The Hollywood Reporter recently put together a roundtable with women who star in comedy shows, specifically Jane Levy, Jameela Jamil, Elle Fanning, Robin Thede, Amy Sedaris, and Tiffany Haddish, with the chat touching on various subjects like how they feel about where their careers are, how they think they’re perceived by Hollywood, and whether or not they feel like things are starting to change regarding the kinds of roles that women are offered in comedies. To that last point, the answer seems to mostly be a disappointing “not so much,” with Jamil saying that she received a script for an unnamed project written by a “very, very famous actor” in which she would’ve played a police officer who has to go undercover as a “hypersexualized bimbo” with a line that Jamil initially said was “too filthy” to actually say out loud. (It was “I want you to cover me in your man milk,” and if anyone wants to anonymously tells us which famous person wrote those words, we’d like to know.)
Jamil said that seeing roles like that is “demoralizing,” and Haddish then shared a story of her own: Apparently she was offered a part in Chris Rock’s Top Five (in which he plays sort of an alternate universe version of himself) that would’ve involved her playing one of two women involved in a threesome with Rock. In the scene, Cedric The Entertainer then shows up and—as she puts it—”he’s supposed to ‘blah’ all over the faces.” She turned down the part, saying, “I’m a stand-up comedian and I don’t let people do that in my face in real life, so why would I do it in this movie?” She adds that she wants people to respect her, and she has since made that clear to her representation as well, saying “somebody might get fired” if they try to make her go against her morals. To that end, she has weekly conversations with her “people” to talk about where she’s at “mentally” and what sort of things she wants to do so she can avoid situations like the Chris Rock movie.
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““I don’t let people do that in my face in real life, so why would I do it in this movie?””
So, everything you’ve done in a movie/TV role is something you’ve done in real life?
Can you imagine someone wanting to make a comedy movie out of outlandish premises? Bleh. Comedy should be people reciting LGBTIA++ poetry and protesting to defund the police. Fuck, everything is getting SO funny and good now. What a brave brave brave brave new world.
Yup. No one should be offended ever. After all we are all the same…
It’s not like “I want you to cover me in your man milk” is even funny, though. 8th grade boys have a more sophisticated sense of humor. No big loss here.
True but one line, out of context, doesn’t really make a convincing case for anything. This is her publicist trying to keep her in the news with a story about how empowered and brave she is and nothing else. The movie may have been funny or may not have been but this proves nothing.
Why shouldn’t she speak out if this is something she feels strongly about? I think that particularly when it comes to Hollywood people, we assume their every move is calculated. Maybe so, but I prefer to to believe people are generally sincere…even in Hollywood.
“Why shouldn’t she speak out if this is something she feels strongly about?”Because I promise you she doesn’t. And I can also promise you that people in Hollywood are not sincere. Especially not publicists. This is a calculated move to get her name in the news and reap some of the “everything is discrimination” energy going around right now. Which is totally fine, but just don’t confuse it for something it’s not.
Top Five was released in 2014. Made 25 mill on a 12 mill budget, so not a huge win. Also, do you know what the Hollywood Roundtable is? Usually its 5 or 6 actors sitting around a table with an interviewer discussing the business and their work. This year they had to do it online, but its not a publicist releasing a statement, it’s her talking about her experience.
Well, you got me there. Guess I should have read the article. That being said my understanding that she’s a pretty shitty person to work with stands. I’ve heard too many stories.
Guess I should have read the article.and … scene
There’s an entire scene in There’s Something About Mary centered around Cameron Diaz using “man milk” as hair product, that to my view holds up as one of the funniest scenes in film. If I had never seen the film, and you took a description of that scene out of context and told it to me, I’d have the same reaction you do here. It’s really hard to make a judgment based on one line with no context.
lol thank u ebert’s ghost, my whole approach to jizz-based comedy has been very wrongheaded and you helped me get it
But she had context and she believed the part she was asked to do was debasing. No matter if it is funny in context or not, it’s a bad take to say she should have done something she feels is debasing just because people would find it funny.
I think you’re misunderstanding the discussion. I’m only commenting in response to Vorta saying – without context – that the line is not funny. If Haddish felt it was debasing, then she absolutely should not have taken it, and she’s well within her right to say so now. I’m not at all saying she should have taken the part anyway, and I don’t think anyone else is here either.
In that case, I offer my apologies. I just really read it wrong.
contextually it could be funny if it was self-aware humor as delivered by a naif pretending to be “sexy”. The line is so cringeworthy there’s no way you can play it straight.
I hope you don’t mean to speak ill of my idea to switch mother’s milk to father’s milk in my all male remake of Mad Max Fury Road.
You seem like a fun, well adjusted person.
There’s a really good Dan Harmon quote (no clue where i heard it), where he says “no one gets in trouble for being hilarious.” That is clearly not the case here.
How do you know? It hasn’t been made? I love how now people decide on the merit of things they haven’t seen based on one out of context thing they saw online or whatever and all of a sudden the entire project has no merit and is clearly misogynistic/racist/ whatever -ist you want to add.
Whether you think these actresses are funny is subjective, but when famous comedians read a script and say “this is bad. this isn’t funny. I dont want to do this.” I have a tendency to side with them. No one is complaining about all the fucked up shit on rick and morty, none of the gay jokes on community have aged well, most of the office has aged poorly in terms of “woke culture”. Its still fucking hilarious and all the women involved were not only on board but enthusiastic about it. It’s the difference in being so hilarious that it’s undeniable, and being mad on the internet. Enjoy.
I mean you aren’t wrong. And I’m glad you’re discussing this intelligently. I have to admit, I know some people who had to work with Tiffany Haddish and they said she was a nightmare, so that taints some of my feelings on this. I just…feel like it’s wrong to judge something without getting the full picture. I feel like it’s becoming more and more vogue and it’s a really bad road to go down intellectually.
“…it’s wrong to judge something without getting the full picture.” Which is exactly what you’re doing!
I can definitely see where you’re coming from too, and I always appreciate a good natured internet debate. I guess I’m just more cynical and think that it’s too easy to make something uninspired, and stories like this to me are just a reminder that there is so much whack shit that thankfully never got made. All I have to do is turn on any Netflix Original series to be reminded of all the mediocrity that gets churned out, and legends like Chris Rock aren’t above this either.
I watched Top 5 and I vaguely remember that scene. It was not funny.
Community and The Office are fine. 30 Rock was fine, but yes a few scenes could be edited out and the show will be fine (even a few episodes better off). Always Sunny has lots of things that are offensive at face value, but I believe all of these shows put them in the right context. The dumb people making the dumb jokes were seen as dumb and wrong.As for stupid demeaning supporting roles like “prostitute #2″ in movies, those will be around but can be handled well with smart writing. Look at the prostitute character in My Name Is Earl, as far as I remember she had a decent amount of good lines. The dumb man milk line sounds like a first draft of a joke that needed a rewrite. I’m sure she could have improvised something funnier.
Yeach, what are the chances that a random movie script was not very good? Sure it was written by a famous actor so it probably went through much less scrutiny before being pitched around than a normal script. Sure, she actually read it and none of us even know the premise or creator, but no, I just can’t accept that someone wrote a script with a sexist portrayal of women. It’s such a far fetched claim. And to use that to denigrate Unnamed Creator? That’s the lowest of the low.
And further, I think a lot of the content that was removed this week from streaming services was very funny. I think that quote was for the most part true in the past but the way things are headed…
I will agree with the 30 rock episode. I rewatched that one recently and it’s still hilarious. Of the 7 seasons of episodes I dont think it will be missed though. And thinking of it from Tina Fey’s perspective she probably would rather take it down than risk having the alt right use it against her in 5 years or whatever
You mean an outlandish situation like an entire bridal party getting extreme diarrhea while trying on wedding dresses? I don’t remember anyone having a problem with Bridesmaids, but then that had plenty of women responsible for it. It also doesn’t sound like it was written to titilate anyone.
The difference between women getting diarrhea (written by mostly women) versus having a guy finish on your face is pretty clear. They are both in humiliating situations but the power structure is different. It’s not even a good comparison.
Boy, you’re right. There is literally no comedy out there now that we’ve globally banned cum-based jokes.I weep for your oppression.
Cool
Way to completely miss the point. God forbid an actress want a part in a comedy that doesn’t sexualize her. God forbid women speak up about sexism in the movie industry! Go choke on your fucking pearls.
Lol. Get help.
I really enjoy the hollywood reporter roundtables every year when they come around. It seems like the group setting makes everyone feel more comfortable being candid about stuff, they’re always super interesting to watch.
Glad that Haddish — and women in general and specifically women of color — are getting to a place where they have the power to say “no” to shitty roles. I know not everyone gets to play the hero, and someone has to be the butt of the joke, or play a villain, or a bimbo, etc. But when positive portrayals of specific populations are so rare, it sucks as an actor when the only options are “terrorist #3″ or “ho #2″ etc.
“But when positive portrayals of specific populations are so rare, it sucks as an actor when the only options are “terrorist #3″ or “ho #2″ etc.”Which groups are you referring to? This isn’t the 90s when minorities could generally only get stereotypical roles.
JFC at least one commenter here gets it.
If anybody knows why she was written out of the Last OG, please share. That show had such a strong second season, and then all of the relationships they’d developed just… went away.
Because her drinking and attitude were a problem on set. That’s actually true btw.
Well, that’s a shame. Her character and her husband and the kids were a high point of that series. It was bizarre when they all just left.
Jameela Jamil should have a show where she and Hannah Simone are sisters who time travel and have adventures fighting the patriarchy
That is a show I would set in my Calendar to never watch.
I’d really like to watch that show. Or any other show with those two in it.
My wife n I have a similar fantasy: a movie with Gary Oldman, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Johnny Depp.What do they do in it? Who cares?
Yes, please.
Valiant try, Jameela.
Oh my God, you mean a performer was offered a role and turned it down?You need to start offering content warnings for such harrowing tales.
No you don’t understand, she was BRAVE for turning it down.
You’re going to make a whole seven course meal out of this article, aren’t you?
The roles she turned down sound disgusting, but what is with wealthy celebrities thinking that it’s cool to talk vaguely about their power to get people fired? How often does the person at the level of the problem get fired in Hollywood, and how often is it the person who brings up the problem lower down on the ladder?
he’s supposed to ‘blah’ all over the faces.
Is blah meant to represent ejaculate?
I’ve always known it to mean “cheesburger”
She must be a vegan.
“I’m a vegan, Chris, so NO I CAN’T HAZ CHEEZBURGER!”
“we go back to my place…Yadda, yadda, yadda… I have blah all over my face.” It could work.
It’s been a while since I saw Top Five but… this isn’t the kind of humor that film seemed to traffic in. Unless it was some sort of sordid flashback to Rock’s character’s past as a drunk, then I could see it being equally (or at least additionally) demeaning for his character and informing his struggle to stay sober. Not to say that it’s right to use women as props to shore up a story about another difficult man’s redemption, it’s just that the quote makes it sound like a Scary Movie-level hosing, which would definitely not have fit with the vibe of the finished film.Anyway, white, straight, cis-male with a steady job and a roof over my head here. I’ll just stop. Good on ya, Tiffany.
That scene is in the final movie, it was in a flashback when he was in Huston
Yup, I vaguely remember it and know that I kinda shrugged at that part
Spunk and everything? Man, do not remember that at all. I stand corrected!In my defense, I am also a drunk.
I saw it as more demeaning for the actress. It sounds frustrating to work your way up the comedy ladder, and you get an offer to do a Chris Rock movie, but oh, your character gets a facial.
It’s weird that the headline is 100% about Haddish and she’s the one pictured when it was Jamil who brought up the subject and has the juiciest quotes. Guess another cheque from Haddish’s publicist cleared, she seems to get way more (always 100% positive and fawning) coverage on this site than you would expect from her accomplishments.
“I’m a stand-up comedian and I don’t let people do that in my face in real life, so why would I do it in this movie?”
Thanks for letting us know. I’ll be swiping left on you, young lady!
Sounds like it was wishful thinking. She should have suggested that Chris Rock’s character got the facial instead. It probably would have gone in a homophobic direction so she probably did make the right call anyway.
Well, my movie pitch is about going undercover as a screenwriter of terrible sounding movies.
Best t part of that movie
DMX’s cameo was the best part of that movie, though.
I totally respect her decision, she shouldn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do. And she didn’t so good for her. But to say “I wouldn’t do that in real life, so I’m not doing that in a movie” is fine but…the profession that she’s talking about is “acting”…taking a character that is/isn’t like you and becoming that person for the movie. It doesn’t mean that you necessarily condone what the character is doing. Lots of actors who have played terrible people doesn’t make them terrible people. Except for Kevin Spacey. Fuck that guy.
Someone said ‘no’ to something?
It’s not that women can’t be funny, it’s just none mentioned here are.
Good for her!Also good for her that she wasn’t in a movie where a bisexual man’s sexuality is dismissed as a lie right before he is sexually assaulted for laughs. 86% on Rotten Tomatoes!!
I’m all for sex in my movies. Sexual degradation can be and is often appropriate in sex, so it’s not like it can’t be done in movies. However, until the paradigm shifts, until it’s always women who are sexually degraded (and men when it’s “funny” that a man is sexually degraded), it’s not gonna fly. Sex-positivity is about equality first and foremost.