Even though I think John Mayer is a racist, misogynistic, disgusting, closet-case, rancid douche for his out-of-control Playboy interview (Part 1 & Part 2), I have to admit, I’m enjoying the kind of creative headlines and coverage the situation has inspired. New York Magazine asked “Where Were You The Day You Learned John Mayer Has a Racist Penis?” and Pop Eater’s “John Mayer not a racist, just a guy who says stupid things”. Or perhaps HuffPo’s “John Mayer’s Penis Speaks! Hates On Black Women, Embraces White Power (VIDEO)”. But two of my favorites from today are Fox News’s “Has John Mayer’s ‘Hood Pass’ Been Revoked?” and People Magazine’s “John Mayer: Scared Tweetless?”. The basic gist of all of this hand-wringing is that A) Lots f people are still pissed at Mayer; B) Very few people were buying his “apology” and C) Mayer needs some big-time image rehab if he wants to get out of this.

John Mayer shocked fans this week in a controversial interview with Playboy magazine in which he used the N-word and likened his sexual desires to that of a white supremacist. But despite a quick apology and explanation via Twitter, followed by an onstage breakdown during a Nashville concert, it appears his self-proclaimed “hood pass” may have expired.

“Whenever you use the N-word, there are going to be serious consequences,” an A-list Hollywood record executive told Pop Tarts. “People come back all the time from inappropriate comments, but this is a serious problem that could possibly hurt record sales and his public perception if it keeps blowing up. Mayer should do some sensitivity training, which might be a good start in bouncing back from this.”

Prior to the incident, which coincides with Black History Month, Mayer was often penned as a crossover artist. Over the course of his career, he had worked with a range of black music moguls including Jay-Z, B.B King, Herbie Hancock, Nelly, NaS and was even one of the few artists featured in last year’s Michael Jackson Memorial Concert. But experts speculate that he may have quite a bit of crawling to do to get back in the industry’s good graces after using such degrading language.

“His comments were as offensive as you can get,” a label insider said. “Some African-American artists will definitely stand their ground and just write him off. Mayer’s comments are not only unacceptable, they’re illogical and totally irrational for somebody who is as smart as he is supposed to be.”

The National Organization for African-American women was also “outraged” by the interview.

“The NOAW is outraged by the recent degrading and irresponsible statements made by recording artist John Mayer. His statements in regards to African-American women were disgraceful,” a rep said in a statement. “The use of the ‘N’ word was particularly offensive and vile. His outlandish statements are a slap in the face to the multitude of African-American people who are his fans and who have purchased his music.”

Mayer’s comments have understandably drawn criticism from the hip-hop community, with several artists taking to their Twitter accounts to express their thoughts.

“My man John Mayer must love the taste of his own foot,” rapper Talib Kweli Tweeted, while Noreaga apparently wrote “Dear John Mayer, black women don’t like u cause ur a a–hole.”

However The Roots’ Questlove was a little more forgiving.

“hmmm. ill give mayer a benefit of the doubt (remember how people misinterpreted my photo?) and assume that was a punchline gone awry,” he Tweeted on Wednesday. “lol then again on 2nd read….can’t wait to see spin on this. i swear his #1 demographic is the white dude black women would do in a second.”

Meanwhile other high-profile regular Tweeters like Diddy, Kanye West and 50 Cent have so far stayed silent on the issue. Mayer (who averages around 6-10 Tweets per day) laid low on Thursday, presumably to allow the storm to blow over.

Columbia records, the label that represents Mayer, declined to comment on the issue.

But despite the intense backlash, there is still hope for Mayer’s image to recover.

“I believe a lot of black artists will forgive him, they will move on,” Tarts’ label source said. “If [Michael Richards, who played] Kramer from Seinfeld was in a movie tomorrow that got critical acclaim, was the hit at Sundance, or if he had been in Avatar, people would have moved on. They wouldn’t have said, ‘We aren’t going to see ‘Avatar’ because of him.’ That is not only my belief, but it’s my experience.”

[From Fox News Pop Tarts]

By the way, Mayer didn’t just use the n-word, he also used the f-g word. He said it casually, too, when he was referring to Perez Hilton. So, yeah. People are still pissed, and will continue to be pissed until Mayer comes up with a really great song or something. Probably not, though. My guess is that it won’t be a career-defining debacle like, say, Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic/anti-Sugart-ts drunken rant while being arrested. But Mayer’s racist, misogynistic faux pax reinforces the image many of us already had of Mayer as a disgusting douche bag who will say or do anything to get attention.

John Mayer in LA on August 8, 2009 and June 14, 2009. Credit: WENN.

You know what was rough? Getting through this morning’s Us Weekly piece on John Mayer, which was an assortment of quotes from his Playboy interview about two of the most famous women Mayer’s dated, Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston. You know what sucks the big one? Having to read the whole f-cking interview in Playboy. Ugh. This douche… I have no words. Oh, and by the way – remember that whole “John Mayer is racist while he tries to do stand-up comedy” thing that most of you were like “oh, Kaiser, you’re being too sensitive, Asians love when you mangle their names on purpose and comment about how they ‘sound white’”. Well, suck it, because I was right, this guy is a f-cking racist with huge, enormous issues with race. Not to mention his issues with his own closeted homosexuality. The full Playboy piece is here, and these are some of the most disgusting highlights.

On whether he’s a douche bag: “I consider myself a good guy, with the best of intentions. Anybody who has been in a relationship with me would stand by the fact that I’ve never been callous. I’ve never been a bad boy. I may have taken someone through the wringer psychologically, but I’ve never been sinister.”

On whether masturbation is as good as sex: “Absolutely, because during sex, I’m just going to run a filmstrip. I’m still masturbating. That’s what you do when you’re 30, 31, 32. This is my problem now: Rather than meet somebody new, I would rather go home and replay the amazing experiences I’ve already had. What that explains is that I’m more comfortable in my imagination than I am in actual human discovery. The best days of my life are when I’ve dreamed about a sexual encounter with someone I’ve already been with. When that happens, I cannot lay off myself.”

On being half-Jewish: “People say, “Well, which side of your family is Jewish?” I say, “My dad’s.” And they always say it doesn’t count. But I will say I keep my pool at 92 degrees, so you do the math. I find myself relating to Judaism. One of my best friends is Jewish beyond all Jews—I went to my first Passover seder at his house—and I train in Krav Maga with a lot of Israelis.”

On the increased fame when he dated Jennifer Aniston: “I had a conversation about fame with Jen [Aniston] before we ever really stepped out in public. She said, “Do you understand what this entails?” Two weeks later I had people outside my house. I was smart enough to know it would probably make me a salable item for the paparazzi. I knew I’d have to move to a home that had a gate. But that pearl of possibility that lives in your heart when you meet somebody you want to know more about has such a different molecular density than everything else that you have to pursue it. And I wouldn’t undo it, man. Because if it had worked out, I would have reaped the benefits. I would be sitting here saying, “What I have when I go home is the thing I’ve always wanted.””

On letting Aniston listen to his new album, Battle Studies: “Look, there’s a level of honesty in that record that probably made her uncomfortable, but I couldn’t let that change the way I wrote songs. There were moments when she said, “What’s that line?” Like, “That’s not about me, is it?” While I was going out with her she was on the cover of GQ wearing nothing but a tie. These are occupational hazards. When she heard Battle Studies she just wanted to be able to say “I want to know that you hold me correctly in your heart.”

On his relationship with Aniston now: “We just have a regard for each other’s feelings that is pretty intense. It’s been a deep relationship, and it’s no longer taking place at all. Have you ever loved somebody, loved her completely, but had to end the relationship for life reasons?”

Why black people love Mayer & the “hood pass” : “My two biggest hits are “Your Body Is a Wonderland” and “Daughters.” If you think those songs are pandering, then you’ll think I’m a douche bag. It’s like I come on very strong. I am a very…I’m just very. V-E-R-Y. And if you can’t handle very, then I’m a douche bag. But I think the world needs a little very. That’s why black people love me…. Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’”

Mayer on “being black”: “What is being black? It’s making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that’s seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you’ll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude’s.”

On whether he dates black girls: “I don’t think I open myself to it. My d-ck is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a f-ckin’ David Duke c-ck. I’m going to start dating separately from my d-ck.”

Does Mayer still love Aniston? “Yes, always. I’ll always be sorry that it didn’t last. In some ways I wish I could be with her. But I can’t change the fact that I need to be 32. Parts of me aren’t 32. My ability to go deep with somebody is old soul. My ability to commit and be faithful is old soul. But 32 just comes roaring out of me at points when I don’t see it coming. I want to dance. I want to get on an airplane and be like a ninja. I want to be an explorer. I want to be like The Bourne Identity. I don’t want to pet dogs in the kitchen.”

On the gay rumors: “The only man I’ve kissed is Perez Hilton. It was New Year’s Eve and I decided to go out and destroy myself. I was dating Jessica at the time, and I remember seeing Perez Hilton flitting about this club and acting as though he had just invented homosexuality. All of a sudden I thought, I can outgay this guy right now. I grabbed him and gave him the dirtiest, tongue-iest kiss I have ever put on anybody—almost as if I hated fags. I don’t think my mouth was even touching when I was tongue kissing him, that’s how disgusting this kiss was. I’m a little ashamed. I think it lasted about half a minute. I really think it went on too long.”

And finally, this is what John Mayer wants from a relationship: “Here’s what I really want to do at 32: f-ck a girl and then, as she’s sleeping in bed, make breakfast for her. So she’s like, “What? You gave me five vaginal orgasms last night, and you’re making me a spinach omelet? You are the sh-t!” So she says, “I love this guy.” I say, “I love this girl loving me.” And then we have a problem. Because that entails instant relationship. I’m already playing house. And when I lose interest she’s going to say, “Why would you do that if you didn’t want to stick with me? [So why do I do it?] Because I want to show her I’m not like every other guy. Because I hate other men. When I’m f-cking you, I’m trying to f-ck every man who’s ever f-cked you, but in his ass, so you’ll say “No one’s ever done that to me in bed.”

[From Playboy]

Do I really have anything else to say? Not really. I will amend my opinion of Mayer though. He’s not just a rancid misogynistic douchey psychopath. He’s also a racist self-loathing closet-case and every woman who has ever slept with him should feel deeply ashamed.

UPDATE: Oh good. Us Weekly reports that now people who work on race relations on a daily basis are chiming in about Mayer being a f-cking douchebag.

UPDATE #2: John Mayer is now apologizing for using the n-word in the Playboy interview. It’s as if he thinks that one word was the only offensive thing in there. Anyway, Mayer tweeted (via Us Weekly): “Re: using the ‘N word’ in an interview: I am sorry that I used the word. And it’s such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it, because I realize that there’s no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged.” Mayer continued a few hours later: “I think it’s time to stop trying to be so raw in interviews…it’s gotten out of hand and I’ve created somewhat of a monster. I wanted to be a blues guitar player. And a singer. And a songwriter. Not a shock jock. I don’t have the stomach for it. Again, because I don’t want anyone to think I’m equivocating: I should have never said the word and I will never say it again.” Closet-case misogynist douchebaggy psychopath.

As we mentioned yesterday, the alleged Brad and Angelina split dominates the tabloids this week. On yesterday’s tabloid round up, I missed a few of the cover stories that weren’t online at the time, so I’m bringing them to you now. According to Us Weekly’s cover story, their breakup is less about Jennifer Aniston and more about Brad being lazy and Angelina being a type-A perfectionist. Which…I’m not sure I buy? Angelina seems organized, but type-A perfectionist? Maybe. Whatever. But, the funniest part of the story is that after Angelina yelled at Brad one time, Brad “called her a bitch behind her back.” Yes, because if he did it to her face, she’d smack the goat off of him so fast!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may not be splitting yet, but the new Us Weekly (on newsstands now) reports their relationship might not last much longer.

Sources tell Us Weekly that Jolie, 34, often feels she’s shouldering the parental burden of their six kids, Maddox, 8, Pax, 6, Zahara, 5, Shiloh, 3, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 18 months.

“Angie felt like Brad wasn’t pulling his weight,” says an insider.

She’s “exhausted and has been overwhelmed” with the kids, adds another. “She has nannies, but she wants to do it herself. Her kids are all in different stages now, running around, needing attention.”

Jolie — whom one source describes as a “type A” who “runs the household” — is demanding on Pitt, 46, even down to the last detail, Us Weekly reports.

“She’ll yell at him when he makes the eggs too runny or burns something,” says a source, who points out how Pitt prides himself as “a Mr. Mom who loves to cook.”

Their spats have gotten so bad recently, one source notes, Pitt took to “calling her a bitch behind her back.”

For more on their rocky relationship – including how Jolie thinks she’s smarter than Pitt; how she thinks Pitt favors “the boys” over the girls; how their sex life “has calmed down” and why Pitt refuses to call it quits – pick up the new Us Weekly today!

[From Us Weekly]

I actually believe some of this story – I’ll buy the dynamic that Angelina thinks Brad doesn’t pull his weight. I’m not sure Brad pulls his weight. I think he loves the kids, I think he’s a great dad, but I sometimes think that he’s maybe not as engaged in family life as he could be. Of course, that could be because we don’t see him out with the kids every other day, like, say, Tom Cruise and Suri. Maybe Brad spends a lot of time with them in the house.

Meanwhile, In Touch Weekly released part of their cover story, and it has riled me up big-time. It’s not the Jennifer Aniston stuff that’s bothering me, though – that stuff is just as dumb as always, especially since ITW seems to want to live in Aniston’s vadge. What really bothered me about ITW this week is the subtle racism employed with regards to the Jolie-Pitt children. It disgusted me.

“One week in late March, I overheard security saying that Brad was meeting with [Jen] in Central Park before going to see Angelina on the set,” housekeeper Anna Kowalski tells In Touch.

While Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may have managed to trick the world into thinking everything is fine, In Touch has exclusive details that making the decision to leave was a long time coming for Brad, who friends say has been miserable for months.

But as In Touch can now exclusively reveal, Brad’s growing feelings for Jen helped ease his pain and back in March, he took great pains to arrange a secret meeting in NYC’s Central Park for Jen, himself, and his daughters Shiloh and Zahara.

“One week in late March, I overheard security saying that Brad was meeting with [Jen] in Central Park before going to see Angelina on the set,” former Waldorf-Astoria employee Anna Kowalski tells In Touch. “He took Shiloh and Zahara in the car with him.”

The whole thing was very carefully planned, says an insider, with Brad driven to a location near the Mount Sinai School of Medicine on 5th Avenue, where he met Jen at her SUV in the park. No doubt it was nerve-wracking.

At the time, the last thing he wanted was for Angelina to find out he’d introduced Jen to their children. But for the formerly married couple, it was well worth it.

“Zahara was asleep in the car with the driver, so Jen only got to talk with Shiloh,” says a friend of the actress, who adds that during the 20-minute meeting, Jen was moved to tears seeing her ex-husband’s adorable daughter.

“She said that all that had happened in their past seemed to melt away that day,” says the friend, who adds that after the meeting, Jen remarked that she’s “proud of Brad and thinks he’s a great dad.”

Even though Brad wasn’t happy with the way his life was going with Angelina, the friend says, Jen said, “at least he had this beautiful little girl.” And for Jen, who had been trying for children with Brad when they were married, that was a lot.

[From In Touch Weekly]

I’m not Aniston’s fangirl, but I think even Jennifer would be horrified to have these thoughts and feelings attributed to her, even in this fake, tabloid, phony, gross way. “At least he had this beautiful little girl”? So, Zahara doesn’t count because she’s black? Or because she’s adopted? Brad has six beautiful children, but I guess ITW is only counting the white children. There’s the sideways assumption – and not just by In Touch - that if Brad and Angelina split, he’ll only care about custody of the white children, and this article just seems like more of that same crap.

Last week, Toby Keith and Will Smith were performing together in Oslo, Norway, for the Nobel Peace Prize concert. First of all, this wasn’t part of the real ceremony for the concert, it was an “impromptu performance” lead by Will Smith, with Toby only joining in at times as Will sang “Rapper’s Delight”. What’s bothering people is that during the performance, Toby Keith made “slant eyes” when he heard the word “yellow” as Will sang the lyrics “to the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow.” The video is above – it’s around the 25 second mark. I think it’s pretty clear that Toby was making the gesture, and not getting something out of his eye of whatever. Here’s a little more from HuffPo:

Toby Keith may have offended Asian Americans while in Norway for the Peace Prize Concert.

Dancing along as Will Smith did a version of “Rapper’s Delight,” Keith pulled his eyes back on the “yellow” of the lyrics, “to the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow.”

A rep for the Asian American Justice Center told TMZ, “Toby Keith embarrassed himself and his country, denigrated the Noble Peace Prize and offended Asians and Asian Americans by using a crude, racist hand gesture.”

Keith’s rep just said, “nobody at the party thought Toby was out of line.”

[From Huffington Post]

When TMZ contacted Toby’s rep a few days later, the rep said: “No one at the concert thought Toby was out of line. Everyone was impressed with his rapping skills and that’s it … all of the artists liked each other, hung out, and it was a very friendly, genuine, and supportive atmosphere.” Er… Toby barely rapped. All he did was kind of dance awkwardly and make a racist gesture.

So says two Asian American rights groups who are now publicly slamming Toby. As TMZ reports: “A rep for the Asian American Justice Center tells TMZ, ‘Toby Keith embarrassed himself and his country, denigrated the Noble Peace Prize and offended Asians and Asian Americans by using a crude, racist hand gesture.’ Another group — the Media Action Network for Asians — also took offense with Toby, telling us, “By doing this, he is telling his Asian fans ‘you don’t matter, you’re not on my radar.’” To be fair to Toby, I don’t think he has a large Asian-American following no matter what he does. His fan base seems mainly based on white men who enjoy songs about boots up asses. For real.

This is basically the exact same controversy that Miley Cyrus got into early this year – except when she made “slant eyes” she was posing for group photos with a bunch of kids, while Toby did it in front of a huge international audience at one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the world. Well done, Toby. You show those Norwegians that it’s cool to make fun of Asians! F-cking ridiculous.

Here’s Toby, trying to ignore the one Asian guy at a press conference for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert:

Alright, this is sort of a convoluted story, so I’ll try to keep this as simple as possible: John Mayer is a douchey racist. Trust me. Need more? Okay. Here goes. This story comes from New York Magazine’s Vulture column, via Lainey Gossip. Incidentally, it was the one of NY Mag’s Vulture column people that caught up with John Mayer a few months ago and tried to interview him, only to have Mayer threaten “I’m going to forcefully sodomize your editor.” So, there’s some history there. Anyway, this story is about John Mayer’s attempt at stand-up at the Slipper Room last week, and the story comes directly from a comedian named Kumail Nanjiani, who not only witnessed Mayer’s act, but was the one to fall victim to Mayer’s racist douchery.

A quick word about Nanjiani: he’s an up-and-coming Pakistani comedian who has spent the last year performing on late night shows for David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Saturday Night Live. He’s been named one of the “Ten Comedians To Watch” and he’s making deals all over the place. Basically, he’s a funny guy, and he does this for a living, with great joy.

Here’s what happened when Mayer showed up at the Slipper Room, told by Nanjiani and New York Magazine:

John Mayer showed up at the Slipper Room unannounced last Tuesday night and asked the evening’s emcee, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s Seth Herzog, if he could do five minutes of stand-up. According to Nanjiani, who was originally scheduled to take the stage when Mayer showed up, Mayer then proceeded to bomb for not five minutes, but for twenty, eating into Nanjiani’s performance time. Which would have been fine, except Mayer then decided to come back out onstage AGAIN in the middle of Nanjiani’s set.

This is when things got weird.

To hear Nanjiani tell the story, he was somewhat rattled after having had his set time cut by John Mayer, but things got awkward after Mayer referred to the Pakistan-born Kumail as “Kabul.” Whoops! Making matters even worse, Mayer apparently then began heckling Nanjiani onstage, telling him that “he looked like a brown guy but sounded like a white guy.” Double whoops! Now, Nanjiani was careful last night not to accuse Mayer of being a racist, nor does he seem to hold a real grudge against Mayer; rather, he was just relating a hilariously surreal story of a recent stand-up gig to a bunch of comedy nerds (like us!).

[From New York Magazine]

Ha, Mayer thinks it’s funny to mispronounce a Pakistani’s name, making it sound like an Afghan city. Hysterical. It’s always so funny when someone basically says to you “You have brown skin and a non-Anglo name, so you’re not worth the two seconds it would take to learn how to pronounce your name correctly.” And yes, I take it personally. I have an Indian name, and I don’t care when people mispronounce my name when they’re trying to sound it out, I just think that’s polite, like they’re making an effort. I only care when someone mangles my name because they don’t think I’m worth the effort.

What’s worse is that Mayer doubles down on his douchery, saying “he looked like a brown guy but sounded like a white guy.” Ugh. What a bitch.

When Mayer was discussing the incident to The Comic’s Comic, he described what went down as: “I’m blind and I’m an idiot. I go in and I smash things with my big, dumb Hulk hands. I don’t know how to do it yet. I don’t know how to bomb. It was combative in the sense that the crowd didn’t really accept the fact that the jock, the guy who gets the girls, was at a place where the guys go who talk about how they don’t get the girls.” So… Mayer’s not a racist, he’s just a guy who gets laid, and all of us are jellus h8ters? Right.

Mayer went on, trying to explain how he was trying to rescue Kumail, we just misunderstood: “I’d never met Kumail. But I’m also in performance-mode, and in barrel-ahead mode, and with not enough information. Performer to performer, I felt like, he’s having trouble transitioning. They always think the other guy is the bigger guy. I’m just trying to tell them I’m John. Once I go out up there, I’m an amateur comic. In my state of vulnerability, I thought, it’s not moving forward… The whole thing was so odd. It was off-kilter from the moment I’d gotten onstage…So I get onstage, and I didn’t know he didn’t want me onstage. I’m the exact opposite of a ham when I go to a comedy club… I’m trying to go for broke. When you’re that flustered, your references are off. I felt really bad. I felt like I ruined his set.”

Mayer also says that he ended up apologizing to Kumail. Which is better than most casual racists would do, so I give Mayer a small bit of credit for that. But not much.

Sharukh Khan (or Shah Rukh Khan, as he signs his name) may be relatively unknown in America, but he’s one of the biggest superstars in the world. He is like the George Clooney of Bollywood, the Indian film industry. He has won dozens of acting awards for his starring roles in more than 70 films and television programs, almost exclusively in India. He’s also a powerful Bollywood producer, and has been named one of the most powerful entertainers in the world by many international publications. He has received honorary awards and titles all over the world too – conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka in Maylasia (it’s like a knighthood), and the French government gave him an Order of the Arts and Literature award.

There’s actually some debate about whether Khan is “the George Clooney of Bollywood” – that’s just how I think of him. People have called him “the Tom Cruise” or “the Brad Pitt” of Bollywood too. Any and all of them kind of fit – he’s the number one star of Bollywood films, and millions of Indians and Asians follow his comings and goings religiously. Speaking of religion, Khan is practicing Muslim. He’s also outspoken about his own faith, and the Hindu faith of his wife. His fans include Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, and Khan is respectful of them all.

So, here’s what we know: international superstar Khan flew into New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport on Saturday. He was on his way to Chicago to promote his film My Name Is Khan, which is about racial profiling in America. He was also slated to attend an event to celebrate India’s Independence Day. But it was in Jersey when customs officers stopped Khan and held him for a disputed length of time. Also under dispute is Khan’s general treatment while being held, and if the whole incident should be called a “detention”. Here’s a good example of how the Indian media is handling the incident:

”My name is Khan.” ”Oh it is, is it? Step aside, please.”

The way it was related, that might well have been the opening exchange between Shahrukh Khan and an unnamed, uniformed, super-empowered US immigration official who had no idea (and didn’t care) that the man in front of him is the star of a film by the same name (My Name is Khan), much less that he is a universal Bollywood icon.

SRK, as the actor star is known by his popular acronym, was asked to indeed step aside for a ”secondary inspection” at Newark’s ironically named (in this context) Liberty International airport on Friday en route to an event to celebrate India’s Independence Day in Chicago, President Barack Obama’s hometown. But that was only after a ”primary inspection.”

A ”secondary inspection” is when the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officer manning the immigration counter asks a visitor (or even a US citizen) to move to a separate area for questioning if he cannot initially verify the visitor’s information or does not have all of the required documentation, so as to not hold up the rest of the queue.

It is not clear why Khan, who is a frequent visitor to the US, and only recently spent a month here shooting for “My Name is Khan,” was subjected to a ”secondary inspection,” which in itself does not constitute detention.

But the actor surmises that it was because of his last name; in other words, his Muslim identity. He was questioned for nearly two hours, asked what he thought were irrelevant questions, denied the use of his cell phone (which isn’t unusual; visitors cannot use mobile phones before clearing immigration) and was finally allowed to make just one phone call under the rules.

”I told them I was a movie star and had recently visited the country for the shooting of my film. Nothing seemed to convince the immigration officer. There were other immigration officers who even vouched for me but this particular officer did not listen to anyone. I even told them I had an invitation from the South Asian community and was there to attend an event.” Khan told ToI.

Indian and US officials rushed into damage control mode after word came in from Khan’s family that that the actor had been ”detained” and Khan’s vast fan base went ballistic. Timothy Roemer, the new US ambassador in New Delhi whose first week on the job it is, said he was trying to ascertain what exactly had happened at Liberty, and that Shahrukh Khan was a global icon whose film were much loved even by Americans and he was always welcome in the US.

But Khan, from all accounts, doesn’t feel so welcome and says he will review his plans to visit the US again. In a slew of media interviews after the incident, he said his papers were in order, it seemed to be a case of religious profiling, and the incident was a ”little embarrassing” for an entertainer of his stature. Khan’s upcoming film ”My Name is Khan,” a movie about an Indian Muslim setting out on a journey across the United States, is certain to get a boost after the incident.

It is not the first time that an Indian entertainer with a Muslim identity has been asked to step aside for additional scrutiny. Actors Aamir Khan and Irrfan Khan have had similar experience. So has the Canadian-Indian writer Rohinton Mistry, a Parsi, who once cancelled a book tour of the US soon after 9/11 because he felt he was being needlessly profiled. Other Indian visitors, not necessarily Muslims, have felt singled out.

But there is an American side to the story too. US officials who have spoken to this correspondent on the subject in the past feel that some Indian visitors are needlessly huffy about routine security procedures, and there is a broad cultural mismatch or misunderstanding between the two countries in their view of rules and authority. India, one official said, has too much of a ”VIP culture” that gives some people a false sense of privilege and entitlement that does not sit well in a world of ever increasing security threats. Even minor delays and inconveniences are exaggerated and conflated into major protocol breaches by some Indians.

For now though, the cry has already gone up in India for ”pay back” and subjecting US VIPs visiting India to the same treatment as the Khans say they get in US. Even senior government ministers have jumped into the fray. ”I am of the opinion that the way we are frisked, for example I too was frisked, we should also do the same to them,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told a news agency. Others have suggested the ”Brazilian model,” where Brazilia adopted similar security protocol as Washington, including photographing and fingerprinting visitors. Khan himself is said to have joked that Angelina Jolie must be subjected to the same treatment.

Of course, if Jolie or Clooney or Pitt (or Congressmen and Senators) are subjected to such treatment, it is unlikely we would ever hear about it — since they seldom make a to-do about such things. But then it is even less likely that they would be subjected to such a welcome, given the Indian mix of VIP culture and Athithi Devo Bhava – even at the risk of imperiling security.

[From Times of India]

The article also has more information on the tit-for-tat between India and America as far as security measures go, and there’s some international bickering that’s a little funny. I’m actually surprised that an Indian publication would go so far as to insinuate that Americans stars are more likely to roll with the punches, security-wise, while Indian stars are more demanding of special treatment. Fox News is reporting that the customs officials claim that Khan was only detained for 66 minutes, and that everything was done according to standard procedure, and Khan was absolutely “not detained”. According to the boys in Jersey, the real holdup was Khan’s lost baggage. Awesome – blame the whole incident on the baggage people and be done with it.

Last week, Jessica Simpson created a subdued racism-kerfuffle when she was asked about the $100,000 boat she had given Tony Romo when they were together, and whether she would ask for the boat back or not. Jessica Simpson said, “I’m not an Indian giver.” Like CB, I had always assumed the idea of being an “Indian giver” was about how the white colonialists were douches and broke all of those treaties. Not so much, according to Wikipedia, who has one of the definitions as “When an Indian gives any thing, he expects to receive an equivalent, or to have his gift returned.” Meh. Colonialist bastards. By the way, I should just point out how much I hate that anyone is still calling Native Americans “Indians”. My father is Indian – he is from India. People descended from America’s pre-colonial indigenous people are Native Americans.

Anyhoodle, US Weekly took a statement from Jacqueline L. Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, who was basically like “meh, maybe it’s a teachable moment or whatever”. According to US Weekly, Pata only said, “Most people flippantly use the comment ‘Indian giver’ without realizing its true meaning… [Jessica’s gaffe could be] a good chance to educate people not to stereotype Native Americans by using a comment this is both incorrect in the way most people use it, and culturally insensitive to Native people.” Hold on to your hat, Madame Pata, because Jessica Simpson is about to school you for real.

While exiting a restaurant with her sister last night, Jessica was swarmed by paparazzi. She was pretty gracious with them, even stopping and signing some autographs. But then the guy from TMZ asked her “What do you think about the Indian association being mad at you for the–” and then Jessica interrupts the guy to yell “I am Indian, alright?!” What the hell? Don’t believe me? TMZ has the footage of the incident – you can tell Jessica thinks she’s being clever. She really is that dumb.

In other Jessica news, she gave an interview to Women’s Wear Daily to promote her new line of lingerie. I found the interview a bit boring, but here’s an interview excerpt:

WWD: Do you love lingerie?
Jessica Simpson: Of course I love lingerie. What girl doesn’t? My lingerie reflects the way I’m feeling when I wake up and helps me set the tone for my day.

WWD: How important do you think lingerie is as part of a woman’s wardrobe?
J.S.: I think lingerie is a special part of what you wear every day. It’s fun to pick different colors and styles. What you wear underneath your clothes helps define the outfit, whether T-shirt bras, push-up bras, different patterns and colors, you always have to choose what works best.

WWD: Do you have a favorite item in the collection?
J.S.: I love the seersucker group because it is just classic and so adorable. We also have a beautiful print group that was inspired by Morocco. It is both exotic and feminine at the same time. We also created a denim and floral set that is flirty and fun.

WWD: How would you describe the signature look of Jessica Simpson Intimates when it comes to your personality?
J.S.: My intimates are feminine and sweet with a hint of fun.

[From Women’s Wear Daily]

Seersucker lingerie? Just kill me. Perhaps they’re only seersucker nightgowns or menswear-style two-piece pajama sets? Because the idea of seersucker panties or bras is ridiculous. You’d have little lines etched into your vadge and boobs at the end of the day! Is this the real reason Tony dumped her? Seersucker panties?

UPDATE: Jessica’s rep told TMZ that “the singer is 1/16th Native American ‘on her mother’s side’.” Therefore, Jessica is totally in the clear for saying she’s not an “Indian giver”… right?

I know we usually cover gossip, entertainment and fashion, but this story upset me so much that I wanted to talk about it. It’s also something I was unaware of until I just read about it. There are still segregated high school proms in the US South to this day, with white students and black students attending different formal balls. I thought segregation in school was outlawed 55 years ago with Brown vs. Board of Education, but apparently some people think that law doesn’t apply to their community. Parents have organized a separate “white prom” in Montgomery County, Georgia at which black students aren’t welcome. They’re held outside of school and since the school isn’t involved it technically may not violate anti-segregation laws. These type of segregated proms are also known to be held in Mississippi, with the issue to be covered in an upcoming HBO special to air in July:

About now, high-school seniors everywhere slip into a glorious sort of limbo. Waiting out the final weeks of the school year, they begin rightfully to revel in the shared thrill of moving on. It is no different in south-central Georgia’s Montgomery County, made up of a few small towns set between fields of wire grass and sweet onion. The music is turned up. Homework languishes. The future looms large. But for the 54 students in the class of 2009 at Montgomery County High School, so, too, does the past. On May 1 — a balmy Friday evening — the white students held their senior prom. And the following night — a balmy Saturday — the black students had theirs.

The white students’ prom was held on May 1 at a community center in nearby Vidalia; the black students had theirs at the same place the following night.

Racially segregated proms have been held in Montgomery County — where about two-thirds of the population is white — almost every year since its schools were integrated in 1971. Such proms are, by many accounts, longstanding traditions in towns across the rural South, though in recent years a number of communities have successfully pushed for change. When the actor Morgan Freeman offered to pay for last year’s first-of-its-kind integrated prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi, his home state, the idea was quickly embraced by students — and rejected by a group of white parents, who held a competing “private” prom. (The effort is the subject of a documentary, “Prom Night in Mississippi,” which will be shown on HBO in July.) The senior proms held by Montgomery County High School students — referred to by many students as “the black-folks prom” and “the white-folks prom” — are organized outside school through student committees with the help of parents. All students are welcome at the black prom, though generally few if any white students show up. The white prom, students say, remains governed by a largely unspoken set of rules about who may come. Black members of the student council say they have asked school administrators about holding a single school-sponsored prom, but that, along with efforts to collaborate with white prom planners, has failed. According to Timothy Wiggs, the outgoing student council president and one of 21 black students graduating this year, “We just never get anywhere with it.” Principal Luke Smith says the school has no plans to sponsor a prom, noting that when it did so in 1995, attendance was poor.

Students of both races say that interracial friendships are common at Montgomery County High School. Black and white students also date one another, though often out of sight of judgmental parents. “Most of the students do want to have a prom together,” says Terra Fountain, a white 18-year-old who graduated from Montgomery County High School last year and is now living with her black boyfriend. “But it’s the white parents who say no. … They’re like, if you’re going with the black people, I’m not going to pay for it.”

“It’s awkward,” acknowledges JonPaul Edge, a senior who is white. “I have as many black friends as I do white friends. We do everything else together. We hang out. We play sports together. We go to class together. I don’t think anybody at our school is racist.” Trying to explain the continued existence of segregated proms, Edge falls back on the same reasoning offered by a number of white students and their parents. “It’s how it’s always been,” he says. “It’s just a tradition.”

[From The NY Times]

Am I naive and/or uninformed? I had no idea that anything like this was happening still in America. It really upsets and surprises me, and my mouth was hanging open reading this story.

Friends of Justice points out that this type of segregation and discrimination is not uncommon in the south and that there are even separate Mardi Gras parades held in a town in Louisiana. My father is a retired guy who reads the newspaper cover to cover every day and he said that he’s heard of this before. A Facebook friend, Lauren, also says she read about this last year during the prom season.

Do we need a law that it’s illegal to hold parties for the express intention of ensuring that only one race or nationality attends? Is that overstepping the bounds of government or just making sure that racism isn’t allowed in any form? This would of course not apply to parties that celebrate a certain culture or background without the purpose of excluding others.

At least the NY Times, Morgan Freeman and HBO are bringing awareness to this issue. Maybe the people who perpetuate this racism will be shamed into ending this outdated practice with this year’s proms.

Miley Cyrus apologized earlier this week for a photo scandal in which she was seen pulling her eyes up in a photo in an apparent gesture mocking Asian people. She initially defended herself, saying she was just making “goofy faces,” but then recanted, saying she was sorry and that she “learned a valuable lesson.” Miley’s apology is not enough for one woman in LA County. Lucie J. Kim has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of over a million Asian Pacific Islanders in LA County, claiming civil right violations for each. That amounts to $4 billion:

A Los Angeles woman has filed a class action suit against Miley Cyrus, claiming she mocked Asians in a recent photo by slanting her eyes. Price tag: $4 billion.

Lucie J. Kim claims to represent more than 1 million Asian Pacific Islanders who live in L.A. County. Kim claims when Cyrus posed for the photo, she “knew or should have known that her image would be publicly disseminated via the media, which Cyrus knew focused on her private life, specifically TMZ.”

Kim says in the suit, filed today in L.A. County Superior Court, that each Asian Pacific Islander is entitled to the minimum damages for a civil rights violation — $4,000. Add it up — $4 billion!

[From TMZ]

While I don’t think that Cyrus’ behavior comes even close to warranting this kind of lawsuit, she’s become the famous public face of anti-Asian racism. This lawsuit is trying to bring awareness to the fact that Asians are discriminated against and that it’s incredibly hurtful and cruel to make the “chinky eyes,” as Margaret Cho and others call it.

Yes, it can be interpreted that “going after a 16-year-old would just make the Asian American community look hyper-sensitive and mean,” as someone advocating a letter-writing campaign to Disney writes. Miley is 16 but she’s also a superstar and this lawsuit is trying to take advantage of that for maximum publicity.

Some of you mentioned that you think it’s harmless to sing the children’s song “Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees,” but why is this? Why do kids think it’s ok to sing songs about Asians but it’s not ok to sing songs about African Americans? We don’t sing racist songs about black people because it’s mean. It’s also mean to make fun of Asian people, but somehow we’re being “touchy” about this, and the people who are upset about hurtful remarks and gestures, including little kids, should just “get over it.” It’s not about Miley and her thoughtless behavior at this point and has become a larger issue.

Maybe by being a dumb kid Miley has served a greater purpose and will start to bring awareness to how pervasive anti-Asian discrimination is. I don’t think she meant to hurt anyone and this lawsuit will probably get thrown out, but people are hurt by those same gestures and we shouldn’t brush it off as if it’s meaningless. Think of where we would be as a society if we just ignored that kind of behavior against every other minority group in the past. Miley and other young kids should know that it’s just not acceptable to act that way.

Miley Cyrus is being accused of racism towards the Asian community. Miley, with a group of friends, was photographed “slanting” her eyes in photographs posted on the web. So far, no backstory on the photos has been revealed, but what possible explanation could there be?

The OCA is pissed off, and sent Miley a harshly-worded statement, via TMZ. I had to look up what “OCA” was, and I’m Asian-American! It’s a pretty popular acronym, which stands for either Orthodox Church of America, or the Organic Consumers Association, or in what seems to be the most confusing acronym in history, the Asian Pacific Americans. But that would be APA. No matter. OK! has details.

Miley Cyrus is no stranger to dealing with controversial photos of her on the internet. But now, the Hannah Montana star is being accused of racism after a photo showing the 16-year-old and a group of friends slanting their eyes surfaced on the Web.

The OCA–a group “dedicated to advancing the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans”–is fuming mad at the photo of Miley and her pals for using what they have deemed an offensive, stereotypical gesture.

In a statement to TMZ, the OCA says, “The photograph of Miley Cyrus and other individuals slanting their eyes currently circulating the Internet is offensive to the Asian Pacific American community and sets a terrible example for her many young fans. This image falls within a long and unfortunate history of people mocking and denigrating individuals of Asian descent……Not only has Miley Cyrus and the other individuals in the photograph encouraged and legitimized the taunting and mocking of people of Asian descent, she has also insulted her many Asian Pacific American fans. The inclusion of an Asian Pacific American individual in the photo does not make it acceptable…OCA hopes that Miley Cyrus will apologize to her fans and the APA community for this lapse in judgment and takes the opportunity to better understand why the gesture is offensive.”

From OK! Magazine

I agree that this is offensive, and Miley could certainly do a lot of good by simply acknowledging a mistake and apologizing. Most people forgave those Olympic teams for their pictures taken pre-Beijing games with the players making “slant eyes”. I’m not Miley’s biggest fan, so I just think this is just another sign of her bratty, self-important teenage attitude, one drop in the bucket. Just apologize, Miley.

Header image thanks to Oceanup.com