Not only is Al Sharpton giving a victory to terrorists — he’s using them to advance his agenda, his name and his bank account.
On Thursday, Sharpton met with Amy Pascal, the head of Sony, and said the “jury is still out” on whether he supports her having a job (as if his support should matter at all). All because of jokes she made in a private email, suggesting she ask President Obama if he liked a movie about slaves. The message was only made public because it was hacked by North Korea as part of a vendetta.
How many of us would escape embarrassment if our private messages were made public?
More to the point: Hey, Al, why don’t you release all your correspondences, and we’ll see if you have ever said anything offensive?
People say and write things in jest that in no way indicate the type of person they truly are. A moment in time does not equal the sum total of who someone is.
I’m disgusted that in a battle between a free society and a dictatorship, too many people are focused on a joke. The very same people who cry for freedom of speech are the ones who are helping to stop it.
The “Reverend” Al Sharpton doesn’t really care about Pascal, one of the few female executives in Hollywood. (I put reverend in quotes because I have been taught a very different definition of what a reverend is, and it’s not someone who is a hate-monger, and practices little Christian forgiveness.) He cares about his own influence, about the “advisory panel” he will have in Hollywood.
Think about that for a moment. Kim Jong-un and Al Sharpton to help decide what movies you can see. Oh joy!
Some have gone so far as to compare the Pascal emails with producer Scott Rudin to what Donald Sterling said. Those people are either misguided or ignorant. Sterling not only said incredibly offensive things and beyond, he showed a pattern of racism over the years. It took a public embarrassment for the NBA to finally deal with a problem they knew they had. No one has shown a pattern of Pascal or Rudin of being prejudiced or racist.
In fact, what has been shown is quite the opposite. Pascal gave a lot to President Obama’s campaign and to the Democratic Party. And Rudin gave the lead role in “Sister Act” to Whoopi Goldberg — which was originally written for a white woman — and produced Chris Rock’s “Top Five.”
Al forgets all Hollywood has done to help advance minorities, including, I would proudly argue, help pave the way for our first African-American president.
But let’s check your ledger. Your hate-mongering and false accusations have ruined innocent lives. Mayors and presidents have excused you for your part in the Tawana Brawley incident, but did you ever apologize? To insist that Pascal “Do the right thing” is as offensive as it is hypocritical, coming from a man who has never shown remorse.
I’d love for the media to forget the rants of Al, and focus on what is really important in this tale.
We live in a society that claims to cherish freedom of expression. Although I can understand Sony and the theater chains’ concern for violence if they release the movie, the ripple effect is frightening. How many other groups will now use tactics to shut down movies they don’t like? President Obama thought canceling the movie was a bad idea. So did Rob Lowe. What more of an endorsement do you need?
It makes it harder to stand up when people like Sharpton use this moment to advance their own careers.
I hope Sony releases “The Interview” on video on demand. I believe it will not only make them a historic amount of money from a VOD release, but more importantly empower all of us. It shows terrorists we still can get the message out, and in doing so, we refuse to live in fear of them.
I also hope Amy Pascal keeps her job. She didn’t deserve to go through what she did, yet she apologized with grace. Pascal, and her company, are the victims here. And anyone using this hack as an excuse for their own agenda is aiding the enemy. And is a hack.
J.D. Shapiro is the award-winning director of “We Married Margo,” and the screenwriter of “Battlefield Earth,” but don’t blame him for that.