Does This Penguin Make Me Look Fat?
link Chaz Bono blasts disrespectful Dancing with the Stars judges for picking on his weight.
Meanwhile, back in the real world….
The unabated plunge of society downhill into social conformity and political correctness continues. Mr. Bono feels hard done by the judges on his performances on the pop reality show, Dancing With The Stars. Like many people who tune into this show misguidedly expecting to see a contest, Mr. Bono is actually clueless that the show is in fact, populist entertainment. In populist entertainment, you either get the adoration of the fans, or you get the hook. It’s like the old Roman Colosseum only with virtual thumbs.
A large part of the audience watches because there is just something in human nature that makes watching a ‘car crash’ compelling. A substantial part of the audience would disappear if on-air body blows were’nt handed out every week. Simon Cowell does this for his new show, X factor and Gordon Ramsay assumes that acidic role for his cooking reality show. People go on those shows with the expectation of possible and likely verbal abuse. If you want to play football, you’d have to expect that 1000 pounds of men will crush you every 2 minutes or so. That’s the price of entry.
If Mr. Bono doesn’t think his appearance on the show has any angle other than showcasing his lightness of feet, he is as delusional as his mother. When the show picks performers for their seasonal line-up, they are not expecting to find hidden Nureyevs among football players, comics and centerfolds. While it’s always amazing when such unlikely performers rise to the challenge and show real talent, it’s purely for amusement that celebrities offer themselves to the public altar of judgement. I mean come on, Emmet Smith in a tutu?
If you’re in the entertainment business, you’d better be used to personal insults. One of the best lines ever uttered was when Bruno accused Kate (of Kate plus 8 fame), of being “like a shopping cart” pushed around by her professional partner. Or when Kirstie Alley inadvertently body slammed her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy in mid lift.
Trying to frame his ouster from the show as some kind of personal attack on him isn’t going to wash. There are no zaftig professional dancers. In real life, people don’t get paid for effort, only results, (lawyers of course being the notable exception). With all due respect to the unspoken undercurrent to Bono’s participation in the show, there really are big differences in the way people perform in life. Chaz may be transformed, but on the inside, he may still carry vestiges of his former persona. News to Chaz, calling men fatso is not hurtful. That’s what guys do, they insult each other. It’s not all I’m ok, you’re ok. If nothing else, these shows demonstrate the reality that differences do matter. Life is cruel and unfair and your mother can shield you from only so much. You can’t force people to like you, be a man and get over it.