The only time I’ve covered Michael Rapaport ever was when I talked a bit about his ongoing beef with Spike Lee. I seem to remember that they’ve gotten into it a few times over the years, but the only time I talked about it was when they were beefing about gentrification in Brooklyn, where they both grew up. Rapaport isn’t some privileged white dude sitting in a castle either – he grew up working class and while he’s a consistently working actor/director/producer, I doubt he’s rolling in money. Anyway, Rapaport was being interviewed on a podcast and he went off like crazy on Aziz Ansari’s SNL monologue. The same monologue that I said was a bit too weak. The same monologue that inspired Chris Brown to call Aziz “Aladdin.” Rapaport didn’t like it because Aziz was mean to Chris Brown. And then something about white girls?
Actor, director and podcaster Michael Rapaport blasted comedian Aziz Ansari as a “little politically correct f—” for comparing pop star Chris Brown to Donald Trump while hosting last week’s edition of “Saturday Night Live.”
“Aziz Ansari, who the f— do you think you are? Why are you dragging him [Chris Brown] through the mud? Who are you to talk about him?’” Rapaport said on Wednesday’s edition of the “I am Rapaport Stereo Podcast.”
“I’m sure there’s a lot of people voted for Trump the same way a lot of people listen to the music of Chris Brown, where it’s like, ‘Hey, man! I’m just here for the tunes. I’m just here for the tunes!’” Ansari said in his opening monologue. “‘I don’t know about that other stuff. I just like the dancing and the music. I don’t condone the extracurriculars.’”
Rapaport responded: “Obviously, nobody supports beating women. OK. This guy has obviously suffered, you see all the trouble he has and all the trouble that surrounds him. He’s definitely dealing with some s–t and dealing with his own personal demons. But Aziz Ansari, you are one of these holier-than-thou political correct police. This little f—. Mr racial, he’s like Mr. provocative… he’s like, ‘Oh, the brown people this.’ He’s always talking about the brown people and I get that he tries to be racially provocative. He is racially provocative… I said this once and I’ll say it again. If you watch his show ‘Masters of None,’… Aziz Ansari, Mr. f—ing racially provocative, Mr. f—ing button pusher, politically correct judger, has never seen a white girl he hasn’t liked. This guy, every single girl on his show that he’s with, white girls.”
“You ain’t never saw a white girl you didn’t like, did you Mr. brown guy?” Rapaport asked before co-host Gerald Moody chimed in with “where the Indians at?”
“F–k you, you little politically correct f–k, you,” Rapaport said. “I’m not saying he’s not funny. I’m not saying he’s not talented. And I’m not saying his voice isn’t warranted, but you are not holier than thou.”
Wow. That’s a lot to unpack. Let’s start with the Chris Brown stuff. No, Michael, I’ll never feel sorry for Chris Brown. Breezy might have some mental health issues, but his biggest issue is that he’s an abusive a—hole. And if you make the statement “Obviously, nobody supports beating women” and follow it up with “This guy has obviously suffered,” you deserve to be canceled. Do not talk to me about the suffering of Chris Brown when we have documented evidence of how he’s made his girlfriends suffer.
As for his criticism of Aziz… this conversation reminds me a lot of the sh-t Mindy Kaling has gone through for having white love interests on her show (and in real life). While there are conversations to be had about diverse casting choices, my general thought always comes back to: why are so many people so f—king offended when Indian people date white people? Why is it a thing that’s used to “bash” Mindy and Aziz? And personally, I don’t find Aziz racially provocative at all and I don’t think he’s trying to be. I think he’s an Indian-American comedian whose comedy is mainly about making conversations about race more palatable to mainstream audiences.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’m not at all concerned about the suffering of Chris Brown.
But…his suffering makes him beat women. Poor guy. I guess I never looked at it from that perspective before. Thanks, Whoeverthehellyouare Rappaort, for explaining this to me.
Its weird, how subjective levels of suffering are.
It’s strange how that forgiveness seems to only extend to crimes against women.
Winona seemed to get less support after she shoplifted, than Chris Brown did. There was longer between her comeback and she didn’t even commit a violent act.
Chris deserves not to be dragged though, because he only ‘almost’ beat a woman to death, and it was a long time ago. Not a child, not another man, just a woman.
It also seems like male public figures have to behave worse to get the same level of hate and condemnation that female public figures get for lesser, more forgivable offenses.
Amen. Poor, innocent Chris Brown!
Mel Gibson has suffered too y’all. And Johnny Depp, and Brad Pitt. Its the suffering that makes them do it.
don’t forget Charlie Sheen. Im’ not a Chris Brown fan but it’s interesting who keeps getting dragged and those everybody have amnesia with
Evidently Chris Brown isn’t the only one with anger issues. This guy is venting his spleen over Aziz Ansari, of all people?
Yeah, that was my takeaway, too. His reaction to Ansari is really over the top.
Yeah, that was an insane reaction to a Ansari’s SNL monologue! I didn’t think the monologue went far enough, I never expected people to get this offered by it. Who the f#ck defends CHRIS BROWN!? Chris Brown’s lawyers probably don’t want to defend Chris Brown. Who gives a crap about the “suffering” of an abusive, entitled and arrogant jack@ss?!
I’ve been a fan of Ansari since Parks & Rec. I’ve watched his standup specials and thought they were funny; he’s not the best standup comic in the world but he’s not bad. I LOVE Master of None. I’ve never found any of Ansari’s stuff offensive. “holier-than-thou”, or racially provocative. I feel like we’re not even talking about the same person lol.
Bingo! I walked away from this thinking, ” Why the hell do you relate to Chris Fn Brown, hmmmm?”
I love the constant narrative of “oh who HASN’T made mistakes. Who of us DON’T have a past they’re ashamed of. Stop being Holier Than Thou”.
I hate that shit.
Honestly, growing up the WORST thing I did was talk back to my parents. I didn’t drink until university – and only about 6months before turning 19 (I’m Canadian). I never got super drunk. Literally – that’s about the worst you can say about my youth. I didn’t party. I didn’t do drugs. I didn’t run away. I didn’t steal cars. I have never even texted while driving.
I worked my butt off and bought a house at 23. I got married at 24 to the guy I started dating at 14. I’ve had three advances in my position at my job in under 5 years.
So when dumbf-cks come out of the wood work saying “Oh we all have things to be ashamed of” in defense of these asshats who almost murder a person through BLUNT FORCE – NO. Just no. Don’t even TRY to say we’re all embarrassed of our terrible pasts.
You cannot in any way, shape, or form try to compare me being a smart aleck teenager to people like Chris Brown.
Amen. I read a local story about a school board member who was pretty much forced to resign after a really nasty series of misogynistic tweets and I was astonished how many people were screaming about how “the nasty women” were ruining his livelihood by calling him out. The “who among is is perfect?” responses kept coming up and I wanted to punch my computer screen.
I’ve seen some like that – it’s so insane.
Just because some of these people are garbage, doesn’t mean the rest of the world is the same – they seem to forget that.
A while back there was some mega church pastor trending because he had lost a ton of weight or whatever. Apparently he also is a child molester, but people were defending him left and right over that. “oh who doesn’t have sins” and “oh God will help him through this” – hey, if God is in the business of protecting child molesters, rapists, and murderers, maybe hell isn’t so bad.
THIS TIMES A MILLION OMG THANK YOU!!!
The defense of “We’ve all made mistakes!” only works when you’re talking about something minor. Almost committing a murder (plus everything else Chris Brown has done) is not even close to your typical adolescent/young adult mistakes.
Exactly. Domestic violence, nearly killing someone, using racist attacks against someone, his gross misogynistic response to some stranger who attempted suicide, and just the general lack of empathy he’s displayed toward others isn’t some normal youthful rebellion to shrug off as someone ‘just growing up’, ‘being young and dumb’, or being a ‘typical teen’ with an attitude. Nineteen is definitely old enough to know better, and it’s not like he’s suddenly become a good, changed person in his late 20’s. It’s not about age.
Also, Michael Rapaport has a troubling history of Domestic Violence toward women. I believe he was arrested for stalking ex-girfriend Lili Taylor? And then some weird business with Natasha Lyonne? He sets off my alarm bells.
And that probably explains why he took this whole thing so personally.
Figures. Abusers always rush to the defense of other abusers.
Rappaport is the worst. Occasionally he’s “featured” on Howard Stern and basically his schtick is verbally abusing people in his fantasy football league. Hilarious.
There are also very strong rumors about him and his last name has alternative pronunciations based on them.
This is why black twitter was roasting him this week because he has some ridicuous “views” about abuse and race. He was on the New Edition biopic and people took the time out to…air their grievances
Wow, just reading this one quote from him rant set off my alarm bells. It wasn’t just a comment, it was a full out rant.
Aha! I thought that may be the case, as I pondered above why he should relate so deeply to the douchelord.
When men come out to defend wife/girlfriend-beaters or rapists as some sort of ‘great political statement’ or mission, it really does set off alarm bells and make people wonder if they’re either defending themselves, or some relative or friend who abused somebody. He comes off as really defensive here.
Sigh. As an Indian-American I have to say that this is something I’ve noticed as well. I do feel that Ansari’s show is more inclusive than Mindy’s. I’m not saying that either of them should not date white people, but doing so perpetuates this notion within the community that when you are extremely successful, you go “white”. Like that’s what the pinnacle of success looks like- your face on a show and a white person on your arm. There’s nothing wrong with that but tell me how both shows take place in NY and you’re trying to tell me you never encounter another Indian person to date? There are 4 million of us there. I think it ignores the reality of an actual Indian person living in NY- there is some sort of community you will encounter and there are actual cool Indian people to date!
I only remember Rappapport from Boston Public and liked his character on the show. But no- Chris Brown apologists need to sit down.
That’s an interesting point. As I think about it I can’t think of any shows where an Indian character is with another Indian character. Or frankly any other type of person other than white.
Its the same with black men. They make it big and dating/marrying a white woman is see as a “status” symbol. A trade up from BW.
I really wish people would stop acting like BM only date WW once they become successful.Most of my black male cousins date White or Latino women.Most of my cousins are working class, half of them are ex cons.As a matter of fact 80 percent of my cousins in Los Angeles have a non Black girlfriend or wife.None of them are rich or successful.
@BJ, I live in a small city of about 250K and I see many interracial couples, who, judging by clothing, etc are not of a high socioeconomic status. I think it’s just television that pushes that stereotype.
The issue with Mindy’s show is her character has dated, or tried to date or had a crush on literally dozens of guys over the course of the show, often introducing a new guy every episode, and with the exception of one Indian guy last season (a storyline the show handled very poorly), every single one was white.
Taken alongside other casting decisions, like having a Manhattan OBGYN office be primarily staffed by white male doctors and nurses, it’s a real issue.
Literally the only defence I’ve seen for it is ‘Mindy’s Indian so it’s fine if every other choice is non-diverse or insultingly stereotypical’ or ‘Mindy dates nerdy white guys in real life and is just casting guys she’s personally into’. Neither’s remotely acceptable, and the latter is just ridiculous since it’s not like it’s her own personal Bachelorette show.
Aziz’s show on the other hand is very diverse, and in it he just dates the one white woman. If in future seasons he and that character break up and his character keeps only dating white people, then there’s an issue there, but as it is his show is in no way comparable to Mindy’s.
I agree, the situations are a little different. Also, Mindy’s show has been on for a number of seasons, and Aziz’s has only had 10 episodes so far, where he pretty much stated the same woman throughout.
Aziz’s girlfriend is white in real life, I believe. Maybe he is personally more attracted to white women. So what if there are 4million Indians in NYC? Are you saying Indians should preferentially date other Indians if there is a large population of them in one area? That’s pretty f-cked up.
Not at all. but it does seem like they are preferentially dating white people, particularly Mindy’s show. Also, when you are under represented in TV and films, this is something that you will notice.
Whats pretty f*cked up is the long history of indoctrinating dark skinned people with ideas about dating white being synonymous with dating upwards. Its extends even to social circles; the whiter your friends the better you are doing. Its bad for their self esteem, bad for their relationships, bad for their offspring and just bad for the culture. Aziz is pretty self aware on his show, even setting aside the wonderful diverse cast he assembled, and thats why everyone is giving him the benefit of the doubt. Mindy however is very suspect and people wonder if society did a number on her and if she is now spreading that toxic thinking through her show.
I don’t know. I think it will never become normal to see inter-racial couples and just let it be mainstream if we pick on people dating outside of their race. Nobody is forcing them to date white people. Both Aziz and Mindy date white people in their real life and they write their material (along with other writers) and work based off of what they know. What’s wrong with that? We are still dealing with so much racism and prejudice and here are two successful American born comedians/writers/showrunners/ that happen to also be Indian, I say let them live and do what they want to do.
I have friends that are Asian, Black, etc. and some date or marry within their race and some don’t. What’s the big deal? When we get together we all have fun and all couples are loving. That’s all that matters.
ETA: I cannot stand this man or Chris Brown. Wish they would both go away, never to be heard from again.
I think their personal preferences are fine.
But since acting is about, well, “acting”, I do find it a little strange that Mindy Kaling’s character dates only a specific type.
There are black actors who have white wives or husbands, but that doesn’t mean they only act with white love interests in movies or tv shows. Taye Diggs clearly has a preference for white women (and I think he’s stated it explicitly), but when he’s playing a role he’s willing to be paired with black women. Maybe that’s why Kaling is noticed so much for being paired with only white love interests — because acting isn’t really about acting as yourself even if you do base some of the character on yourself. I think the fact that Kaling doesn’t even have any Indian female friends on the show makes her tendency to interact with only white people (in a NYC hospital? of all places) a little more noticeable. The criticism would probably be less if she had set the show in Utah.
I don’t think Aziz’s show has been on long enough to really lodge the same criticisms at him.
Trying to weigh which I care about less…Chris Brown’s hurt feelings for Michael Rapaport’s opinion on anything…
Rapaport has a history with women himself. One of his exes filed a restraining order on him back in the day. Also, I dont think Aziz and Mindys situations are comparable. Master of None is a very diverse show, TMP isnt and the little diversity there was added as a response to the backlash. So fans naturally saw the steady stream of male love interest guest stars as an opportunity to inject some diversity. So that while we all accept that Danny is the goal, it wouldnt have hurt to introduce variety for her episodic crushes. Is it still on? I personally stopped watching when it became clear she wasnt hearing us.
I only know Rappaport from his occasional chiming in on the Stern show, and he is truly unhinged. When his mouth starts he just kind of ramps up and up (regardless of the topic) like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
I usually find him harmless. Today I know he’s an idiot.
That’s exactly how this piece read, like once he started talking he couldn’t stop. Seems like he needs to work on just keeping it shut.
Random but didn’t Lily Taylor have a restraining order against him back in the 90s? Perhaps he can empathize with Brown.
Um, wow…he obviously feels some kinda way…
I will say this though, about the Mindy Kaling thing. I realize that her show is a comedy but wheneverher race/ethnicity or other Indian characters are brought into the show it’s always as a joke. And on the rare occasion when she does bring other racialized characters on they usually conform to stereotypes. I think that she does have some issues. She always seems loathe to discuss issues of race and diversity but then I found out that she went through a type of internship for culturally diverse performers writers!!
I think Aziz is definitely better in that he absolutely shows more diversity on his show. But it’s weird when both of them only have white love interests on the show…whether intentional or not, it shows whiteness as the default and normalizes this tendency…
As for this Chris Brown nonsense, he can miss me with that.
I disagree about your comment that “on the rare occasion when she does bring other [racialized] characters on they usually conform to stereotypes”. I don’t think Xosha Roquemore plays a stereotype and I also don’t think that Neyo’s character Marcus (one of Mindy’s boyfriends for an episode) was a stereotypical black guy either.
I also wonder why people feel that because Kaling is Indian, her character needs to date more Indian guys? Can someone enlighten me? Her character has explained how her parents didn’t instill much of her Indian heritage in her upbringing (sorry weird sentence). It used to be that people freaked out over mixed race couples and now it’s that minorities don’t date enough other minorities. I completely understand the point about black men dating white woman as a status thing, but I really don’t think that’s the situation on with Kaling and Ansari’s shows.
“I also wonder why people feel that because Kaling is Indian, her character needs to date more Indian guys? Can someone enlighten me?””
I think the issue might be more about representation on tv rather than the notion of her character being required to date another Indian. She appears, on the surface anyway, to be in a position where she can hire other Indian actors and give them roles, and from what I can tell she’s not really doing that (I’m not sure if she’s allowed to however).
I don’t think her character HAS to date an Indian guy (especially since it’s been established that she’s now in a long-term relationship with the white doctor and I assume they’re endgame), but I do think it’s a little weird there are no other female Indian characters on the show, especially in a medical setting in NYC. Her character could easily have another female doctor colleague who is Indian. Maybe she could call in Parminder Nagra for a guest spot (my bad if this has already been done — I quit watching after a couple of seasons because the show wasn’t that interesting.)
I think I remember reading an interview with Aziz where he explained that he is never up for the part of love interest and I think that’s part of what he’s playing on in Masters of none. There are a lot of things his character is doing that Aziz has mentioned as not being able to do before as an actor.
God, this is so annoying. Aziz Ansari as “Mr. Racial”, really? I’m no Aziz expert, but my husband and I saw Aziz (and laughed hysterically) long before the reign of Emperor Baby Fists. If he addressed race at all, it was to talk about his experiences with his parents and growing up as Indian in South Carolina. However, now he is faced with the prospect of being a brown person in Trump’s America. As a white person, I can only imagine how terrifying that is, and how often he’s going to think about it. So, OF COURSE that’s going to make it into his comedy. Aside from that…what does talking about Chris Brown have to do with being “racial”?
If I have to listen to one more OLD WHITE MAN tell people how to feel, I don’t know what I’ll do.
No compassion for Chris Brown. Grown man with the means to get help for “all the trouble he has and all the trouble that surrounds him” (Rapaport’s words) and yet refuses to do so. Hey, Rapaport, if your so concerned about CB why not help him conquer his demons.
I actually felt uncomfortable reading that. You know when little kids hate someone else in their class, but they don’t really have a reason to, so they just talk around in circles trying to come up with an excuse? That’s what it sounded like.
And I’m not sure if I get his “I’m here for the tunes” comment? I’m actually among those who believe in separating art from the artist (a discussion I DO NOT want to have today), but… being president is not an art. Trump has demonstrated to be abusive, lacking in empathy, and very irascible. You can have those qualities and be a good singer (CB is not), but not a president. That’s what most puzzles me about the Trump election tbh. Trump’s rampant bigotry is not to be overlooked, but the Republican candidate was going to be a bigot anyway. What puzzles me is how people voted for him when he’s so obviously unfit for such an important job.
“I’m actually among those who believe in separating art from the artist (a discussion I DO NOT want to have today), but… being president is not an art.”
Josefina, I think that’s because you are a reasonable human being. I took Aziz’s analogy as the closest he could come to trying to figure out the mindset of the “average” Trump voter. I also sensed he didn’t even really agree with it either, but that it is what it is.
Wow, this guy seems to have some anger issues.
Also, the irony of calling someone ‘Mr. Racial’ while referring to someone as ‘Mr. Brown’ and repeatedly referring to white women? What the F? As a brown woman married to a white man, can I just say that we’re allowed to date/marry/love/shag men and women of races other than our own?
Thank you! That’s what I say! I’m a white Spanish girl married to a white Italian guy but all our friends are like a melting pot and if you truly are against racism and prejudice nobody should question someone else’s choice in a mate/partner/lover etc.
Some of the comments I’m reading here are very unsettling in regards to Aziz and Mindy not dating in their own race/ethnicity.
Growing up I had a huge crush on a boy in my class who happened to be black and he never saw me like that but I would have hoped if we dated all our friends wouldn’t have felt either of us were doing something wrong or snubbing our races (he landed up dating my Greek friend 🙁 man was I jealous!!! Lol)
This. And I don’t think his comments are about genuine concern over racial diversity- notice how he has nothing to say in this little rant about Chris Brown referring to Aziz Ansari as “Aladdin” the other day. He’s just swiping at him in order to stick up for an abuser- probably because fears about the public dragging an abusive man for his behavior for years hits a little too close to home for him. He’s trying to make it like Azis is racist toward his own race, but his comments actually make him sound like another one of those people on the internet who’s not yet ready to treat interracial dating as normal in 2017.
So, Michael Rappaport isn’t much of an actor it turns out. He was just being himself each time he portrayed a clueless asshole meathead. Ughhhhh! I really can’t take being surrounded by jackasses. it turns out they’re all around us.
I will never forgive him for stinking up season 5 of Justified.
Aziz actually did talk about that, how he wants to be more inclusive and not just have his character date white girls. He talked about how POC have a harder time getting cast and he wants to help that, not be a part of the problem. The reason that his character mainly dated a white girl last season was because it was based loosely on Aziz’s IRL relationship with a white girl. Mindy Kaling’s main issue, IMO, is that she surrounds herself with white guys, both in her writing staff and her cast. That to me was always more problematic, as it helped explain the fat-shaming and racist and sexual assault jokes the show did. It also seems like there are very few women of color who have Mindy’s power; you would hope that people like her, like shonda rhimes, would give opportunities to POC. Aziz has one of the most diverse casts, so he really can’t be faulted for that. I’m Indian and I love both, although Aziz is much more conscious of these issues.
Do guys in real life make fun of Mindy’s weight? Why the heck does she hang around them?
I remember that one doctor making fun of her character, and then wondering how she could possibly fall for him after that.
Mindy Kaling is a comedy writer and her self-deprecating style of humor (like Tina Fey) actually made me more comfortable with my own flaws because I realized I could laugh about not being “perfect” and own it. I don’t think her jokes should be considered fat shaming based on the quote from her book below:
“You know what’s funny? If I call myself a cute, chubby girl, the natural kind woman’s response is, ‘You’re not chubby! You’re beautiful! And thin!'”, she says. “And I always want to hug the person and say, ‘It’s OK, I identify as someone who is cute and chubby – that doesn’t mean I’m not worthy of love and attention and intimacy.'”
I think Aziz has said he hopes to introduce an Indian love interest in the future. I think his case is different from Mindy’s in that his show hasn’t been on as long.
I have wondered if the head management people suggest to them to have white love interests though so that the show can appear “white-friendly” to white people. Like, is it their idea or someone else’s in order to get the show on air?
His over-the-top reaction makes me think he has abused a woman in the past or has some type of abusive behavior in his past towards women.
He’s had “issues” with both Lili Taylor and Natasha Lyonne. Lili had to get a restraining order, IIRC.
So says the admitted harasser. Birds of a feather and all.
And I also want to say on the topic of Mindy Kaling. She’s a 37 year old Indian-American Woman. She’s single. She’s a writer, producer, actor and comedian. She is not your typical Hollywood celeb. She’s not blonde, not tall, not a size negative zero and she had her own show on FOX and now on Hulu (which I subscribed to just for her show and then also got hooked on Blackish). Isn’t this something we should be celebrating?!? I’m bewildered.
Aziz is fracking hilarious. I’ve never heard of the other guy. So… (BTW I think I’ve mentioned this before but if you watch/listen to his specials back to back you can actually see/hear him grow as a person, and it’s beautiful. He was always funny, but you can see the growing social awareness).
“Button pusher”??? Said the guy with his finger out jabbing furiously…
I don’t get why people bring up the race of who Aziz & Mindy date either. In the context of this article, it feels super icky almost like a warning “you better stay away from our white women!” – as if, as usual women are a commodity to sell or barter for or are unable to make their own decisions. Just gross.
I never noticed who they date in real life. But let’s get real – in their professions, both Aziz & Mindy are outnumbered. Whiteys everywhere in Hollywood!