This sounds like a bad joke…
Apparently there was a bit of an uproar real or perceived because the commercial for the new NBC comedy “Animal Practice” aired right after Gabby Douglas’ won the all-around gold in gymnastics where a monkey was prominently featured imaging himself competing in the Ring competition at the Olympics. Now somehow, this completely harmless commercial for a new fall show on NBC caused them to apologize for any perceived offense:
“Much of America has fallen in love with Gabby Douglas,” Costas said. “Also safe to say that there are some young African-American girls out there who tonight are saying to themselves, ‘Hey, I’d like to try that, too.’”
Then NBC switched to the commercial with the small, widely grinning monkey on the rings. Blacks in the past have been disparagingly referred to as monkeys to the point where it is considered a common slur.
“Gabby Douglas’ gold medal performance last night was an historic and inspiring achievement,” said NBC Universal spokeswoman Liz Fischer. “The spot promoting ‘Animal Practice,’ which has run three times previously, is one in a series with an Olympic theme which have been scheduled for maximum exposure. Certainly no offense was intended.”
Huh? Am I missing something. Who saw the commercial featuring a cute monkey dreaming his Olympic dream and thought ‘Oooohhhh their dissing that Gabby Douglas.” Here is the commercial in quetion:
Yeah. I’m more offended that NBC issued an apology. I’m offended the NBC powers thought to take anyone seriously who even dared to complain about such a non-issue. In a quest to not appear racially insensitive NBC ends up looking like fools. Come on NBC powers that be, anyone with any sense knows no one with any sense would relate the two, the fact that YOU thought that any complaint was serious says more about what you think about monkeys and blacks than any fool who made the complaint.
Do better NBC. Do better.
T.S. Johnson
T.S. Johnson is a sagacious freelance writer and editor skilled at turning complicated subjects into easy to understand, precise prose that will inform and “wow” the “average” reader. She's a also a sports enthusiast and a lover of tawdry gossip. When she's not blogging on The Sex and Sports she's helping businesses build an online presence through her company The Writing Diva. 