Well, here’s a late update on the Alice Eve situation. Earlier this week, Alice Eve went on an Instagram rant about Bruce Jenner’s transition, hijacking the focus on transgender tolerance, acceptance and education to make an ill-worded and offensive “feminist” diatribe about wage equality. I feel like there was some confusion about just what was so offensive, so let me tell you what offended me so much: ALL OF IT. Alice used wording like “playing at being a ‘woman’” to describe a transgender woman. She hijacked an important issue like it was a competition and “wage equality” was MORE important. She behaved as if women or feminists were a monolithic group with a short attention span, like we can’t fight for multiple issues and causes all at the same time. While Alice had to do a series of Instagram posts-and-deletes, she ended up leaving one Instagram with a message about “exploring” gender identity, stopping short of actually apologizing for everything she said previously on her Instagram. But she did issue an apology at some point to Page Six:
Eve tells Page Six in a statement: “I deeply apologize for offending anyone. I support equal rights and equal dignity for all. I have deep compassion and support for Bruce Jenner. My intention was not to offend. My intention was simply to express that, with the overdue and welcome acceptance of us all living on a gender spectrum, we must encourage equality for all.”
Pro-Tip: When apologizing for verbal diarrhea that had you excoriated in the press, don’t phrase it with “…for offending anyone.” Just say: “I’m really sorry. I used the wrong words. And I shouldn’t have hijacked an important issue.” Simple, isn’t it?
Pro-Tip: When apologizing for verbal diarrhea that had you excoriated in the press, don’t try to restate the original argument you were making. Plus, no one even believes that Alice Eve’s intention was to “encourage equality for all.” Her original comments were about how she, as a biological female from birth, was categorically MORE oppressed than a transgender woman. Because it’s a competition, apparently.
Pro Tip: If all of this really is a competition for who is the most oppressed among us, a wealthy, educated, heterosexual white woman in the first world is never going to win that competition.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Just. Stop. *bangs head on desk*
It’s like she took lessons on apologies from Jeremy Renner.
and Gary Oldman, these were her teachers
Lesson: Women can be assh0les too. That’s all I got from any of her statements/apologies.
How DARE you use a picture of the great David Bowie for your weak-ass pseudo- apology.
+1000
Travesty upon travesty.
Just awful.
Though a part of me is happy she chose someone who’s still alive to counter if they chose to. Unlike Freddie Mercury for example.
Better to remain silent and be a thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. -A Lincoln
Alice Eve…if you’re so concerned about women empowerment why did you take a movie role where you *tried* to sound like an electrical engineer while being portrayed as a sex object, wearing tiny navy undies in freezing cold space? Why not donate some of your movie money to education efforts if you’re so concerned about this?
I made this point in the last thread, she acted in her underwear alongside a fully dressed Chris Pine and also was the Erin Go Braless nanny in Sex and the City 2.
Not that you can’t be a working actress and have an opinion on it but…it rings a little hollow when you talk about equality for women.
Nope sorry, I’ve got to jump in here. She can play whatever she wants to play and get as naked as she wants and still talk about the empowerment of women. If a pornstar says she believes in more funding for better public schools do you dismiss her because you don’t like her work choices?
Eve deserves to be criticized for her words and statements in this instance, not slut shamed for taking acting roles we may disagree with.
so she should stop working? You do as if there are millions of good roles for female actors. Have you ever seen a Hollywood movie?
No one is “slut shaming” her so please stop with that. Its about saying one thing and doing another. Being a porn star has nothing to do with someone’s opinion on schools so your example is a bit off, if they were talking about women being represented in porn while still being in a porn medium that specifically degrades women then, yes I would take issue with it. Eve is talking about equality for women while being in a scene with a fully dressed man, for ZERO reason whatsoever. Her role was as a scientist.
Eve’e underwear scene in Star Trek was HEAVILY criticised, not because she was in her underwear, as she has every right to do, but because it was 100% unnecessary and gratuitous. It was pure titillation, and if women continue not to speak up about it, it will continue to happen within the industry Elly, so women should just shut up and put up?
Perhaps my public school analogy was not the best but my point is this; just because someone’s record is imperfect it does not mean they cannot speak on an issue and should be immediately discounted. It’s too risky as it implies the only people worth listening to are those whose behaviour we approve of. I may believe porn degrading to women but if the porn star wants to express an opinion differing, it’s her right. Eve said something stupid here on feminism, that’s all. Tomorrow she may say something quite smart. Neither has anything to do with acting in your underwear (to be clear, I HATED that scene.)
That’s totally fair enough, but just for clarity I didn’t say it should be discounted, just that it rings a little hollow, which to me it does. Her views on feminism/equality aren’t consistent.
Thank you Lindy79!!! Could not have said it better myself.
I’m with Lindy. Alice and the porn stars in the anology provided have every right to say whatever they want. That’s a legal right as a U.S. citizen. The question is, do we listen to them or take heed as their actions belie their words. I’ve argued on here before about the roles certain actor/actresses take that contradict their politics and stances on human rights/issues. If I felt strongly about something and were asked to portray a character that countered what I felt strongly about, I wouldn’t do it. If she can’t find any roles that do not objectify her, then perhaps she go into a different line of work. It is her choice, but IMO she discredits herself. And, no, I would not listen to a porn actress complaining talking about feminism. Porn is an industry entirely focused on objectifying women. There is nothing feminist about that.
Preach it, Lindy.
So now we know she’s not just insensitive and prejudiced, she’s a liar. She’s NOT sympathetic to Bruce and everything he’s going through or she wouldn’t have said he’s “playing at being a woman.” I also think there’s a big difference between “I’m sorry I said that” and “I’m sorry you were offended by what I said.” Both are appropriate in different situations, but they mean different things.
I’m still not offended by what she said initially because it still seemed to me that she wasn’t trying to weigh one thing against another nor even say that Bruce doesn’t have a female soul but instead call attention to how she felt it was disingenuous to give Bruce the full title of “woman” when he’s spent most of his life presenting himself as a man in a male dominated society. She simply felt that in order to be and know what it is to “be” a woman a person would need to also experience all of the short changes of walking in those shoes.
It’d be like a white person saying, at 50 years old, that they’ve always felt like a black person on the inside and then going through the surgery to become black and then expecting black society accept them as such. I just don’t think that’d go over well for similar reasons.
You’re entitled to your opinion, of course, but I think it’s really unfair. Bruce has never claimed that he knows what it’s like to experience life as a woman in a male dominated society. He just says that he has always felt in his heart that he should have been a woman, and he wants to be true to those feelings. The two things have nothing to do with one another, and she, and you, seem to be blaming him for something he had no control over. It’s competitive victimhood. My story is harder than yours, you will never know how I’ve suffered. I don’t hear Bruce saying he’s a woman now and his experience is exactly the same as every other woman’s. Those words are being put in his mouth, and to be honest, I think the attitude of “you will never be a REAL woman” is so petty. He has struggled with this all of his life. Are we really going to tell him he can’t be accepted by us, too?
That’s the way I saw it as well and gave her a pass for the inarticulate phrasing.
@GNAT
I often respect your views but I have to disagree here.
I stayed away from this story, but must confess its unerring to me how people get jumped on for having a different point of view.
I would rather they be honest with their convictions, no matter how icky, rather than brow beaten into apologies which are not genuine to please the masses.
Jegede, I respect your opinion very much, and mytbean’s as well. I’m trying to understand what you’re saying. I agree that people can be jumped on and piled on for having a different opinion than most people, and I don’t like ganging up. But I don’t just think her opinion is different from mine. I think it’s wrong, and harmful. It’s bigoted and unfair and kicking someone when they’re down. To me, at least. I assume you disagree with the main tenets of the KKK. Do you think people should just remain silent when those views are expressed? That’s a little dramatic, and no, I’m not about to compare her to Hitler, but I do think people have an obligation to say so when they think someone is being treated unfairly. Even if I interpret her words the way mytbean does, I still think she should have left Bruce out of it. His transition has nothing to do with women’s rights, other than every person has the right to determine what is done to their own body. Why attack him, when he has felt like a freak his entire life?
+1 GNAT. Thank you for continuing to speak up about this. I agree completely.
GNAT
To be fair I think she’s just kind of dumb when it comes to critical thinking. Her opinions (imo) might not have been clarified at all if there was no uproar. She might have only reinforced her original statement. It all depended on how it was perceived.
OK, she said something thoughtless, but this business of the internet PC police raking people over the coals for every poorly-worded brain fart has got to stop!
First there’s the careless/offensive statement, then the internet pitchforks come out, then all the twitter comments appear, then “legitimate” news agencies report the infraction AND the reaction to said celebrity’s brain fart, then the endless apologies, “clarifications” and re-apologising starts….
AARGH!
There’s been an earthquake on Nepal! I don’t care what some D-grade actress said to insult Bruce flippin’ Jenner!
You have a point, however, thousands of transgender people die from suicide each year because people like her saying such hurtful things.
+1
I doubt you would be so flippant and dismissive if you were trying to change your gender because you felt you were a woman trapped in a man’s body and someone said publicly that you were “playing at being a woman.” You don’t care because it doesn’t affect you, and that’s your right. But it affects many people who are fighting to live in peace and dignity in a world where ridicule and hatred are the norm. And you can care about transgender issues and earthquakes in Nepal at the same time.
I never get the comparison like that. We’re on a celeb gossip site, it’s possible to care about two issues (something Eve missed) and obviously there are horrible things going on elsewhere but by that logic we should all sit glued to sky news and ignore everything else going on?
But as Kaiser said in the post, humans beings are capable of caring about multiple things at once. We can care about the earthquake victims in Nepal AND the rights of transgender people. Alice Eve herself is a pretty unimportant person as far as I’m concerned, but her comments aren’t about her, they’re about the way plenty of people still view transgender people. A view that leads people to be ostracized, have higher rates of unemployment and homelessness, and as BengalCat said, higher rates of suicide. That’s something that’s worth caring about, and the point of taking Alice Eve to task over it is less about her, and more about having a necessary conversation about bigotry. It’s a good thing to be living in a time when people who say ignorant, hateful things receive some pushback.
This is a gossip site.
ITS PC GONE MAD!!!!
thats how you sound like.
the same “thought police” rethoric is constantly used when its about the N-Word or making sexist remarks or even threats on social media. PC gone mad!!!
how about being a decent person.
its amazing how the offenders actually try to turn themselves into victims with their “free speech is dead” rants. no you just dont get away with being a bigot anymore, tought s**t
also read the competition part of the article above: IT IS NOT A COMPETITION. the earthquake in Nepal has nothing to do with it (i am sure its covered on several news sites, a celeb site will probably no cover it, you know.)
thats really like “oh but in africa children are starving” as a shutdown to make a problem appear less valid.
I agree that it gets tiresome after awhile.
It does get exhausting to see people pick at every thing without weighing true intent or even considering the source. In this case with Alice I think the source is kind of a ditz and I’m inclined to believe that most people recognize that she’s a ditz, so I’m not even sure it’s worth going over. But, like people are saying, this is a gossip site And it’s called celeBITCHY. In that vein, our criticizer guns are taken off of stun and set to kill some days.
People get heated but I come back for more because I like these in depth discussions about long-term hot topics where the gloves come off because sometimes I care. Even when the PC police come out, just remember that with these things it’s all subjective and take the passive aggressive jabs with a grain of salt.
Why do people feel the need to make a comment about these personal issues. What happened to NO COMMENT.. or IT”S NONE OF MY BUSINESS.
Bruce’s decision is not going to affect anyone else that directly outside of himself and his family.
that was also very weird to me, it wasnt like she was asked and wasnt prepared. she specifically sat down and posted it on her social media.
+100
Some say they don’t agree with what he’s doing or are tired of hearing about it.
There’s no law to watch, read, listen. No need for their comments either
@lisa2 It’s because people think their opinion is important. It’s the same reason why people comment on this site.
I am sorry if you are offended. But I am not sorry that you know my name and this is the most press I have ever got in my career.
Lol
Excellent “Pro Tips.” I really like the idea. Do you think anyone will consider them the next time we hear/see a mea culpa? Actually, that means, ‘through my fault’ and celebs don’t ever admit that!
Alice-whoever-you-are, you’re an idiot. Get a proper P.R. person and listen to them before you spend much more time showing us what a twit you are. This is what happens when actors try to opine on socio-political issues just because they have a platform and some people may know who they are; they show us they’re just as smart or stupid as the rest of the population. Alice showed us exactly where she falls on that scale.
Stay in your lane, Alice.
I really, really love this!
Alice Eve’s or whatever her name’s comment sounded really bitter to me. And if she really did have to parade around in her undies for a gratuitous T&A scene in a movie, can you blame her? But yes, her statement was utterly lacking in empthay for another human being’s suffering, I don’t think it was hate speech.
Bruce said that ” he has the soul of a woman”. What does that mean? It means many things to many people. But since he proclaims himself a conservative republican, a party that has repeatedly voted against wage equality, and tried to limit women’s access to birth control, it seems to me that he has a very limited and superficial idea of what it means to be a woman. Yes I know that there are republican women out there, so I guess the woman’s soul that Bruce has in mind is in the mold of Ann ( I love women!) Romney and Mitt ( binders of women!) Romney. Someone who is protected from the ugly realities of what most women have to deal with every day thanks to their money, prestige and power.
We’ll have to wait and see what he does with his visibility, I’m with Kristin Beck. Don’t just cash in, make it better for others.
Yes. I have problems with his political stance. And beyond the issues you referenced, most conservatives would never accept his transition and they are the ones fighting against the right for same-sex marriage and every other LGBT attempt at equality. He’s a conservative because he’s rich. That is all.
Did Bruce mention in the interview his views on gay marriage? Because I’m curious if he’s a conservative republican and religious, what his views would be. He identifies as heterosexual sooo I don’t think its a given that he is pro gay marriage.
“Yes I know that there are republican women out there, so I guess the woman’s soul that Bruce has in mind is in the mold of Ann (I love women!) Romney and Mitt (binders of women!) Romney. Someone who is protected from the ugly realities of what most women have to deal with every day thanks to their money, prestige and power. We’ll have to wait and see what he does with his visibility, I’m with Kristin Beck. Don’t just cash in, make it better for others.”
Spot on. I wish Bruce Jenner peace and happiness, and I’m glad for him that he is finally doing what he has wanted to do for a long time…but it’s looking like he’s going to transition from being a wealthy, well-connected famous white man into a wealthy, well-connected famous white woman (i.e., Anne Romney). More into playing golf and shopping at really expensive boutiques than in thinking about larger social causes.
Here’s hoping he instead tries to use his considerable wealth and fame to make things a bit better for everyone.
This one gets on my nerves. I cannot believe that she used the words”playing at being a woman” as if transgender people are a Monty Python skit. She has every right to say what she likes, and issues obvious bull$hit apologies/explanations, and I every right to roll my eyes at her. Bye, Alice.
Well, I would have hoped that after the reaction, she would have thought about it and realized why her attitude of “playing at being a woman” is wrong and hurtful, and learned from the experience. By that “sorry if you were offended” statement, I’m guessing that didn’t happen.
Did anybody see Amy Schumer interviewing that gorgeous transgendered young lady? It was truly the most enlightening conversation I have ever heard in regards to transgendered people. She answered all the quesstions people have, even the really intimate invasive questions. She is amazing! I think she’s a porn actress (Bailey?), but it wasn’t anything to do with feminism. It was simply her story about being transgendred. No politics, no pulpit. Pretty sad that I have to turn to Amy Schumer for honest and open conversations on hot button issues.
I don’t even know who she is. It makes me shake my head when I can tell right away she only apologized when she saw people didn’t like what she said.
Saying something offensive one week and then apologizing for it the next seems to be a new celeb tactic for getting attention.
“Pro Tip: If all of this really is a competition for who is the most oppressed among us, a wealthy, educated, heterosexual white woman in the first world is never going to win that competition.”
THIS.
I don’t see her as saying that she is more oppressed than a transgender man transitioning into a woman.
I think she misunderstood what people were supporting when they came out in support of jenner.
they were supporting his revelation that he is transgender, not necessarily the fact that he’s transitioning to a woman. I think if the subject of the interview had been someone who was born a woman transitioning to a man, they would have been applauded much the same way jenner was. Alice misunderstood the support.