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Harry Connick, Jr. upset over MJ and Jackson 5 "racist" stage act

Naytobes said:
I haven't seen it, is he just pretending to be a black american or something???

The media feed anything and everything to get reaction.

As I said, it's mainly about where Harry comes from that was the reason he found it so offensive. Obviously an issue close to him - considering the history of his state.
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Ok I just need to clear this up. The media AGAIN are trying to twist what he did to equate what happened on this Australian show so they can paint him as a hypocrite or whatnot. Anyway, NO he is NOT pretending to be a black american and NO he was NOT in "black" makeup. Harry was playing a SOUTHERN minister. He's from New Orleans, LA and that's how the ministers sounded when he was growing up, black OR white, so race had NOTHING to do with the character he played on SNL or where ever it was. Again it's just the media twisting it and trying to make it into what THEY want it to be.

It was funny how on the view they were talking about this and Joy said something about the group was also "making fun" of an American Family (again can you smell the hypocrisy coming on?) in regards to the Jacksons (rolls eyes). Like all of a sudden America (I mean the American Media) as a whole (forgetting how the Jacksons have been treated the last 2 decades, ESPECIALLY Michael by the American press/media) has made claims on the family and all that Jazz. Whatever. Maybe I took it wrong but the mere fact she brought that up...yeah whatever. I guess it was her way of trying to explain WHY Harry may have been upset, like oh it was also because the Jacksons are an American family and Harry being American may have taken offense to it. Something like that...it was just stupid.

The "dancers" were NOT doing this to make a point or whatever so really the "black" makeup and afros were uncalled for. If they had wanted to do a "tribute" they could have found a dignified way of doing it. This was just ridiculous.
 
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~* White Chocolate *~ said:
Ok I just need to clear this up. The media AGAIN are trying to twist what he did to equate what happened on this Australian show so they can paint him as a hypocrite or whatnot. Anyway, NO he is NOT pretending to be a black american and NO he was NOT in "black" makeup. Harry was playing a SOUTHERN minister. He's from New Orleans, LA and that's how the ministers sounded when he was growing up, black OR white, so race had NOTHING to do with the character he played on SNL or where ever it was. Again it's just the media twisting it and trying to make it into what THEY want it to be.
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OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

There's a terrible show here in Australia called "A Current Affair", a tabloid news programme, and they showed that clip. I almost broke my TV in anger. Their profiling of Harry's skit just shows the network's OWN ignorance and racial stereotyping by trying to pass that Harry skit as hypocritical.

Again, I want to stress that not everyone in Australia is like this :( I feel so at odds with the media and popular opinion here right now.
 
What excatly was racistic in that performance?
It was stupid, yes. But racistic?

Just because they painted their faces in black, that does not make them a racists.

It's like someone would say that MJ is making fun out of dead people, because he danced on graves with them in Thriller.
Just as Thriller is a music video, this "tribute" or whatever it was is just an performance. Am I missing something? Could someone please explain?

And another thing. I know that's irelevant, but if the black people would paint there faces to white no one would say anything. All "forms" of racism are disgusting, not just racism towards black people. (A little off topic, I know).
 
I saw this on The View this morning and all agreed it was not in good taste. Whoopi did bring up the SNL skit and it was Harry as a Southern Baptist Preacher, he's from New Orleans and if you haven't been to a Southern Baptist church, some may get offended, but since I grew up in that atmosphere it was hilarious. But I agreed with then, it was rude and very uncalled for. And props to Harry for standing up for his beliefs.
 
Clicked the link and saw a stupid reply from a dumb thinks it's a matter of the U.S. vs Australia. How stupid!
All MJ fans around the world will watch the show....

.... Some people are just stupid.
 
MJJKingforever said:
What excatly was racistic in that performance?
It was stupid, yes. But racistic?

Just because they painted their faces in black, that does not make them a racists.

It's like someone would say that MJ is making fun out of dead people, because he danced on graves with them in Thriller.
Just as Thriller is a music video, this "tribute" or whatever it was is just an performance. Am I missing something? Could someone please explain?

And another thing. I know that's irelevant, but if the black people would paint there faces to white no one would say anything. All "forms" of racism are disgusting, not just racism towards black people. (A little off topic, I know).
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You don't know that for sure, maybe people would be very vocal in protest. And of course all forms of racism are disgusting but that's not the issue here. The issue is racism towards black people so that's what we're focusing on.

The style of make up they used is known as blackface. It comes from a type of performance called a minstrel show most prominent in the late 19th century in which white men would paint their faces crudely to represent the black slaves in America and perform often negatively stereotypical roles that enforced social prejudice. To my knowledge this entertainment was not confined to America however. Well that's what I have gathered from school. There are, I'm sure, much more complex issues involved with the history itself.

My personal issue with this act is that they used the style of make up knowing the historical context. There are many ICONIC moves and outfits to denote the Jacksons. Not to mention the song and the name of the gorup. Their use of the make made the focus of the act the racial difference ...they didnt do anything iconic about the Jacksons the musical group - which a tribute should have focused on. In my opinion, there was no need for any make up and it was purely for effect. The lead singer said he wouldnt wear it in America which obviously means he can see the negative perspective.

I hope that helped to show why some people are offended :) I wish more people here (in Aus) would be like you and ask people about the issue and open themselves up to other views.
 
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I really don't understand how the Australian media is playing ignorance to the whole subject of blackface. I'm a 19 year old kid from Australia and I'm fully aware of dressing up in blackface and the minstrel shows. It's a disgusting thing and I was more offended by the obvious racism by some intelligent men (all specialist doctors) than I was about them being disrespectful to Michael.
 
steve demon said:
I really don't understand how the Australian media is playing ignorance to the whole subject of blackface. I'm a 19 year old kid from Australia and I'm fully aware of dressing up in blackface and the minstrel shows. It's a disgusting thing and I was more offended by the obvious racism by some intelligent men (all specialist doctors) than I was about them being disrespectful to Michael.
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Same here, 19 year old Australian kid also. Also disgusted.
 
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html

There response....

One of the guys said "I suspect things are probably a bit different in America in terms of what that (black face) mean. I understand the history of the black face but certainly it was not construed in that way at all. All six of us discussed this at length whether or not we should put this on because we realised it may be controversial. We did go to the trouble of checking with the production staff and they seemed to ok it. Two of us come from India and one of us comes from Lebanon so we can't afford to be racist to be honest. If we did offend him (Connick) we truly didn't meant to."

....

"I understand the history of the black face but certainly it was not construed in that way at all."

Apparently not...

They felt a bit odd about it so they discussed bit, knew the history of it and went ahead anyway?
 
elmari said:
I remember there was so much controversy when Ted Dansen appeared in black-face at then girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg's roast. She was not amused (neither was the world) and they didn't last too long after that.

I think this is done in poor taste and I would have been appalled like Harry Connick Jr. was.
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Yes, blackface is extremely racist to African Americans. These people in Australia should have known better than to do that. You can't tell me that they honestly are trying to feign ignorance over this? How could they think that was funny?! By the way, I have to speak up for Ted Danson. What he did was extremely stupid. But he is not a racist whatsover. He went out at the roast in blackface at the encouragement of Whoopi Goldberg. She thought it would be funny. Yes, they both should have known better. But Whoopi being African-American should have known what the repercussions would be. They broke up soon after that incident and all the national flack.
 
I saw no racism in that performance. You guys who are upset need to calm down and stop overreacting.
 
marialovesmjj said:
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html

There response....

One of the guys said "I suspect things are probably a bit different in America in terms of what that (black face) mean. I understand the history of the black face but certainly it was not construed in that way at all. All six of us discussed this at length whether or not we should put this on because we realised it may be controversial. We did go to the trouble of checking with the production staff and they seemed to ok it. Two of us come from India and one of us comes from Lebanon so we can't afford to be racist to be honest. If we did offend him (Connick) we truly didn't meant to."

....

"I understand the history of the black face but certainly it was not construed in that way at all."

Apparently not...

They felt a bit odd about it so they discussed bit, knew the history of it and went ahead anyway?
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LMAO.....so if they are Indian or whatnot they can not be RACIST???? sorry but ANYONE can be racist, its not only a ''white thing'' ,if anything they should have known better. they understand the history of it but went ahead anyway!!! hey buddies, a black face means the same thing whether you believe it or not, you must have been brainwashed.

i think if people assume (which they do) it must be okay to do black face in their country, you need to question why its still being done there.
a black face means the same thing anywhere. it wasnt only an old American thing. you think blacks or other ethnic groups only got discriminated in america? ummmm.

you would not see those nuts go on stage on America gots Talent and get away with that nowadays. its one thing to make a group look silly on a silly show, but to also make a thing of their race!!!!!! disgusting. black face has a HISTORY. so if anyone says that black face means something different in another country, those racist fools know exactly where they got it from. dont fool us. look how they put the makeup on.
 
darmin said:
I saw no racism in that performance. You guys who are upset need to calm down and stop overreacting.
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That is so very offensive to me. Don't tell us how to react. Have you even read this thread to try to understand the context or empathise with those offended?
 
StarSecret said:
OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

There's a terrible show here in Australia called "A Current Affair", a tabloid news programme, and they showed that clip. I almost broke my TV in anger. Their profiling of Harry's skit just shows the network's OWN ignorance and racial stereotyping by trying to pass that Harry skit as hypocritical.

Again, I want to stress that not everyone in Australia is like this :( I feel so at odds with the media and popular opinion here right now.
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They still have that show down in Australia? It's been off the air for many years hear in America. Maury Povich was the host back when. Is this the same program?
 
I didn't want to watch it till the end. It was disgusting. It wasn't funny; it was not smart. It was just sick.
 
Blackface began in 1830s American theatre. White men would paint their faces black with coal or shoe polish, etc pretending to be the stereotypical black, particularly, black slave. Making a mockery of blacks speech, walk, everything. It was used as a tool to further degrade blacks, depict them as inferior, and dehumanize them. I wonder why some in white society circa 1830 might want to further degrade and paint blacks as inferior? Maybe it was because if you can paint blacks as stupid, fools and dehumanize them it's easier to rationalize keeping them in chains? In any event, it continued to be prominent in the US for another 100 years or so and was even more popular in the UK and lasted even longer there.

I don't know those guys that did that stupid performance on Aussie tv and I cant' say that THEY are racist but THEIR PERFORMANCE was racist. This isn't even about making fun of MJ, it's about making fun of black people in a way that has it's very roots in the degradation and subjugation of an entire race of people who were powerless to fight back or speak out. Aussies may not have the same history or know ours here in the US but that isn't just offensive to blacks, it's offensive to all right-thinking people who know where that blackface bu!!sh!t comes from. There's a thin line between being funny and being racially offensive, sometimes it can be pulled off and sometimes not and whether intended or not, those guys crossed it! Some of you may not get it and don't see anything wrong with what those guys did which is fine, but I do and there's millions more like me so don't begrudge myself or people like me from having our negative feelings about that sort of thing because when I watched that video just now I quite frankly didn't understand how that was allowed to air on TV if people on the show and even host knew that that could easily be construed as racist. Do that same exact routine in the US on the Today Show or the Jay Leno show and watch how fast the country comes down on you. Some who don't understand why I and many others are pissed off about that routine might want to read a book.
 
darmin said:
I saw no racism in that performance. You guys who are upset need to calm down and stop overreacting.
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Excuse me? If you're going to tell me to stop overreacting I'm going to tell you to go educate yourself.
 
As a Black American, I feel the need to comment on this performance.

I watched the video and I did not see racism. I saw ignorance and insensitivity. The fact that their faces were painted did not bother me, it was the fact that the faces were tar black that bothered me. It wasn't that they were dancing around that bothered me, it was the fact that the dance moves were horrible.

The point is, the performance was very reminiscent of minstrel shows done in the 1800s and even the 1900s that showed Blacks in an overly stereotypical and degrading way. I understand that they may have been just trying to be humorous, but it wasn't. I'm not sure how blacks are viewed in Australia, but in America, we've fought tirelessly to move away from blacks being portrayed as stupid, inferior, ignorant people.

If they were going to do a real MJ tribute and wanted to dress up and have afros and make themselves look black, they could've done it in a tasteful manner. Robert Downey Jr. played a white actor playing a black man in the the movie Tropic Thunder. It was not offensive, yet it was hilarious. There is a way to be edgy without being offensive.

If you do not understand why someone may find this offensive, I understand. At the same time, I ask you to read this post which I have quoted.

mlbee2002 said:
Blackface began in 1830s American theatre. White men would paint their faces black with coal or shoe polish, etc pretending to be the stereotypical black, particularly, black slave. Making a mockery of blacks speech, walk, everything. It was used as a tool to further degrade blacks, depict them as inferior, and dehumanize them... In any event, it continued to be prominent in the US for another 100 years or so and was even more popular in the UK and lasted even longer there.
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Black face and minstrel shows were done at a time when race relations in the U.S. were horrible and blacks were seen as inferior. To see this type of stuff still being done is upsetting, yet understandable. Some people really just DON'T KNOW.
 
A. Sizzle said:
If they were going to do a real MJ tribute and wanted to dress up and have afros and make themselves look black, they could've done it in a tasteful manner. Robert Downey Jr. played a white actor playing a black man in the the movie Tropic Thunder. It was not offensive, yet it was hilarious. There is a way to be edgy without being offensive.
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Agree. D'accord.
 
Harry should be commended for his stand against what was on the show. It's bad enough that a show like that would had the nerve to have contestants in Blackface.Even in a another part of the world where there are People of African Decent should know better because it affends everyone but what also makes it bad is that it was done distastefully by imatating one of the greatest Musical families in the world in Blackface and Making fun of the lead singer's complexion. We had just lost Michael and it will take all of us fans time to get over our lost but when a contestant does Michael next time,I would wished they would be themselves and not be in Blackface or make themselves have Chinese eyes or be an American indian Mocking their cultures and not really being educated on how these cultures surive and made a difference in the lives of the world. If I was Harry,I would have left that show in protest. This is a disgrace to The Jackson family ,The Fans and all people who have African American friends or Friends of African decent around the world.
 
why would u even need to blacken up? its stupid at the very least. u stick an afro on and the 70's gear and theres 5 of you and u sing j5 songs well doh its obvious who u are portraying
 
A. Sizzle said:
As a Black American, I feel the need to comment on this performance.

I watched the video and I did not see racism. I saw ignorance and insensitivity. The fact that their faces were painted did not bother me, it was the fact that the faces were tar black that bothered me. It wasn't that they were dancing around that bothered me, it was the fact that the dance moves were horrible.

The point is, the performance was very reminiscent of minstrel shows done in the 1800s and even the 1900s that showed Blacks in an overly stereotypical and degrading way. I understand that they may have been just trying to be humorous, but it wasn't. I'm not sure how blacks are viewed in Australia, but in America, we've fought tirelessly to move away from blacks being portrayed as stupid, inferior, ignorant people.

If they were going to do a real MJ tribute and wanted to dress up and have afros and make themselves look black, they could've done it in a tasteful manner. Robert Downey Jr. played a white actor playing a black man in the the movie Tropic Thunder. It was not offensive, yet it was hilarious. There is a way to be edgy without being offensive.

If you do not understand why someone may find this offensive, I understand. At the same time, I ask you to read this post which I have quoted.

Black face and minstrel shows were done at a time when race relations in the U.S. were horrible and blacks were seen as inferior. To see this type of stuff still being done is upsetting, yet understandable. Some people really just DON'T KNOW.
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Whether you are black or white, i dont care, im white and i can speak as much as you, i saw ignorance, stupidity, a low act of RACISM, it was racism and ignorance at the same time, and they are old people who should be doing other stuff, the ones saying it was not racism, please
 
Not to mention the fact they were all intelligent and in the medical profession. They should have known better, I don't believe they didn't know what they were doing.
 
Well, since they knew it could be considered racist it's a dumb move to make...
 
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Draliongirl said:
Whether you are black or white, i dont care, im white and i can speak as much as you, i saw ignorance, stupidity, a low act of RACISM, it was racism and ignorance at the same time, and they are old people who should be doing other stuff, the ones saying it was not racism, please
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I'm not saying that anyone should or shouldn't comment on it because of their race. I hope I didn't come off like that. Its just that these sort of things mean different things to different people depending on race. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, regardless of race.

The reason I said I did not see racism is because I do not think those people hate black people. I think it was ignorant and insensitive because it didn't well thought out. They didn't take the time to really think of the effect the performance could have. Ignorance is simply a lack of knowledge or education. I don't think they are knowledgeable or educated about black face or minstrel shows.
 
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