Megyn Kelly has reignited the blackface controversy that got her fired from NBC Universal, complaining in a tweet that umbrella company Universal didn’t have a problem when Robert Downey Jr. wore blackface in 2008 film Tropic Thunder.
Kelly got a $69million payout when she was axed from the network after she told Today show viewers she didn’t see anything wrong with people wearing blackface up for the sake of a Halloween costume.
On Wednesday, she caused upset again with Tropic Thunder actress Yvette Nicole Brown calling her a ‘privileged twit’ for comparing her offensive comments to Downey Jr.’s in a recent interview.
‘R. Downey Jr: wears blackface for Universal w/o regret bc it ‘sparked a necessary convo.’ Univer.: yay Robert!
‘Me: Never worn blackface but had one of those ‘necessary convos’ re how standard seems to have changed over time.NBC-Univer: F.U.! Cancelled!’
Megyn Kelly (left) has complained that Universal rewarded Robert Downey Jr. for his satirical Tropic Thunder (pictured right) role in 2008 as an actor who wrongly wore blackface. Downey Jr. recently said that he doesn’t regret his role as it highlighted that blackface is wrong but to consider doing that again is a ‘necessary meditation’
Kelly lost her job in 2018 for saying it’s okay to wear blackface on Halloween and Wednesday claimed her comment was one of those ‘necessary convos’
Tropic Thunder actress Yvette Nicole Brown called her a ‘privileged twit’ for comparing her offensive comments to Downey Jr.’s in a recent interview
She posted on social media after Downey Jr. said he has no regrets about playing the Kirk Lazarus – an Australian method actor, who sparks controversy by having a ‘pigmentation alteration’ procedure as he prepares to play a black character.
He said it was because it showed how wrong it was to wear blackface – which was used in the early film industry instead of hiring black actors and regularly portrayed black people as dangerous and uneducated.
Kelly ended up out of a job when she challenged her TV panel in October 2018: ‘But what is racist? You truly do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. That was OK when I was a kid, as long as you were dressing like a character.’
Yvette Nicole Brown, who played Peck’s (Matthew McConaughey) assistant in 2008’s Tropic Thunder, blasted Kelly for not understanding that Downey was not promoting blackface himself but highlighting why it is wrong via parody.
‘This privileged twit still doesn’t get it. She will NEVER get it. Can someone tell @MegynKelly that her ‘confusion’ as to why blackface is problematic expressed on the @NBC show she did not earn nor deserved was not a #NecessaryConversation? #ThisHorribleChick #FixItJesus.’
Yvette Nicole Brown played Peck’s (Matthew McConaughey) assistant in Tropic Thunder
One social media said she’s ‘missing the point’ and another called her ‘an awful human being’
Social media users addressed that Downey Jr. was portraying a character who wore blackface and parodied the idea of it to highlight it’s wrong
Some social media users explained the history of blackface and why it is so controversial
A woman claiming to have been a classmate of Kelly’s said she’s an embarrassment and unfortunately a very poor reflection of those she grew up with’
One man shared online: ‘Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t wearing blackface himself. He was playing a character wearing blackface. There is a difference.’
Another wrote on Twitter: ‘Robert Downey Jr.’s role was a parody *of* blackface. Megyn Kelly is a parody of a news anchor.’
‘True Blackface ( minstrel shows) were designed to belittle and dehumanize African Americans In Tropic Thunder, RDJ and crew are satirizing self-important celebrities who are unaware of the effects of their decisions on other people and groups. Kinda like you,’ one person explained.
A woman claiming to have been a classmate added: ‘I went to high school with Megyn Kelly and I can assure you that no one wore blackface for Halloween in our town.
‘She’s an embarrassment and unfortunately a very poor reflection of those she grew up with. She’s also not fully accurate regarding her personal history.’
Downey Jr. was asked about the heavily criticized role – for which he was nominated for multiple awards including an Oscar – during an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Others showed support for Kelly after her tweet complaining about the reception Downey Jr. has received for his view
When Rogan asked him if he would accept the 2008 Ben Stiller-produced movie part today, the actor said: ‘When Ben called and said ‘hey I’m doing this thing,’ I think Sean Penn had passed on it or something like that—possibly wisely.
‘And I thought, ‘Yeah… I’ll do that after Iron Man.’ And then I started thinking, ‘This is a terrible idea; wait a minute.”
‘Then I thought, ‘Well, hold on, dude, get real here, where is your heart?’ And my heart is, a), I get to be black for a summer in my mind, so there’s something in it for me. The other thing is, I get to hold up to nature the insane self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion—just my opinion.’
‘And also Ben, who is a master artist and director, probably the closest thing to Charlie Chaplin that I’ve experienced… he knew exactly what the vision for this was; he executed it.’
Some of Chaplin’s movies featured blackface at the expense of African Americans, which was common at the time.
He continued: ‘It was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie, and 90 percent of my black friends are like, ‘Dude, that was great.”’
Starring role: Robert plays Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder, a character that sparked controversy by having a ‘pigmentation alteration’ procedure as he prepared to play a black character
‘What about the other 10 percent?’ Rogan asked.
‘You know, I can’t disagree with them—but I know where my heart was,’ Downey said.
‘And I think that it’s never an excuse to do something that is out of place and not of its time, but to me it was just putting a, it was a blasting cap on—and by the way, I think White Chicks came out pretty soon after that, and I was like, ‘I love that! That was great!”
When host Rogan offered that you couldn’t do blackface today, the actor responded: ‘It’s an interesting and necessary meditation on, ‘Where is the pendulum?’ Downey offered at one point. ‘Why is the pendulum right? Where is the pendulum maybe cutting a little into what could be perceived as heart in the right place openness of its time?”
‘But again, I mean, you know, there’s a morality clause here on this planet. And it’s a big price to pay, and I think having a moral psychology is job one. So sometimes you’ve just gotta go, ‘Yeah, I effed up.’ Again, not in my defense, but Tropic Thunder was about how wrong that is. So I take exception.’
Rogan asked if anyone on Robert’s team or an family or friends had tried to talk him out of it. He admitted ‘my mother was horrified. ‘Bobby, I’m telling ya, I have a bad feeling about this.’ I was like, ‘Yeah me too, mom.”
The actor continued: ‘Then I thought, ‘Well, hold on, dude, where is your heart?’ And my heart is I get to be black for a summer in my mind, so there’s something in it for me
At the time the actor received critical acclaim for his performance and was nominated in the Supporting Actor category at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Heath Ledger won all of those for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Tropic Thunder also attracted criticism upon its release from the the disability advocacy community over the character Simple Jack.
The film shows Stiller’s character Tugg Speedman attempting to revive his career after starring in a movie called Simple Jack, about a mentally-challenged farm boy.
A coalition of more than 20 disability advocacy groups objected to Tropic Thunder’s repeated use of the word ‘retard’ with groups picketing screenings of the film.
Stiller defended the film, stating at the time: ‘We screened the movie so many times and this didn’t come up until very late … in the context of the film I think it’s really clear, they were making fun of the actors and actors who try to use serious subjects to win awards.’
Co-writer Etan Cohen also stated: ‘Some people have taken this as making fun of handicapped people, but we’re really trying to make fun of the actors who use this material as fodder for acclaim.’