores, flip tables, and rip out extensions? This is far different from scripted entertainment, as it carries over to the person’s real life and the audience knows this. We want to see people REALLY humiliated instead of just pretending to be humiliated. That does say something powerful about our country, whether you like it or not.
Secondly, you shouldn’t lump in all realty shows together. Not only are some filmed documentary style and some are soft scripted (Karashians), but some reality shows require that the participants degrade and embarrass themselves for public consumption. For example, American Restoration or House Hunters is far different from Jersey Shore or the Kardashians. One type shows respect for the participants and the audience, the other doesn’t.
Finally, this is a thread about Jon Hamm who is on Mad Men…the complete opposite of low brow entertainment. If you are so offended that other people think the Kardashian’s shows are garbage, then maybe you shouldn’t go to message boards where people with different views might share them.
That’s because he is right. The woman is famous for being peed on by Brandi’s little brother.
No one forces me to watch and I don’t but they are still there IN MY FACE and they ruined my skanky fun.
I can’t even read the supermarket rags in the check-out line anymore because they are full of all these people I have never heard of from Teen Mom and the Bachelor and other pathetic messes.
I know where they are from because the rags always have to point it out “Teen Mom’s X in a battle for Y” “The Bachelor’s Z had a catfight with her costar over this pathetic man they fight over on their boring show”
I’ll stick to Goop.
Have you seen the movie “Idiocracy” Liz?
@Lis – He was making an intelligent observation on pop culture and American society, which any analytical person should do. It surprises me that you have been so offended by his comments, as the tone of your comment conveys. Jeez.
I guess this means you watch that dreck of a show. Good for you.
“That’s because he is right. The woman is famous for being peed on by Brandi’s little brother.”
BRILLIANT!!!!! That made coffee come down my nose.
I like him. But it does make himself stupid when he wastes his breath and energy even acknowledging that they exist.
Is he not making as much money as they are? Is he actually pisses that tons of Americans actually tune in to watch the Kardashians?
Does he wish we had a more highbrow culture?
I wish he’d included Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant with the Kardashian comment.
Lis, you wouldn’t know class if it struck you in the face. Jon Hamm is a class act and full of talent. If you think he’s a douche bag, you must get off on reality shows a lot.
Why should he apologize?
Yeah, people are allowed to have their opinions. He shouldn’t apologize, IMO.
Why should he back down? This man should be applauded for not only calling Kim a useless pile of trash, but also for not backing down. I love him even more now!!
Agree, he’s intelligent and handsome.
Yeah. The way he is responding to all of this is so hot.
Agreed!
DITTO!!! I love this guy and think I’ll start watching Mad Men
Good for him for not backing down…and he was right.
I didn’t think it was possible to love him more but I do. Good on you Jon. It needs to be said.
I didn’t think it was possible to love him more but I do. Good on you Jon.
I agree with him, but I think he needs to stop talking about it now. Kat Face is not worth any more of his time.
Completely agree. He’s 100% right, but unfortunately is feeding into it by talking about her. And you know that family loves ANY attention and chance to play the victim.
Well they keep asking him about it.
Isn’t that always the case though? The media keeps asking about things years and years later though we have no interest in it and the answers are always the same.
They asked him about it. He didn’t comment again about it on his own.
i was not in the least bit attracted to or even cared for this man until he said this. Confidence is sexy. his mature approach to it just got him my favor. Kim K. needs to keep her trap shut nothing good ever comes out of her mouth.
keep it coming jon!
Why would he backtrack? Because his statement has gotten so much exposure? Because its dangerous to point out the emperor is not wearing any clothes?
Then why was he supporting Lindsay Blowhan? Don’t be a hypocrite, Jon.
You cannot compare LL and KK. They are two different kinds of stupid.
^^ exactly LL is an addict. KK is sober so shes more messed up when she does stupid things in a ‘sane’ state of mind.
I don’t think The Hamm was “supporting” the Crackie, rumor was he was asked to be there just in case the crackie bailed out or was too high to perform. The Hamm was in more skits than the crackie.
Love him even more after this.
Don’t care for him…but care for anything Kardashian less so in this instance I’ll Hamm it!
Me too!
I love that he hasn’t backed down from what he said or apologised. More celebs should own what they say.
With that said I’d like it if this whole thing would go away now though. Giving those Kat-trashian people more air time is a waste.
Jon is right. I think these type of shows are quite profitable for the networks because they do not have to fork out the big bucks for talented actors,writers and directors. These type of shows tend to draw a large number of viewers for a minimal expense to the Network. This is why BRAVO is doing well.
Basically, we have the right to eat healthy, substantial, nourishing, delicious food or just go to McDonalds. If KK wants to pretend she’s filet mignon, whatevs. We all know she’s a greasy burger.
greasy “pink slime” (ya know, the leftover bits they cobble together and have to wash in ammonia to make it reasonably safe for the public)
Excellent.
team jon, i didn’t know him before his statements, as i said last week, i will be watching mad men from now on, i love him, has balls to speak the truth,? goes alone with that dong yall been talking about in the past. he gets so much respect from me, smart, confident man.
My crush for him just got bigger.
You’ve got to watch Mad Men from Season 1…it is a GREAT show with lots of layers to it. I worry that you might be lost if you just jump in with this new season. Jon Hamm is soooooo hot in it!
I always thought he was attractive based on this blog. I’ve been watching Mad Men on Netflix and I can’t totally get into it. His character is loathsome but Jon does a very good job playing him and almost making him likable (almost). He has some sort of stuff in his background that has only been hinted at so far but I’m only on season 1.
I get too offended by what people were like back then – assuming this is accurate and I think it is because when I mentioned it to my mom* she thought all the behavior that I found horribly upsetting was normal.
*My mom was about the same age as the women on that show (well not Joan) at that time, maybe a few years younger.
Don’t back down Hamm! I’m glad he pointed out Kim’s inappropriate word choice. What exactly was careless about his comments?
Jon Hamm’s comments on “reality stars” are a welcome, and justified, indictment of pop culture. He pretty much nailed it.
Between this and the blind item about a star and his/her partner’s charitable activities (and the guesses think it’s him) if I didn’t love him before, I do now.
Cue Kim K checking the definition of “pervasiveness” in her dictionary. Sigh. As if I needed more reason to love this man…
LOL!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA, as if she has a dictionary. 🙂
You mean she is having her assistant check that ‘thingymajig that says what words mean’ and wondering why people try to confuse her with big words. They are so mean!
Mmmmm, Jon Hamm. I want one! Heavy sigh!!
ha ha, agree keri-she probably had to sound it out..
Love him for this!
Please don’t back down Jon.
I agree with him but all he is really doing is bringing more attention to her. I’m glad he didn’t apologize though. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Well, they keep asking him about it, so he’s going to answer. I’m pretty sure if no one asked, he wouldn’t have any reason to keep bringing it up.
He brought attention to HER because she will grab anything she can get. He also mentioned Paris and she said nothing and her name has not come up again.
Well, if he wasn’t bringing attention to this whore, the next thing you know we’d be seeing another sex tape ‘leak’ and this time it would be with Screech with a guest appearance by ‘Dirty Sanchez’.
I love me some Hamm. He is beyond talented in his role on Mad Men. He looks like a completely different person when he plays the role. This man has narcissistic characters down pat.
So he know one when he see’s one.
He was a blind Item recently. He pays for many under privileged children to attend Lakers games and support lots of families with money and Christmas gifts and doesn’t announce it to the world. He is beyond non narcissistic. Unlike most Hollywood givers
I watched this video yesterday – it was really strange seeing 2012 Jon Hamm in the 1960s studio where he is usually 1960s Don, and 2012 January talking about 1960s clothing:
http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/slaves-to-fashion/2012/03/take-a-video-tour-of-the-wardr.html
I don’t watch Mad Men as there aren’t a lot of different ethnicities on it and I find nothing relative to me about it, which is understandable, but I like my shows more colorful.
But I think he rocks. Kudos.
There are some ethnicities on the show, and they address the civil rights struggle and other major race-related events that happened in the era. They also address the role of women, homosexuals, people of jewish faith, mixed race relationships, etc.
It’s reflective of the times. People were still segregated but they do address the undercurrents of what’s happening.
I am only on Season 1 – I think one season per year. The first one is 1960 before Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and before the Civil Rights Acts of 1964-5. The show is accurate as far as 1960 – things were segregated even in NY.
When I was in HS my history teacher said there were 2 kinds of segregation back then: de jure and de facto. In places like LA and NY there were no laws forcing segregation but it was still practiced.
He had a very funny couple of episodes on The increasingly poor decisions of Todd Margaret.
I actually held my breath when Matt Lauer asked Hamm about his KK comments. You could tell it was coming, and the moment was going to have great potential to be awkward (for all). So I braced myself for it in that split-second. I was afraid his answer was going to gloss over what he previously said, diffuse it, dismiss it.
But he flat out owned it. And I am so glad he did (with Vincent Kartheiser openly backing him up, as well). It’s so refreshing to see someone having a strong opinion, believing in it, and not backing down from it.
My hero.
And my fantasy.
Way to double down Jon. Keep it coming and thank you for owning your words.
Kudos & salutations to JH. I am standing by him…KK & PH are filthy, disgusting creatures. The whole K. family is vile. Finally, someone speaks the truth.
Team Hamm-especially after KK’s annulment efforts. If anyone committed fraud in entering that marriage, it was her, not her short-term hubby. The problem is someone has to ‘fess up to fraud for an annulment, and she’s pushing him to do it. Douchebagette!
What I like about this is that he’s making a cultural observation, and by doing so, raising an interesting issue. And he even said it wasn’t personal because he doesn’t know Kim K personally, all he knows is her scrupulously crafted persona, which he dislikes and doesn’t see the appeal to.
It’d be great if he used his means and his apparent intelligence to carry though on this observation, team up with some anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, what have you, do some survey experimentation and make a documentary about what is on TV, what is most liked and why. It would be interesting and people (women) would watch it because he’s in it. This way, he’d HIMSELF be dealing with the issue of incuriousity that he has brought up, basically putting his money where his mouth is, and coming up with what would probably be very interesting data in the meanwhile.
Good for Jon! We need more intelligent, ballsy celebs to speak out against garbage “entertainment” like the Kardashian reality show.
I completely agree with what Jon said, but I think he should stop now. He can talk about it all he wants, but he’s only giving this “Idiot” genre of Reality TV free PR.
Every time he, a respected actor, speaks her name, she gets more attention. So, now if someone Googles Jon Hamm, guess who’ll pop up right there with him? Miss Idiot herself, I’m pretty sure that’s NOT what he wants.
This talented man’s been given a forum on which to speak his mind, and what are they asking him about? The fact that he called KK’s version of fame a celebration of stupidity. Does anyone really want to keep hearing what Hamm thinks of reality TV, or do we want to hear about the award winning TV show Mad Men?
It’s the NETWORKS that are pushing the “Idiot” button on the Reality TV copy machine. Networks go where the money is, and they are a business with no responsibility to give the public MORE than what they’re willing to settle for. This type of opinion needs to be knocking on the doors of Nielson, and TV networks.
I think these networks need to grow some balls and do something different that involves talented actors and writers instead of wasting their time on idiots who have no talent or intelligence.
I don’t see the purpose of negative comments. Truly intelligent people don’t have to swear to get their point across either.
Really? Kim K is a porn star and you’re concerned with other people having a potty mouth. And I’d be willing to bet that if the negative comments were ones that you agreed with, you’d sure see the purpose then. Perhaps if Kim’s fans didn’t try to justify everything she does as some sort of genius and just said that they liked watching trash TV b/c it makes them feel better about their lives, then fine; who cares.
The way he keeps going on about this just makes him look like a smug douche. Plenty of people hate the kardashians. He’s not the first person to criticise them, but he keeps smugly patting himself on the back like he is. Is he really this desperate for attention? Don’t forget to watch his low rated tv show when it returns on sunday!
Gee, did we touch a nerve? His show is not low rated for the network it is on and it wins awards. If we were to determine value of a show by how many people watch it alone, we’d find some pretty crappy entertainment would be considered good. And for the record, he didn’t bring it up. Matt Lauer did. Nothing about the interview was smug. You seriously do yourself a disservice by even remotely defending the Kardashians.
Excellent! I was hoping he’d respond, I’ve been hanging out for another good celebrity bitch fight ever since Elton and David backed down on what they said about Madonna earlier this year. Pretty sure The Hamm can out wit the entire Kardashian Klan whilst blind drunk, but I’m going to enjoy watching them try to one up him.
He sounds intelligent to me, sounds like he stands by his opinions.
Can somebody tell me why Kim felt the need to answer his light critic in the fitrst place (Paris was the smarter one on this topic) while she stayed numb and quiet while confronted to Snoop’s direct and obscene rant towards her as she brushed it off saying something along the line as ‘NO COMMENT’ ?
Me think, she knows that Hamm is actually very tolerant and much more classy towards her, hence she felt the need to answer that light general critic while Snoop saying some harsh truth that concerns her and only her and would have smaked her down even more if she had replied.
Kim is kinda coward playing double standards on this and strucked with selective retaliation based on who tell her some truth, not the level of truth obscene versus light.
She chooses to shut her mouth when the offender is badass and poty mouthed filled with derogatory, insulting comments towards her but plays all falsely offended and answering when one is actually very light on her and use her as an example among others for a general concept he despises.
Go figure !
You go Hamm!
I love me some Hamm! Thank goodness he owned what he said, classy man. I don’t, and won’t watch or buy anything Kartrashian. However, no matter what I do, they are still there……..Cockroaches and Kartrashians………hmmmmmm
John Hamm just went up tenfold on the respect-o-meter. Good for you John, please and thank you for your steadfastness in helping in making intelligence cool again. You were anything but careless, you are honest.
I know who Paris Hilton is and I know who Kim Kardashian is, but who the F*** is John Hamm?? Maybe that´s why he talked trash about them, he needed the boost. Sad and pathetic little man is the one who feels the need to insult and disrespect a woman.
ORRRR,you live under a rock. And his “insult”, which was really just the truth, had nothing to do with her being a woman. On top of that, Kim Kardashian is, quite possibly, the worst female role model EVER. Her name and the word respect don’t belong in the same sentence.
You’re funny. No really, you…. okay, I lied. You’re not.