http://youtu.be/YdoHlxcbyDU
Yet another soccer player is involved in a homophobic incident—but this one doesn’t involve Twitter or disparaging an opponent.
Liverpool FC goalie José Manuel Reina (a.k.a. “Pepe” Reina) recently appeared in a series of commercials for Spanish insurance company Groupama. In each, he’s in some dangerous predicament—about to get beaten up by a bruiser, skydiving without an instructor, riding a bus with no driver—but keeps his cool because he’s insured. In one scenario, he’s introduced to the king of a African tribe, who makes it clear he’d like to make Reina his mate. (“Reina” is actually Spanish for “queen.”)
But after the ad was attacked by activists for depicting blacks as “backward, stupid, and animalistic homosexuals,” Groupama announced it wouldn’t be running it anymore. (You can see the clip in question above, starting at the 1:00 mark)
How about we take this to the next level?
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Said Simon Woolley, director of Operation Black Vote:
“I’m shocked on so many levels. Firstly, how would the Spanish feel if the English stereotyped Spanish people as backward, stupid, and animalistic homosexuals? Secondly, what does this say about Pepe Reina? [He’s] lived and worked in the UK for nearly a decade—Does he think it’s okay characterize black people this way? Does he think his black teammates will laugh at his joke?”
Though it pulled the advert, Groupama insisted in a statement that it “does not consider that this advert contains either offensive nor any discriminatory content.”
What say you? Is the commercial offensive or just humorous marketing?
Castorp
It’s a *joke*, people. This is the kind of thing that would offend the same people who are offended by Rush calling Fluke a slut, but NOT Maher saying the same about Bristol Palin. If you disagree, ask yourself: How offended were you when Obama (a.k.a. Mr. Civility) called a large group of his fellow citizens “teabaggers”?
*pause*
That’s what I thought.
@DJGiddings
Not offensive in the least. I think the ads (and Pepe) were cute an quirky. Some people just need to find anything to complain about.
scrivo
I’m gay (and white) and I didn’t find this at all offensive. How do you get from this ad that all Africans are gay? If a gay guy were forced into sex with a woman, that would be an uncomfortable scenario just like this one. Lighten up gays and blacks. Save your artillary for the real battles.
prince of snides aka divkid
holyfuckingchrist!
noooo, not today, thank you. *backs out of the door*
Marc
d@prince of snides aka divkid: LMAO!!!
xamthor
the “bone in the nose” savage stereotype does seem somewhat dated. I find it more racist than homophobic. not the most offensive thing i’ve seen, but i would not have let it ran. the writers of the commercial could have come up with something better.
delurker
@Castorp: Bristol Palin had an out of wedlock baby as a teen. Reasonable minds can differ as whether she is a slut. Ms. Fluke is taking BC pills to treat ovarian cysts. Does that make her a slut?
And link to Obama using “teabagger”? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Lots of racist and conservatives (I repeat myself) posting today.
marcus
I will preface this by saying that I am black and gay. That said, I am not offended by this and I would imagine that most people who are do not fit those demographics. As an objective observer, I think it is very clear that the depiction of the black people was very specific to tribal culture and not the the black family down the street. As far as the homophobia; portraying a heterosexual man not wanting to have sex with another man is not homophobic . . . it’s a matter of fact. I agree w/ scrivo, save your energy on actual battles.
MEJ
@Castorp:
but NOT Maher saying the same about Bristol Palin.
Bristol Palin is a slut.
How offended were you when Obama (a.k.a. Mr. Civility) called a large group of his fellow citizens “teabaggers”?
They called themselves teabaggers. It wasn’t until Glenn Beck figured out what the rest of us were laughing at, that he started calling them tea partiers.
MEJ
First off, the bus ad was damned funny. Secondly, if they hadn’t done the whole African-with-beads-and-bone-through-nose bit, I don’t think the ad would have been so offensive. It was actually pretty funny. And Reina seemed pretty game. I think this is more about the fear of racism, than anti-gay bias, because Reina seemed pretty game.
MEJ
I think what’s most offensive about this as is the black face. I’m 100% positive there are black Spanish speaking people in Spain.
Mike in Asheville
Much ado about nothing.
Ian
@Castorp: Your comment is idiotic and totally off-topic. Thanks for your insightful input.
Andy
Of course, it’s offensive. Homosexuality is evil so to say that blacks could be suffering form this disease is wrong. There are no homosexuals in Africa!
Castorp
@ delurker Fluke is NOT taking BC pills to treat ovarian cysts. She claimed – without evidence – in her testimony that this was true of others. But then again, she is a dishonest 30 year old woman’s rights activist who tried to portray herself as a 23 year old co-ed on TV.
http://www.jammiewf.com/2012/sandra-flukes-appearance-is-no-fluke/
Does anyone seriously believe that, if there were actual cases of discrimination, they would not show any evidence whatsoever to back up this claim? Freeloading Fluke was NOT claiming that insurance should only cover people who had legitimate medical claims. She was equally arguing for coverage for her recreational college sex life and making wildly exaggerated claims about the cost of birth control as well. To feel sorry for a full grown law student (with a Georgetown law degree, she will rake in the bucks), because others won’t pay for her fun goes well beyond parody.
Also, Obama did indeed use that term. You are wrong. Go argue with ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2010/05/president-obama-gop-opposition-to-stimulus-helped-to-create-the-teabaggers/
@MEJ They first called themselves the “tea party” and opponents first called them ‘teabaggers’, you are wrong.
If you think it’s ok to call Bristol a slut and not 30-year-old self-pitying mooch Fluke one, you have double standards and are a hypocrite. Which is why Obama spends half his time posing as Mr Civility and the other half of his time dishing out insults and half-truths to the admiration of his cult followers. All this selective outrage is a joke. The left can dish it out, but they can’t take it. That’s the moral of THIS story.
Mr. Robertson
What’s really offensive is how lame the jokes are. Thumbs down.
Aiden
Of course it’s racist. Can you tell which tribe in which country that was supposed to be depicted. Of course you can’t because you probably think everyone that lives on that huge continent called Africa lives in a hut.
Mr. Robertson
@marcus: “As far as the homophobia; portraying a heterosexual man not wanting to have sex with another man is not homophobic . . . it’s a matter of fact.”
You’re a little bit of a moron, aren’t you…
BLT
In respect to the content of this article. Using “blacks” like that is problematic. It would be nice if it said Black people. Or if these folks really are African, why not use African? African people and Black people are two different groups of people.
Mr. Robertson
@Castorp: “If you think it’s ok to call Bristol a slut and not 30-year-old self-pitying mooch Fluke one, you have double standards and are a hypocrite.”
Not so sure about that. Not that I think Bristol Palin *is* a slut (I don’t know much about her), but I don’t think your logic is correct.
Example: Snookie and Sienna Miller. We know Snookie, um, gets around. And Sienna Miller, in her day, supposedly did too.
I’d say Snookie is “kind of a skank.” And I’d say Sienna Miller “has a healthy sex drive.” Cuz, you know. Snookie is kind of a skank.
See how that works?
Drake
@marcus: Amen! My thoughts exactly! Save energy for REAL battles! Like Gay Marriage repeal in New Hampshire!
Mr. Robertson
@Drake: But hey! Aren’t gay teens still committing suicide at an alarming rate? Maybe THAT’s more important than gay marriage in NH, so maybe we should focus on that. But then again, gays are being executed in the Middle East. So let’s focus on *that.” Although … why focus on gays at all, when HUMANITY is still suffering from war and hunger? Let’s solve THOSE problems and then get to the smaller stuff.
Because as everyone knows, you can’t reply to blog posts online unless all the other problems in the world have already been solved.
prince of snides aka divkid
@Mr. Robertson: i love you. just do.
Callum
I’m gay, and white, and I didn’t find this at all offensive. It looks like it is a nostalgic campy look back at the Tarzan movies of the 1930’s.
Red Meat
Africa is not a country.
Not everyone in Africa is black.
Many countries in Africa have tribes.
Tribes celebrate, to some degree, like that.
Kieran
If only American commercials could be that funny and entertaining.
Mr. Robertson
@Kieran: They used to be. And then JFK was elected.
marcus
@Mr. Robertson: Please elaborate. Just calling me a moron does not a point make.
PTBoat
Honestly, I find Mr. Woolley’s comment offensive. To say that saying that someone is homosexual is a negative thing is offensive to me.
ed riseman
well, I don’t understand what the fuss is about here .. it’s an advert advertising insurance … mildly amusing but not much … how it portrays africans as “stupid &animalistic homosexuals” sounds more like the fantasy of the rent a mouth that is got himself hot & bothered over the advert – methinks he protests too much?
Jakey
@Castorp: Ha ha, oh my.
This is the kind of thing that would offend the same people who are offended by Rush calling Fluke a slut, but NOT Maher saying the same about Bristol Palin.
He didn’t say the same thing about Bristol Palin, so that explains that seeming moral contradiction. He did have plenty of harsh words for abstinence-only “education,” especially when she herself began going on tours to tout it after serving as a living example of its lack of effectiveness.
If you disagree, ask yourself: How offended were you when Obama (a.k.a. Mr. Civility) called a large group of his fellow citizens “teabaggers”?
Not very, since that was their self-imposed name…until the previous meaning of that word was brought to their attention and they began pretending they’d never called themselves that.
I realize I’m like the tenth person to reply to this, but clearly you haven’t heard it enough.
Kev C
The Racism of Benny Hill. A shocking expose of the hate filled comedy of Britain’s funniest comedian. Tonight on BBC 2.
MEJ
@Castorp:
MEJ They first called themselves the “tea party” and opponents first called them ‘teabaggers’, you are wrong.
You’re either stupid, or willfully ignorant. Why do you think these people were walking around with tea bags? They called themselves tea baggers.
If you think it’s ok to call Bristol a slut
It is ok to call her a slut, because she is.
and not 30-year-old self-pitying mooch Fluke one,
Ms. Fluke is a lesbian, so doesn’t need birth control for sex. How can she be a slut then?
you have double standards and are a hypocrite.
Since you’re inferring that Ms. Fluke is sluttier than Ms. Palin, then it’s apparent whom is the hypocrite.
Which is why Obama spends half his time posing as Mr Civility and the other half of his time dishing out insults and half-truths to the admiration of his cult followers.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
All this selective outrage is a joke.
You are the best joke I’ve heard all week, cupcake.
The left can dish it out, but they can’t take it.
And the right are whiny bitches.
Castorp
LOL OK, have it your way. Insulting people you agree with is horrible and insulting people you don’t isn’t because it’s objectively true. All closed-minded fanatics feel this way. I’m sure a sarcastic response will hide the fact that you are the mirror image of those you insult, cupcake.
Javier
Simon Woolley, homophobic ???
For the director of Operation Black Vote (OVB) to be underdeveloped or homosexual is an insult???
When you point a finger at someone, take a look at your hand because there? are three fingers pointing back at you !!!
See the speck in your neighbor’s? eye and not the beam in their own.
“Firstly, how would the Spanish feel if the English stereotyped Spanish people as backward, stupid, and animalistic homosexuals?”
weirdleisure
@MEJ: Well put.
Fortunately for us all, Mr. Castorp outed himself in his comment about “closed-minded fanatics.” Recall, he was the one who decided to bring Bristol Palin and President Obama into a discussion thread about whether an ad was racist and/or homophobic. Huh? All I can imagine is that Mr. Castorp is still hurt that his imaginary boyfriend Rush Limbaugh is still coughing up mea culpas to that horrible, horrible Fluke woman as she’s receiving support from the President. The nerve! Unable to quell his rage, Mr. Castorp is now inserting the object of his anger into conversations (whether it’s the topic or not) just so he can argue about it. Now, is it just me, or doesn’t that sound a bit closed-minded and fanatical?
Oh, ok.
Homophobic? No.
Racist? Yes. This outdated depiction is racist. Africa is a huge continent.
That said I find the comment “animalistic” racist as well. Why is cultural tribal garb(not that this was anyone’s cultural tribal garb) seen as animalistic? Anything short of looking exactly like Americans garners insults and negativity which really is ridiculous.
All that said I didn’t find any of the commercials funny, but I can’t say I was insulted by the commercial either.
I am tired of people acting like Africa is some tiny country when it’s full of many different people with many different cultures, ethnicities, languages, countries, and skin tones of every single kind you can find anywhere else around the globe.
It’s scary how ignorant people are when it comes to Africa, yet anywhere else in the world they’re at least somewhat knowledgeable. Racism really did a number on the ignorant, they won’t bother to inform themselves so they perceive Africa to be exactly what was in that commercial.
Castorp
@weirdleisure LOL My “rage” seems a bit more under control than yours! In fact, both Maher and Rush are boorish. Either support their right to free expression or decry both them for insensitivity. If you support one and condemn the other, you are indeed a fanatic. All the sputtering fury in the world won’t change that.
Phil
@Castorp: Right back at you, cupcake.
Price Waterhouse
Reina es caliente!
Judas
¡Hola! I am Spanish and have seen these adverts several times. I am also gay and my husband is African (and he says white men and women look the same, except for their number of holes).
None of us feel weird about this campaign, since we know it is pure funny fiction (have you ever seen a black top?).
There is also an additional line in the last advert that people will not understand unless they speak Spanish.
Let’s laugh a bit more on ourselves! Isn’t anything better than laughing during sex? 🙂
Note for too sensitive people: My comments between brackets were jokes.
MEJ
@Castorp:
Somebody get this boy a Whaaaaaaaambulance.
Eric Auerbach
@Judas: Así que porque te acuestas con un africano, ¿crees que eres la máxima autoridad en lo que tiene que ver con el racismo? Y no dices ni pío en cuanto al contenido homofóbico del comercial — al parecer eso también te da risa.
Sí que acertaron tus padres cuando te pusieron Judas.
Sam
It’s amazing how Queerty, the magazine free of an agenda, except the GAY WHITE ONE poses this as a a question: Is it really racist, “I mean gay WHITE MEN like us dont really find it that offensive. ”
Interestingly majority of its readers, WHITE MEN who happen to be gay, seem to be of the same opinion
duke
It was in very, very bad taste; so they pulled it. It reminds me of the old depictions of Africans ‘savages’ in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons that are never to be shown ever again (thank goodness).
Oh, ok.
@Judas: So because your made up “husband” is “African” you’re allowed to throw out negative stereotypes and other bs you pulled from your ass?
If your husband was from a nation in Africa you’d be able to tell us where he’s actually from, Africa is a continent.
You also wouldn’t say racist white superiority garbage like “Have you ever seen a black top?” implying black men are weak and/or feminine. In reality you’re insecure about yourself and envious of black men or you wouldn’t have felt the need to even type something like that let alone post it.
Keep stroking your cat and pretending you have a husband…who you insult on the internet.
CBRad
@Oh, ok.: That’s because old stereotypes, maybe, seem too cartoonish to be offensive. They’re certainly not going to make jokes abou treal problems, like AIDS, the modern-day slave trade (of children), Darfur..