I realize that I’m now taking on Jimmy Fallon, an even more “sacred cow” status national icon than President Obama, but I am posting this in the perhaps naïve belief that we can still have civil discourse in America, unless, of course, the government disapproves of the discourse in question, arrests us under the National Defense Authorization Act, and “indefinitely detains” us for “lending substantial support to terrorists or other associated groups.” To begin, I am a big fan of Jimmy Fallon (although now far less so than I was when I tuned in to watch his Tonight Show Inauguration last night), and I am also frequently critical of the spirit of “political correctness,” which I fear on many occasions curbs one’s right to a public opinion, or admonishes one for publicly expressing an unpopular opinion. Those things said, Mr. Fallon’s opening monologue last night astonished me and I am hoping that some other people who saw his show will weigh in with their opinions, perhaps enabling me to get a broader perspective. During his monologue, well, actually his second one of the night, Fallon had pictures of Olympic athletes shown on the screen and awarded them high school type superlative awards. To my perception, three of them were offensive to gays and gay allies. One photo was of a blonde European male and he awarded that fellow the most likely to be an interior designer (or words to that effect) medal, and then did an imitation of a stereotypical gay man. On that comment, at least one person agrees with me, as I found a reference to it posted online this morning, in which the poster called this an “offensive impression of Fallon imitating a lispy gay guy giving fashion advice.” Later, Fallon put up a picture of the remarkable Olympic gold medal-winning skater Charlie White, and – admitting here that I’m over the hill of understanding current pop culture nuiance – he rendered a la la-voiced what seemed to me cliché imitation of a gay man singing. The last award was to a long-haired male Olympian to whom he gave the award of “lesbian screech.” Granted, I have less than zero idea what a “lesbian screech” is or means, but I was left with the distinct impression that it was not complimentary to lesbians or gay men. For all three awards, the Fallon-adoring audience howled, or should I say screeched, with laughter! It is my suspicion and contention that if these remarks had been made on Fox by one of that august network’s typically unenlightened talking heads, the MSM would have been awash today in harsh condemnations of further Fox “gaybashing.” I still wish to believe that Mr. Fallon is a supporter of gay rights and all that jazz, but when one sees what s/he believes to be gay-bashing, just as with any and all other forms of bigotry, s/he is duty-bound to speak out against it, and I for one meager soul, consider these Jimmy Fallon comments to have been dramatically inappropriate, most especially for his first ever monologue on The Tonight Show. I can’t help but wonder with befuddled incredulity if no one on his entire staff mentioned to him that this might not be the wisest or most noble course to follow in his very first remarks on the tonight show. I sincerely welcome any thoughts people may wish to share in response to my comments here.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 15:04:05 +0000