TMZ is running a story on this not super-titillating gossip day (it’s pretty average from my experience, but may seem like a lull in comparison to the Reese and Britney split days) with the title “Felicity (Huffman) Adopts a Black… Puppy.” They make a silly comparison to Madonna’s recent baby-snatching, saying that Felicity managed to adopt without controversy.
A screenshot is above because chances are they’ll pull it or retitle the article once they realize the blunder.
Initial commentors are focusing on the fact that they’re comparing a dog to an African infant:
1. Are you people comparing a BLACK puppy to a BLACK innocent child? I guess you think that’s cute. Shame on you TMZ! – Offended
3. Ok…there are plenty of other things in this world that could offend me…but I do think this was in pretty bad taste. Get it together guys! You usually entertain me through my humdrum work day…but this is just wrong. Just the heading alone is going to piss people off. I am a person with an easygoing spirit (and a black woman!) so I can forgive it…but alot of other people are not going to like this! – In bad taste
From my perspective, they could have just titled the dumb non-article “Felicity adopts… a puppy.”
It would never occur to me to point out that the puppy happens to be black. You could simply compare adoptions without noting the dog’s color. What’s the point?
I get miffed when fellow gossip writers point out someone’s race when it’s obvious who they’re talking about. Like when someone says “Check out that black guy in the background,” and there’s one guy. Why make a reference to his race? If you need an adjective, say “surprised.” To me, it’s not being PC so much as sensible. There’s no reason to make race – or dog color – an issue.
Celebitchy, oh that ticks me off too. I have some inlaws (fortunately, not immediate family) who LOVE to mention the color of people’s skin (only if they aren’t white of course, cause those are a given *rolls eyes*). It makes no difference in the story they are telling, but somehow I need to know it?!? WHY?! Ignorant racist idiots..
People are so ridiculous. If the situation were somehow reversed and they said “Adopts A White,” no one would say anything. It’s just the color of skin, relax people. I doubt they’re trying to be disrespectful. And it’s borderline retarded to think they’re actually calling a black child the equivalent of a small dog – it’s a JOKE.
Seems like an attempt at humor that fell totally flat. Probably some writer thought it was a lot more hysterical in his/her own head. Sometimes those jokes should stay in someone’s head and never see the light of day.
Sort of unrelated, in college I read a book of articles written by foreign academics. The articles all were centered around their first impressions of American society and culture.
One in particular was written by a Japanese man who said he found it odd that Americans so often used physical features to describe each other in conversation (“You know Jennifer with the red hair” or “George, the guy with the big blue eyes.”). He pointed out that the Japanese tend to be more homogenized in terms of physical features and so their reference points were totally different, such as someone’s family or their hometown.
Interesting, really, how our culture evolves.
Isn’t the black comment in regards to Madonna trying to draw attention away from herself by saying that people have a problem with her adopting a black baby and not the fact that the child has a father etc. etc? I think they’re just trying to be funny, not racist.
Only in our ultra PC world is using the color of someones skin a racist thing when describing them.
Yeah, it is tasteless. But then you see a lot of that on the internet.
“Only in our ultra PC world is using the color of someones skin a racist thing when describing them.”
Exactly. I think there’s a flipside to what Celebitchy is referring to, which is the case in which skin color is a perfectly obvious trait in order to clarify which person you mean, yet someone is so PC that they avoid it. Imagine someone trying to point our their friend in a particular photo, who happens to be the only black person in the photo (of 5+ people). “The one kinda in the middle, no, in the red shirt, nono … with the beard.” Come on already, its not insulting to indicate that he is black (or whatever term suits you).
Perhaps I’m just tired of everyone being PC, but there’s no end to it here in CA. 🙂
I love it, I just love it!
I am amazed by the oversensitivity of people about racism. What is the color of the puppy? Dark?
As far as the “Black Baby Adoption” craze in the artistic world goes, I guess we have other persons to blame about this instead of the editors of that webpage. Let’s be honnest here, Madona has done more damage to the orphanage where David camre from that any other person. Why can’t we laugh about all this?
To me it just seems like they are grasping at straws to bring the Madonna debacle back to the news… and making a tasteless pun. I’m tired of all the PC remarks, too. This however, was just dumb. Low class. Begging to be seen on a slow news day. Whatever.
No one is offended that these rich White women are going out and BUYING Black children but they are offended about buying a black puppy. Of course Michael Jackson bought 3 White children so perhaps it all evened out?