Some people have found the support behind Vice President Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign to be a bit forced or “cringe.” However, nothing gets as cringey as Ben Stiller’s signal of support during a comedians-for-Kamala roundtable.
The virtual Comics for Kamala Harris event was held August 5 featuring up to 23,000 Zoom guests on the call including big names like Tiffany Haddish, Kathy Griffin and of course, Ben Stiller. Within the first 20 minutes of the event, the comics raised over $100,000 for Harris’ campaign. Stiller alone donated $150,000. In explaining his support for Harris and VP running mate Tim Walz, he expressed his gratitude for how Harris acts like a “human being” and said he looked forward to putting someone “decent” in the White House.
Besides the jabs insinuating that the Republican runner ups for the presidential seat are anything other than decent human beings, Stiller slid in a bizarre joke referencing Harris’ race.
“She’s also a historic candidate. It’s going to be the first woman president, and that’s incredibly exciting. She’s Indian, she’s Black, she’s everything. You can be more than one thing, it’s incredible. I’m Jewish and Irish… I wish I was Black, every white Jewish guy wishes he was Black. You know, get out there and vote and donate and take advantage,” Stiller said.
Yeah… the internet did not react well to that.
“Such remarks can come across as deeply insensitive and trivialize serious issues of racial identity and representation. It’s frustrating when public figures make inappropriate statements that undermine genuine efforts to address racial and social justice,” wrote one user.
“I can’t imagine having so much self hatred,” wrote another user.
“That’s plain weird,” wrote another user.
Other reactions insisted Stiller was unknowingly asserting a theory about white people secretly desiring to be Black. Other users reposted various scenes from Tropic Thunder with Robert Downey Jr.’s blackfaced character. And of course, there were many memes of Black confusion.
The comment is still fresh. As of now, Stiller hasn’t made any apologies or follow ups behind it. Maybe it’s another lame joke that will crash and burn on its own time.
