C-list celebrity and conservative pundit Stacey Dash is back to her regular Fox News-style craziness with recent comments about BET Awards, and about Black people and women in general:
“I think it’s ludicrous because we have to make up our minds. Either we want to have segregation or integration, and if we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the Image Awards, where you’re only awarded if you’re black. If it were the other way around, we’d be up in arms. It’s a double standard.”
Just so we can be clear on her views on racial relations, Dash added:
“There shouldn’t be a Black History Month. We’re Americans, period. That’s it.”
Pretty typical Fox pundit, teaparty-style rhetoric. What is raising eyebrows is that Dash is a Black woman. One could argue that there is a double standard at play here with awards nominations: all the Oscar nominees for acting and direction are white.
Does that really mean that all the best actors and directors in the world are white? Do Black people, Asians, and all other people of color need to step up their game in a major way? Or could it be that there is a discriminatory casting and nomination process that favors white people?
Gabrielle Union is not taking Stacey Dash’s nonsense sitting down. She was recently asked about Dash’s comments, and she did not mince words:
“Who’s Stacey Dash?… I heard of a crazy lady once, but I don’t know what her name is.”
Ouch. Union went on to defend the BET awards and Black entertainment:
“If you don’t see yourself reflected in mainstream awards, you tend to create your own. Until there is no longer a need for that, I celebrate the ALMAs [American Latino Media Arts Awards], the same way I celebrate the Country Music Awards, and the same way I celebrate the BET Awards and the Image Awards…
“The more that we focus on inclusion and a true representation of this country, I think that crazy lady will have less to say.”
Well said, Ms. Union. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Featured image: Gabrielle Union image is a screencap from video; Stacey Dash image is a screencap from video.
