Yesterday a video of Indiana Jones star Shia LaBeouf, recorded several years ago, surfaced and showed the blowin’ up actor using the word “faggot” to instigate a friend to hit him in a little taunting spat.
You folks had mixed reactions (ambivalence?).
Now, a response from an “embarrassed” Shia, delivered via his rep, from gay gossip Marc Malkin: “The video tape that is currently being circulated is several years old and captures Shia playing a game amongst friends in which he uses a derogatory word towards a friend. He regrets having used the word in any capacity and is very embarrassed that this footage is being seen by anyone.”
So, is the apology – issued by his publicist – good enough?
And in case you missed it, the video clip is below.
James
Why is this a big deal?
Shabaka
Meh…LaDouche can keep pretending to act and I’ll stop pretending to watch…
crazylove
James:
Because it’s important that every good looking guy who is at the top of or moving to the top of the Hollywood food chain not be a homphobe and six beers away from some of my lovin’. If he were ugly, then I would agree it shouldn’t matter.
best regards,
Crazylove
Marc
NOpe,
he’s only sorry that the video made it out there like anyone else in his sorry ass situation.
He can go fuck himself!
dizzyspins
Most guys, myself included, have called a friend a fag at some point. Most of dont do it on camera and then become famous movie stars, though. Im not really gonna crucify him for this.
HOWEVER, the classy thing for him to do is make a direct statement. I think the only solution at this point is for Shia to star in a Sean Cody video. Only then can the healing begin.
fredo777
I don’t get the big hoopla, to be honest. I’m not a fan of the word, but I don’t think he’s a genuine homophobe. Also, it took place years ago + when he was obviously drunk.
If I felt he was truly malicious + hateful toward gays, I’d have a problem with this. I don’t.
Moviegoer
No one will readily say it, but no self-respecting gay person will lay out money to see his films now that we know. Being drunk simply brings out people’s true nature; it isn’t an excuse for bad behavior, it’s a revealer of one’s inner self.
hells kitchen guy
“Because it’s important that every good looking guy who is at the top of or moving to the top of the Hollywood food chain not be a homphobe and six beers away from some of my lovin’. If he were ugly, then I would agree it shouldn’t matter.”
Um, that’s not much of explanation of why we should give a rat’s ass about this. Because he’s good looking? because he works on the West Side of Los Angeles? I’m missing something in your logic.
mark
It’s obvious he’s sh*t faced drunk, but it’s clearly audible he knew he was being taped, so he must have known this tape could at some point surface.
If he doesn’t slip up again, I’d say let it slide.
If he repeats the slur in the future, this tape will wreck his career.
Kevin Foster
Since he personally made the remark, he should personally apologize for having made it. So far, that has not happened.
A general rule of apologies is that they be made in the same forum as the offense. One way the actor could do this would be to produce a PSA with HRC or GLAAD. I’m sure either would be happy to have him do so.
Everybody is entitled to one mistake, but two would be the start of a pattern. For now, I reserve judgment.
rege
I go away for two days and look what happens. A young, hottish actor drops the f-bomb, offends GLAAD and it’s types, and apologizes. I wish I’d stayed away 3 days and I’d never have even heard about it. Lookout: On Thursday Tobey Maguire’s middle school performance of ‘Men on Film’ is gonna surface. People will be outraged.
Jolly
I know I should hate him now, and a little part of me kinda does . . . unfortunately, that part is outweighed by the larger part of me who still thinks he’s adorable and that he was young and stupid when this all happened . . .
Alexa
How old was he in this video? He’s only 21/22 now, he was just a kid when this was made and he’s obviously drunk, messing around, and trying to be provocative. It’s hardly in the same league as Mel Gibson’s traffic stop. I’d hate to get blamed now for some of the things I said and did as a teenager.
The Banania Blogger
Dizzy, I couldn’t agree more!
In fact, I’ll make the sacrifice and star with him. Taking one for the team – so giving, I know…
CitizenGeek
So, it’s okay to use that word when you’re drunk, then? That seems to be the general feeling in the comments here.
He should apologise and explain himself, not do it through a publicist. So, no, it’s not enough.
Scott Berwitz
Does this seem like a complete non-story to you or is it just me? He used a derogatory word while hanging out with friends when he must have been like 17 or 18? So what?
crazylove
Hell’s Kitchen:
I was making a joke. Well, mostly at the expense of what I think motivates this. The truth is that Hollywood is a conservative place despite the outward appearance of being open. The truth is also that I’m less interested in what this guy has to say for his homophobic remark than I am in the number and quality of gay themed movies and shows or out gay talent. This dude is only important, I believe, because he’s good looking or else we wouldn’t be talking about him.
Alexa
CitizenGeek, not just drunk (note my differentiation between him and Mel Gibson), but young, immature and drunk? I’m not saying it was right, it’s just dumb and stupid, and not something that should be held against him for the rest of his life.
Tannim
I am willing to bet that was not the first nor the last time he used that word and I am willing to wager he was not drunk every other time it was uttered.
I know most of the views are “oh, well who cares.” It’s that attitude that tells others it’s ok to denigrate a portion of the population. It reinforces bad behavior because we are not willing tell them it’s wrong.
To paraphrase, the only thing needed for homophobia to flourish is for good people to do nothing.
hells kitchen guy
Crazy love: Oh. Well, I still disagree – with the him being good-looking part. Otherwise, agreed.
jeff
It’s great that public figures are called out on using prejudiced slurs, but remember the context: this is a drunk guy trying to get slapped by a friend. If the guy was black and he called him the n-word to get him to slap him, would it be such a big deal?
He called him something to rile him up to do something stupid, and if you thing straight guys will ever be cool with being called a faggot, you are living in la la land – that was the context here.
Good that he apologized so that no one gets the wrong idea the language is cool, but nothing to trash Shia about. Jees, the guy just admitted to being a belligerent drunk to a security guard in Wallgreens – he gets off on being provocative, which doesn’t make him homophobic. More shocking thing about the whole episode is that he wants someone to slap him.
Trenton
As a guy who grew up in Atlanta and routinely had the shit kicked out of me for being gay before I even knew what gay was, I’m numb to just about any slur. Without even a hint of self-loathing, I have come to use it quite a bit myself, but only in jest…just as Shia was here. I have a hard time deciding whether the people who are offended are hyper-sensitive or if I’m too stoic…or too complacent for my own good. The case can be made that it becomes an excuse for violence and that it reinforces hatred, but in my experience people who are violent generally don’t need excuses and they will always find ways to feed and nurse their hatred (Pride is coming up, so I’m sure they’ll find plenty of ammo thanks to media coverage of the event).
So I say whoopty-faggy-doo for this age-old gaff. It’s puny of him to not make a personal statement, even somewhat dismissive…but sill, the most offensive thing about him is his acting (or at least the roles he chooses…feh).
demonW
Awww… sure I forgive ya! Now come over here and gimme a big nekkid hug…
Patrik
Way to be a bunch of lame faggots, like usual.
SeaFlood
You know… eff Shia… I am feeling loads of disgust and upset in regards to my own community’s racism and inability to bring fire as they did towards Isaiah Washington.
He apologized, too, and no one was feeling it.
Dan
I’m sorry, but the way words get thrown around these days means nothing anymore. There used to be stigma attached to the big “N” word, and now the black community has stood up and taken ownership of it. Why, as a community, can’t we do the same. Yeah, I’m a faggot. I’m pretty damn proud of myself. You feelin’ me, my faggots? Besides, he’s a child. Does the fat woman in the grocery store get all politically bent outta shape when a kid passes her and calls her fat, big, or any other reference to big boned? I don’t think so. Not everything is a slap in the face to our community. Sometimes we just need to take things with a grain of salt.
charlie
In the politically correct world, this word would be reserved for English smokers; but in the real world, you have to pretty much consider the context.
I’ve been called a fag by straight people who wanted to hurt my feelings (or worse). But the word is also used in a more innocuous way, like the time an ex jokingly told me not to be such a fag when he was trying to coax me to go on the roller coaster. Same word, but one hurt, and the other had no affect.
It is kind of sad that faggot seems to be the worst thing one straight guy can call another one. But in a world where blatant homophobia is pretty easy to find, this seems more of an indictment of where we are as a society than it does of these two drunken kids, fooling around and acting like stupid teenagers. OK, it was a faux pas, but apology accepted – move on. (And shouldn’t we all be grateful that every stupid thing each of us said and did doesn’t end up on YouTube!)
parisinla
I mean cut a kid a break, this was sooo old. And every teenage boy (y’all included) has slipped out an explicative “faggot”.
Hell i still use it playfully with friends on occasion.
wait till tmz catches him slurring it all up and down sunset to crucify him.
Puddy Katz
It’s not Isaiah Washington.
First, he is really a kid in the shot, Isaiah was an adult.
He was not at work directing it in an angry way toward co-workers but in a stupid drunken way toward friends.
But for those who want to see racism everywhere such distinctions mean nothing and one cannot argue with them.
For me it the age difference. I would cut the kid in that video a break.
Oh by the way, even Isaiah could have had one break (although he as an adult at work was less deserving) but he went ahead and kept the issue going and kept making comments.
Ryan Kwiatkowski
For one, I never liked this guy, we all have slip ups in our past that we don’t want anyone to know of… that being said, WHO THE HELL does he think he is. He doesn’t even make a formal apology, he gets some publisist to issue a statement like he is president and untouchable as he laughs it off at his local bar with a bunch of groupies.
Anymore movies with the Douchbag are not going to be seen by me. I will leave that for the homophobes to worship.
Snoodle
Agree with James, why are people so severely over-reacting to a very old very drunken video……….? He’s awfully young you have to realize that, and it could have been much much worse…sheesh….
JohnRobertsLovesyou
Yeah. I can’t see him gay-bashing any time soon. He’s just a kid that was trying to be cool by saying faggot. If anything he’s just dorky. There’s bigger fish to fry. Like Sally Kern-hole!
arvis
Good god. As a pretty goddamn self-respecting gay, I could care less if he said it, or if he apologizes for it. He wasn’t inciting hatred towards homosexuals. He was merely being a heterosexual youth in todays world. Considering the majority of my best friends are college frat guys, I’m acutely aware that the word faggot isn’t always used to berate a person as some of our flaming brethren would speak out against. So for all of you other fags out there who won’t be seeing his movies, this fag will be.
spiffy
This guy seems to be apologizing A LOT lately for various different things, isn’t he?