SOME people were not dressing up in costume and partying last weekend. Billy Idol and Kareem Abdul Jabbar were at a Teen Cancer America benefit, raising money for the charity. (Actually a lot of rockers like Elton, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Joan Jett, etc are involved in this charity) Billy gleefully posted this photo of himself looking like a midget next to the basketball legend.
Photo: Instagram
A few months age, Tiffany Haddish posted a photo of herself wearing a fur vest on Instagram, happily explaining “I’m going to wear fur every day until the police stop killing black >people. So sorry PETA, don’t be mad at me – be mad at the police!” Kareem Abdul Jabbar questioned the connection between wearing fur and stopping police brutality against people of color in The Hollywood Reporter. He pointed out ”Those committing brutality against other humans aren’t going to be concerned about brutality against animals. And how does needlessly harming an animal for no other reason than to gild one’s ego improve humanity? Jabbar finds Tiffany “charming and talented” but he felt her form of free speech might make the public take the issue of police brutality less seriously. And he doesn’t like the idea of wearing fur, either…
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Never in a million years could we have guessed that we would be admiring 7”2” NBA basketball icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a brilliant writer. But his thoughtful essays in The Hollywood Reporter have repeatedly floored us. Most recently, Abdul-Jabbar wrote about “Hollywood’ts Addiction to the Myth of Manliness” and it illustrates his common sense view of gender and racial bias and how Hollywood perpetuates the backward attitude of “boys will be boys.” He points out that sports coaches insult players by calling them “girls,” (implying they are weak or lazy) without realizing that it is as offensive as black-face. Regarding Liam Neeson’s recent confession, Kareem calmly admits that most men have ignorant past behavior that they need to apologize for in a way that acknowledges the pain caused and promotes a more enlightened perspective. Kareem is our new hero…
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Above, Kareem with Michael Phelps
We were extremely impressed with NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s essay about the movie Green Book in The Hollywood Reporter. He addressed the issue that during awards season, controversies “pop up” that could taint appreciation of a film. Family members questioned Green Book’s accuracy, and tasteless past behavior by the filmmakers suddenly came to light. Obviously Kareem felt Green Book IS significant and meaningful, and these problems simply aren’t all that important. He weighed every issue haunting this wonderful film and decided “unless it’s a documentary, filmmakers are history’s interpreters, not its chroniclers.” We suggest that you read the essay AND see the movie.
Above: Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
