Press Pass

Kevin Hart

Last Thursday, comedian, actor, producer and all round short person, Kevin Hart, stepped down as host of this years Oscars after refusing to apologize for derogatory tweets, concerning homosexuality, he posted years ago. In a 2015 Rolling Stone interview, Hart said,

"Keep in mind, I'm not homophobic... But me, as a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.”

The Academy told Hart to apologize, or they would find someone else to host the show. The comedian stated that he made the comments long ago and has since moved on. Hart pulled out of the hosting gig after issuing the long awaited, hollow apology.

The whole episode got me wondering why some people, like Hart, are called out and pressed for an all important apology, while others are given a free pass.

Kevin Hart did not get a pass.

The behavior of some people is not only overlooked by the media, it's sometimes crafted into a great story for popular consumption. The first time I recall this occurring was on the show, Survivor: Pearl Islands, 15 years ago.



Rupert Boneham

Season 7 had Rupert Boneham as the “gentle giant” competing for the million dollar prize. Rupert had a great story. He worked with wayward kids even though he had no formal education in anything let alone social work. His dream was to use the prize money to open a place to mentor troubled kids. The producers liked Rupert and cast him quite readily as a hero.

Another contestant, Johnny Dalton aka "Fairplay," was a shrewd player. He was a wiry, little twerp who conspired with his friend to fake his grandmother’s death to win the sympathy of the other contestants and host, Jeff Probst. The stunt worked as the contestants awarded Fairplay a reward challenge so he could commiserate with his bud over his dead grandma. It was a brilliant move, fitting a contest billed as “outwit, out play, outlast.”

Later, during tribal council, Fairplay and another contestant voted to expel Rupert who upon returning to camp, angrily asked,

“Who the hell voted for me?”

When Fairplay fessed up, Rupert looked like he was going to kill him. Rupert said on camera that he "...was ready to kill John," then added,

"Grab that little scrawny ass by the neck and pop his head off like a chicken."

Johnny Fairplay

His verbal intimidation escalated just short of physical violence. Fairplay later explained that he was trying to get Rupert to sock him to get him ejected from the game. Rupert acted more like an insolent dickhead as he bullied the diminutive Fairplay. So much for the “gentle giant.” Still, the producers had already framed Rupert into a hero and Fairplay into a villain so they kept the story going. When Rupert eventually lost, coming in eighth overall, he expressed the loss of his “hopes and dreams.”

To give Rupert the win that the show was so desperate for less than a month after the conclusion of Season 7, Rupert was back for the All-Stars season. Rupert finished fourth. During the finale, the show's producers tried for the third time to give Rupert a million dollars by introducing “America Votes,” a fan favorite contest to be selected by the viewers. Boneham won, receiving 85% of the 38 million votes. America loved Rupert and so did the shows producers. Years later Rupert wasn't so lucky against Mike Pence in the gubernatorial race in Indiana where he received 3.95% of the votes as a third party candidate.

Rupert couldn’t lose the popularity contest on Survivor with all the internal promotion he received, something not afforded him in his political career. Fans in droves all bought into his nice guy persona. The fact is Rupert was a bully, but he bullied a villain so we collectively didn’t care.

Rupert got a pass.

A similar event occurred on last season of America's Got Talent when Michael Ketterer, a pediatric nurse, who along with his wife adopted physically and mentally challenged kids, received the golden buzzer from Simon Cowell. Cowell conceded that Ketterer wasn’t the best singer, but he had a great story. Cowell even got Garth Brooks to write Ketterer a song. The show wasted no time ensuring that Ketterer appeared on stage with his troupe of adopted children, especially the boy in a wheelchair.

The future looked bright for Ketterer as he placed fifth in the finals. The day after the finale show, he was arrested for domestic violence against his wife. Brooks grabbed his hat and dropped Ketterer from his upcoming concert. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office decided not to charge Ketterer with a felony, but instead had him come for a sit down to discuss how he can avoid "future similar incidents."

Michael Ketterer got a pass.

Elizabeth Warren

Then there is Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts and presidential hopeful, who has in the past claimed Native American ancestry. Warren’s “gam-maw” saw high cheek bones in Warren’s father and was certain that was definitive proof of Native American lineage. Warren referred to herself as a “Cherokee” in a Native American cookbook called Pow Wow Chow, when she listed a recipe plagiarized from a French chef and another from a 1959 article which appeared in Better Homes and Gardens. For nine years starting in 1986, the Association of American Law Schools, a directory of law professors, listed Warren as a minority. In the '90's when Warren was teaching at Harvard, which was facing criticism for the preponderance of white men on the faculty, an article in the school newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, reported Warren as

“The first woman with a minority background to be tenured.”

Warren is so confident in her Native American ancestry that she released a video in which a professor of genetics from Stamford and 23 and Me advisor, Carlos Bustamante, states that

"The facts suggest that you absolutely have Native American ancestry in your pedigree."

Warren needed to hire Bustamante instead of just spitting in a test tube and using genealogy service like the rest of us because it was the only way to get the results she wanted. The data placed Warren's Native American ancestry between six to ten generations back which means she could be 1/1024th Native American. The fact is with all of us turning up with 1% African lineage in our genealogical results, we’re all more black than Warren is Indian. The video also includes several people in various university positions stating that her status as a diversity candidate was not considered when she was hired.

Most recently, the Washington Post revealed that Senator Warren listed her race as "American Indian" in 1986 on a form for the State Bar of Texas.

Elizabeth Warren got a pass.

Joe Biden

Former Vice President and Delaware's longest serving senator, Joe Biden is known for speaking his mind. During the signing ceremony for the Affordable Healthcare Act in 2010, Biden said,

"This is a fucking big deal!"

Of course, that pales in comparison to many videos of Biden inappropriately touching his colleague's young daughters. He also massaged the shoulders and buried his head in the hair of lawmaker's wives during swearing in ceremonies. During one event, he told an 11 year old girl,

"You're beautiful. Just remember: No dates until you're thirty."

There are countless videos of Biden inappropriately touching young girls. His serial tactility is so prevalent that lawmakers make excuses for his behavior. One of Biden's more awkward moments was when he whispered, grabbed, and ultimately tried to kiss Delaware Senator Chris Coons’s 13 year old daughter, during a swearing in ceremony. Coons defended Biden stating “he was being Joe,” and he was just being “thoughtful and sweet” to a young girl in the spotlight. Poor kid looked like she wanted to get the hell out of there.

While still in office, Biden founded "It's On Us," a program to prevent sexual assault on college campuses. Now, he travels to universities all over the country to advise men about sexual assault awareness. He's the democratic frontrunner to challenge President Trump in 2020 according to a recent poll conducted by CNN.

Joe Biden got a pass.

Some people are being blackmailed into begging for forgiveness while others continue with righteous impunity. I don’t think any of us should be calling for an apology from anyone. It’s not like such an act of contrition has any meaning when extracted with a stick. Besides, we’ve all fucked up at least one time or another in our life.

Next time you feel like someone should apologize for their behavior, take a moment to recall your own sordid past, especially that time in Vegas when you woke up wearing someone else’s underwear on your head.