In her March 8 nationally syndicated column, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter took issue with actor George Clooney's remark that those in the film industry "talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered." Coulter wrote that Hollywood actually "got caught with its pants down" on the issue of AIDS and "got it right in the end." Coulter then noted that she should "hire two more interns to screen hate mail."
From Coulter's March 8 column, "It's hard out here for a wimp":
George Clooney made the only stand for liberal Hollywood, smugly declaring:
"We are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while. I think it's probably a good thing. We're the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular. ... (T)his group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I'm proud ... to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch."
Forget about Hollywood being ahead of the big issues: Hollywood has never even been on time for the big issues. This is why, for example, in the middle of an epic war with Islamic fascists, Hollywood is still making movies about the Nazis. Now and then, just for variety, they tackle a more current topic, like the Jim Crow era.
Even on AIDS -- which is something you'd expect people like Clooney to know something about -- Hollywood was about seven years behind. Wait, no -- bad choice of words. Even on AIDS, Hollywood got caught with its pants down. Still no good. On AIDS, Hollywood got it right in the end. Oh, dear ... Note to self: Must hire two more interns to screen hate mail.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200603090003