Don’t get me wrong: I think it’s great that Chelsea Handler employs dwarves on both her late-night talk show, Chelsea Lately, and her sitcom, Are You There, Chelsea? That’s super.
But this interview with Rosie O’Donnell is a little much.
“I’m a little ashamed about it … [but] I have a mild fear or anxiety around little people,” says O’Donnell. She then asks Handler if Handler has ever slept with a little person.
Handler responds, “No, that would be child abuse. I’d never do that.”
Which is apparently part of O’Donnell’s problem. “I can’t put the two things together. This is an adult person, but it’s a little person, but they have adult… it’s so hard for me.”
“I love little people. Whatever you have, I have the opposite. I want to tackle them. I see them and I have to hold myself down. I bite Chuy sometimes. He comes into my office and he’s so cute. That’s my ultimate body, if you’re going to have a little person. I want that shape, the corpulence,” says Handler.
Um, wow. Like, there is nothing wrong with having a sense of humor, but uhhhh. These “humorous” comments overstep into “pretty repugnant.”
The article at Pop2it struggles to assess which viewpoint is “worse”: Rosie cops to being outright phobic, but is the way Handler fetishizes and exoticizes little people even creepier, maybe?
Not surprisingly, Little People of America has taken umbrage with both comediennes’ remarks:
LPA has a bigger problem with O’Donnell’s comments, because O’Donnell attributes her feelings to heredity. “My Nana was afraid of the ‘Wizard Of Oz’ munchkins,” O’Donnell told Handler.
[Spokesperson Leah Smith] says the comedian is perpetuating “fear-based attitudes.”
“Instead of perpetuating these fears, let’s learn how to accept differences,” Smith said.
…Smith said the group is angry, but doesn’t plan a boycott of either performer.
“We’d rather start a discussion and deal with the issue head on,” she said. “No other group is marginalized like this.”
Dude, you know who comes out of this whole thing looking awesome? Leah Smith does. Low-five, LPA.
This is gross. I doubt Rosie would ever say she has “mild fear or anxiety around black people.” Even if it were true, she would have the sense to keep her fucking mouth shut about it. Why is there some idea that it is okay to discuss little people in this way? And they’re people, not your little “corpulent” fucking pets, okay Chelsea?
Jesus. Kudos to the LPA for their classy and level headed response to this idiocy.
I’m sorry, but I feel the same way about retarded people. They do make me uncomfortable because you never know what they’re going to do or how to react to them. Maybe Rosie just feels that way about midgets.
You can never be honest anymore can you? What’s really offensive is how goddamn touchy everyone has become. What’s really going on? Is your boyfriend not fucking you anymore? Did your cat die? Everyone is just WAITING to unleash pent up emotional bullshit, and behaving like a politically correct asshole is the perfect way of doing this while making yourself look noble. I guess that’s why everyone’s doing it.
Most of the time PC assholes who claim to be offended are just speaking on behalf of OTHER people who they ASSUME would be offended. Which basically proves me point entirely.
Anyone who uses the word midget is a stupid cunt. If I said I was scared of fat lesbians I would catch hell, but lets face it ,little people are the last acceptable “niggers”. And seriously, no one really believes you feel that way about the mentally retarded. You just seem like a boring normal trying to get a rise out of someone. Oh, and in case you are wondering I am a very successful little person who works on stage and in film. Rosie can kiss my tiny ass.
I would like to tell you that the term “retard” is very offensive to me. I am not offended because I ASSUME it would offend someone who has mental retardation. I am offened on how the word came to exist and how people with mental retardation have been treated in the past. People who have mental retardation did not choose to have it just as little people did not choose to be born little.
What form of dwarfism do you have? I am just curious. You call yourself a midget which i was told offends LP’s.
I did not find the coment about Rosie’s anxiety offensive, because like you I know alot of people fear the unknown.
Let funny people do funny. It was for laughs, not to hurt anyone.
Just because something is a joke, doesn’t make it not hurtful. And Rosie wasn’t even making a joke, she was just flat out saying that she finds little people creepy.
I’m sorry, but I feel the same way about retarded people. They do make me uncomfortable because you never know what they’re going to do or how to react to them. Maybe Rosie just feels that way about midgets.
You can never be honest anymore can you? Everyone is just TERRIFIED of offending SOMEONE. What’s really offensive is how goddamn touchy everyone has become. What’s really going on? Is your boyfriend not fucking you anymore? Did your cat die? Everyone is just WAITING to unleash pent up emotional bullshit, and behaving like a politically correct asshole is the perfect way of doing this while making yourself look noble. I guess that’s why everyone’s doing it.
Most of the time PC assholes who claim to be offended are just speaking on behalf of OTHER people who they ASSUME would be offended. Which basically proves me point entirely.
Look, obviously you’re one of those people who for some reason equate being concerned about people saying dumb, hurtful things with lacking a sense of humor, so I doubt there’s much point arguing, but here goes:
There’s a difference between offending someone’s delicate special snowflake sensibilities and just saying something mean. Obviously there’s a lot of gray area there, and I can accept that I am offended by some things that other’s don’t find offensive and vice versa.
Rosie’s comment squarely falls in the “just mean” category though, simply because it may be true, but she didn’t have to say it, especially not in such a public way. How must it be to be a little person and hear someone say they find people like themselves creepy, that they make Rosie O’Donell “anxious”?
You have every right to go around spouting mean shit like that, but just know that it makes you an asshole. Good day.
wow, you’d really expect a fat lesbian to be more sensitive about minorities..not trying to be mean to her, but that’s how i feel.
I am not offended that Rosie has a fear or anxiety of LP. I feel that when someone knows very little about things and or people they tend to be anxious. Think about it if you had never been around someone with cerebral palsy, autism, or mental retardation would you be completely at ease around them?
I was offended that they refered to a person of average height and a little person dating or “doing it” as child abuse. A Little person has all the same parts and what not as those of average height. Basically what I heard is it is wrong if my son wanted to be with a person of average height. My daughter who is average height to be with a little person. What the hell does size matter?
I was also offended that Chelsea feels that Little people need help and need to be rescued. Seriously you think that is how all LP’s get jobs? I will raise my son no different from my daughter they will both be encouraged to follow thier dreams. If my son strives to be the first LP president then he would have to earn it right? I do not think that the voters would say look a Little person we better vote for him cause he needs to be rescued who cares about his policies!
Do me a favor treat little people as you would want to be treated! They are not much different the only difference i have ever seen is the height in every other way they are no different than a person of average height.