Insights Into Entertainment: Episode 142 “Racism, Slaps and Weird Star Wars”

[INTRO THEME]

[INTRODUCTIONS] (2-3 minutes)
Insights Into Entertainment: Episode 142 “Racism, Slaps and Weird Star Wars”
My creative and inspiring co-host Michelle Whalen

[SHOW SUMMARY] (2-3 minutes)
This week we take a look at how Disney manages to do it wrong yet again
We’ll also get a look at how Star Wars almost got very “Weird” on us
Finally we’ll talk about the unavoidable news from this past weekend’s Academy Awards

[Show Plugs] (2-3 minutes)
Subscriptions:
Google
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher
Amazon

Contact Info
Email us at: Comments@insightsintothings.com
Twitter: @insights_things
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsightsIntoThingsPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightsintothings/
Links to all these on the web: https://www.insightsintothings.com

[TRANSITION]

[SEGMENT 1: Disney Detective] (8-12 minutes)

Disney just can’t seem to get it right
https://globalnews.ca/news/8697954/disney-apologizes-racist-school-performance-florida-theme-park-indianettes-texas-school/
https://bit.ly/3us6vjh

What is that old saying about lightning never strikes twice?
Well it has, at least in the form of bad press
And Disney is once again the lightning rod attracting it
After just coming off the heals of their insensitive handling of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill – Disney is now courting racist performances in their parks

Port Neches-Groves High School drill team shocked attendees at Walt Disney World on March 15 with their racist performance
Marching in their purple fringed dresses the drill team chanted questionable slogans like “scalp ‘em Indians, scalp ‘em” among other things
An attorney for the Ojibwe [oO-jeeb-way] tribe shared a portion of the video performance on twitter with their astounded reaction to such blatant racist remarks.
Tara Houska writes “Cuz a bunch of kids in fringe chanting ‘scalp ‘em Indians, scalp ‘em’ is honor, right? Shame on @DisneyParks hosting this. Nostalgic racism is RACISM”

How many red flags does it take to clue a media mega-giant into a problem?
Disney missed numerous red flags, any one of which would have clued you in to a potential problem so it could have been prevented
The Texas based high school’s nickname were the Indianettes
You’d think that would have been the first sign of a possible problem, but apparently Disney missed that clue
The fringed costumes the team wore were a clear case of cultural appropriation of traditional indigenous peoples dress
Another clue Disney either missed or simply ignored
And finally, the school’s official fight song is titled “Cherokee”
Ok, so I could see how you might confuse this as perhaps a homage to that particular native American tribe
But a few seconds of googling would net you a video of the song along with it’s racist lyrics
Instead Disney allowed them to perform at their parks, either oblivious to the issue because they neglected to do their due diligence or simply ignoring the warning signs

Despite the damage done, Disney was quick to distance themselves from the performance or their responsibility for screening those performing in their parks, as if they had no foreknowledge of what it contained
Disney spokesperson Jacquee Wahler said in a statement:
“The live performance in our park did not reflect our core values, and we regret it took place.
“It was not consistent with the audition tape the school provided and we have immediately put measures in place so this is not repeated”

Criticism has been lodged at Disney for their lame attempt to distance and dismiss the racist performance
At no time has Disney condemned the performance
Nor have they acknowledged their own mistake in hosting this group
And there has been no statement of support for indiginous peoples or even an apology that it’s happened

In recent years the company has started putting disclaimers on it’s more dated works in an attempt to acknowledge insensitive material
Movies like 1953’s Peter Pan now have warnings to viewers about “stereotypical” portrayals of indigenous people
Disney is also in the process of re-theming aspects of the park that court more sensitive material such as the “Song of the South” themed Splash Mountain to make it more universally acceptable

The entertainment giant has indicated steps it takes for new material to avoid these types of issues
A diversity and inclusion initiative reviews and filters new material from the company
Their aim is to amplify “under-represented voices”
An attempt is being made to champion the importance of “accurate representation in media and entertainment”

Is it all just buzzword bingo?
Disney seems very adept at saying the right things about these issues
Of course, they usually say those things AFTER they’re called on the carpet for them
Which leaves the casual observer and the offended party scratching their heads as to how out of touch Disney really is
It’s clear Disney’s prime objective is to protect their image and preserve the bottom line
They don’t seem to be inclined to acknowledge shortcomings in the organization until a spotlight has been shone on them
Disney needs to be more proactive at acknowledging the hurtful things they as a company are consistently responsible for and need to take the initiative to correct these issues instead of waiting for someone else to point them out
While we can’t blame this one on Bob Chapek directly, the fact of the matter is the buck stops with him and this happened on his watch, so he’s responsible for it.

[AD 1]

[SEGMENT 2: Tales from the Edge of the Galaxy] (8-12 minutes)

“Weird Al” Yankovic almost officially made into the Star Wars Universe
https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/star-wars-detours-musical-weird-al-yankovic-season-3-songs/
https://bit.ly/3DfKTuK

It’s hard to listen to the Don McClean classic American Pie and not confuse those immortal lyrics with The Saga Begins lyrics of the Weird Al spoof
Or hear the The Kinks classic “Lola” and not think of Weird Al’s “Yoda” parody
These have become iconic contributions to the notoriously non-cannon world of Star Wars thanks to that zany musician with a talent for parody that we all love
But they were separate and independent from the Star Wars universe

Well it turns out Al Yankovic had a golden opportunity to be an official part of the Star Wars lexicon
Star Wars Detours, an animated series developed by Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich featured an episode that included music composed by Weird Al himself
Sadly the series was shelved and never saw the light of day so we all missed out on more of his creative genius

Was there really going to be a Star Wars the Musical?
Yankovic confirmed on an appearance on The George Lucas Talk Show
“We were working on a Star Wars musical, that was a third-season show, we were writing songs and all of a sudden, it was like ‘This is NOT gonna happen”
Yankovic was tight lipped about details of the music, but did confirm there are at least half a dozen or more songs that would be part of the episode along with various characters
He noted that they actually recorded the characters singing their songs about a week before they found out the project had been canceled
Weird Al, trying to recall details of the project did indicate the songs were all original, not parodies of existing contemporary material

Detours was developed under the original owner of Lucasfilm prior to the company’s sale to Disney
It was a comedic series with over 40 episodes created
Debuting with a sizzle reel back at Star Wars Celebration 2012 it showed great promise
Both Green and Senreich worked closely with George Lucas to develop the series
When Disney took over the company months later they shelved a number of new projects in the works, Detours being one of those casualties
Apparently Disney was concerned that newcomers first experience to the series not be a satirical one

He’s more than just a music guy
Weird Al also voiced the character of 4-LOM on the series
A robotic bounty hunter who made its debut in The Empire Strikes Back
Yankovic wasn’t able to recall the complete roster of singers though
“It really was a while ago, I’m not sure that I was actually even in that particular episode, so probably not” he said regarding whether he sang for the episode
“I think probably most of the principal actors in the series were involved”

Lucasfilm under Disney has given no hints about a possible revival of the comedic series
But fans continue to hope that they could one day see the finished product

[AD 2]

[SEGMENT 2: Entertainment News] (8-12 minutes)

So the Oscars…right?
https://apnews.com/article/2022-oscars-top-moments-f26255e20fd810a3fe0d6722eb9df5ac
https://bit.ly/3JYqQDs

To say it was a night full of emotion would be an understatement
Putting aside the obvious big emotional outburst of the night there was more to the 94th Academy Awards than just the slap heard round the world
Troy Kotsur’s best supporting actor win for his role in CODA tugged at the heartstrings for so many people in the audience who signaled their approval with waving hands, the ASL sign for applause
The trend of inclusivity continued with the Best Supporting Actress award going to Ariana DeBose for her role as Anita in West Side Story
She scored the win 60 years after Rita Moreno claimed the award for the same role in the original 1962 film version of the Broadway Musical
DeBose was also the first Afro-Latina and openly LGBTQ actor to win in the category
In her heartwarming speech she touched on what it was like to have her dreams come true and spoke to anyone who has ever questioned their identity, assuring them there was a place for us all.

Thankfully politics took the night off…mostly
After the past few years of showcasing a politically charged stage for activism the politics were pretty low key at this years awards
There were a few references to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, among them were co-host Wanda Sykes who herself is openly gay
“And for you people in Florida, we’re going to have a gay night” was a more mild jab at the controversial legislation on Sykes’ part
Later that night best actress winner Jessica Chastain fired a more obvious shot across the bow of Florida’s Republican legislators and governor saying:
“We’re faced with discriminatory and bigoted legislation that is sweeping our country with the only goal of further dividing us”

The big winners on the night
Dune took home 6 Oscars
Best Cinematography, Best original score, Best film editing, Best production design, Best Visual effect, Best sound
CODA scored 3 Oscars
Best picture, Best supporting actor, Best adapted screenplay
The Eyes of Tammy Faye earned 2 Oscars
Best Actress, Best makeup and hairstyling

So who won?
Best Picture went to CODA
Best Cinematography went to Dune
Best Director, Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog
Best Actress as previously mentioned went to Jessica Chastain for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Best Actor went to Will Smith in King Richard, more on him in a bit
Best Supporting Actress of course went to Ariana DeBose in West Side Story
Best Supporting Actor we already said went to Troy Kotsure in Coda
Best Animated Feature Film – Encanto
Best Documentary Feature – Summer of Soul
Best Original Song – “No Time to Die” by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
That rounds out the top categories, check out links in the show notes for a complete list of winners

So what happened with the slap?
Chris Rock best summed it up with his quick and concise assessment that
“Will Smith just slapped the shit out of me”
That is what happened for sure, and it happened in front of the entire audience, on stage with the sound quickly cut out, for the American audience at least
What let up to this was what can best be described as a tasteless and insensitive joke directed at Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith
Chris Rock, on stage to present the Best Documentary award to Quest Love had made a joke comparing Smith’s wife to Demi Moore’s character in “G.I. Jane”, a reference to her shaved head
Jada Pinkett Smith is very open about her suffering from the auto-immune disease alopecia which results in hair loss
This resulted in Will Smith climbing on stage, walking up to Chris Rock and laying one of the most epic slaps to the face on him in the history of face slaps
Rock, to his credit took it in stride, trying to play off the assault jokingly only to have Smith, who by now had returned to his seat berate him in a vulgar tirade about keeping his wife’s name out of his mouth.
Entertainment Weekly has since report that an unnamed source affiliated with the show confirmed that the joke that set off the moment was not in the script
The New Yorker seemed to further confirm this by a source identified only as “a man who worked a tech job at the ceremony” who was overheard by attendees saying:
“Everything I know from backstage was that that was totally real.”
He further clarified “It was certainly not in our script”
Will Smith, who would go on to win the Best Actor award later in the evening apologized to the academy and other winners during his acceptance speech.
Smith has since issued a public apology on instagram for his actions saying:
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.

I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science did issue a statement condemning Will Smith’s actions and announcing they were beginning a formal review and will be exploring further action and consequences in accordance with they bylaws and standards of conduct and California law
On Wednesday they issued an update on their formal review saying they had already begun their disciplinary proceedings against Smith
They cited “inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior and compromising the Academy as violations by Smith
According to the bylaws Smith will receive 15 days notice of the Academy’s vote and have an opportunity to be heard via written response
Smith could face suspension, expulsion or other sanctions
CNN also reported that the statement acknowledged that Smith was requested to leave the ceremony after the altercation and refused to do so
The Academy also recognizes “we could have handled the situation differently”
Chris Rock was back on his “Ego Death Tour” on Wednesday
After receiving back to back standing ovations at his show in Boston, Rock made his first public comments on the incident since Sunday
“I’m still kind of processing what happened so at some point I’ll talk about that”
“…it’ll be serious and it’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes”
Rock also put to bed rumors that he had been in contact with Smith saying
“I haven’t talked to anyone, despite what you heard”
In the latest development in this ongoing saga Will Smith has officially resigned from the Academy
Variety reports that Academy president David Rubin issued a statement saying:
“We have received and accepted Mr. Will Smith’s immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
“We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18”
[TRANSITION]

[SEGMENT 4: Convention News] (8-12 minutes)

Upcoming Conventions

FanExpo (Formerly Wizard World)
https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpophiladelphia/
https://bit.ly/32VSRen

Philadelphia Convention Center
April 8-10 2022
Join tens of thousands of fans who are just like you and experience the ultimate playground for comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming.
Three days of citywide events, family-friendly attractions and world-renowned celebrities await.
Show Hours:
Friday 4 PM – 9 PM
Saturday 10 AM – 7 PM
Sunday 10 AM – 5 PM
SINGLE DAY
Advanced price: From $37
Full price: From $47
3-DAY PASS
Advanced price: From $89
Full price: From $99
PREMIUM PACKAGE
Advanced price: From $119
Full price: From $129

Listen to audio of Insights Into Entertainment or watch video of Insights Into Things
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Stitcher
iHeart Radio
Tunein

Contact Info
Email: Comments@insightsintothings.com
Twitter: @insights_things
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsightsIntoThingsPodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightsintothings/
Audio: http://podcast.insightsintoentertainment.com/#
Video: podcast.insightsintothings.com
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/insightsintothings
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/insightsintothings
Web: https://www.insightsintothings.com

---

[SEGMENT 3: Insightful Picks of the Week] (8-12 minutes)

00:00:01:26 – 00:00:48:05
Michelle
Insightful podcasts by informative host insights into things, a podcast network Welcome to Insights into Entertainment, a podcast series taking a deeper look into entertainment and media Your host Joseph and Michelle Whelan, a husband and wife team of pop culture fanatics, are exploring all things from music and movies to television and fandom.

00:00:51:09 – 00:01:06:06
Joseph
Welcome to Insights into Entertainment. This is episode one 42 Racism, Slaps and Weird Star Wars. I’m your host, Joseph Whalen, and my creative and inspiring co-host, Michele Rowland.

00:01:06:09 – 00:01:07:06
Michelle
Hi, everyone.

00:01:07:09 – 00:01:08:12
Joseph
Hi. How are you doing today, dear?

00:01:08:16 – 00:01:09:12
Michelle
Not too bad.

00:01:09:12 – 00:01:18:18
Joseph
And you doing all right? We’re a little late this week doing this. Yeah. Had some weather events happen on Thursday that kind of pushed the show.

00:01:18:21 – 00:01:19:01
Michelle
Hmm.

00:01:19:17 – 00:01:24:17
Joseph
So how was your week That good, huh? Yeah.

00:01:26:18 – 00:01:27:18
Michelle
Yeah. You know.

00:01:29:26 – 00:01:31:28
Joseph
Not enough said there, I think. Yeah.

00:01:32:00 – 00:01:56:15
Michelle
You know, we have a new houseguest staying with us a little bit more full time, right, than before. And we had a little bit of some incidents last night with said guest and the other residents that that reside here. Catfight literally a catfight. So, yes, we are now up to four kitties under Cat Lady.

00:01:56:23 – 00:01:57:09
Joseph
Yes.

00:01:57:21 – 00:02:00:01
Michelle
Yes, we are the cats now outnumber us.

00:02:01:00 – 00:02:25:00
Joseph
That’s never good. Never good. Well, we got a you got a busy show today, so let’s jump right in. So this week, we are going to be talking about how Disney manages to do it wrong yet again. Then we’ll take a look at how Star Wars almost got very weird on us. And finally, we’ll talk about the unavoidable news for this past weekend’s Academy Awards.

00:02:25:12 – 00:02:30:16
Joseph
So and that’s a developing story that’s been updated probably four times since I wrote this script.

00:02:30:17 – 00:02:33:01
Michelle
Yeah. Yeah. Like every day there’s something new.

00:02:33:01 – 00:02:59:00
Joseph
That pops up. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. We just update it again 5 minutes before the show started. So before we do that, though, I do want to invite our listening and viewing audience to subscribe to the podcast. You can find audio versions of this podcast listed as insights in the entertainment. Video and audio versions can also be found listed on their insights in the things, and we can be found anywhere.

00:02:59:00 – 00:03:32:11
Joseph
You can find a podcast Apple, Spotify, Google, and so forth. We would also invite you to write in. Give us your feedback, tell us how we’re doing. Give us your shows, your your conventions, the plug. You can email us and comments and insights into things that come. We’re on Twitter at Twitter.com. Insights underscore things. We’re on Facebook at Facebook.com, Slash Insights into Things podcast or you can get links to all those and much more on our official website and insights into things dot com.

00:03:32:16 – 00:03:33:06
Joseph
Here we go.

00:03:39:15 – 00:03:40:03
Joseph
Joe.

00:03:40:07 – 00:04:10:06
Michelle
So Disney just can’t seem to get it right. What’s that old saying about lightning never strikes twice? Well, it has, at least in the form of bad press. And Disney is once again the lightning rod attack, attracting it after just coming off the heels of the insensitive handling of the don’t say gay bill Disney is now courting racist performance performances in their parks.

00:04:10:28 – 00:04:45:26
Michelle
The Port Neches Grove High School drill team shocked attendees at Walt Disney World on March 15th with their racist performance marching in their purple fringed dresses. The drill team chanted questionable slogans like Scalp them, Indians, scalp them. Among other things. An attorney for the Ojibwa tribe shared a portion of this video performance on Twitter with their astonishing, astonished reaction to such blatant racist remarks.

00:04:46:16 – 00:04:59:21
Michelle
Tara Houska writes, Because a bunch of kids in fringe chanting Scalp them Indians, scalp them is honor right? Shame on Disney Parks. Hosting this nostalgic racism is racism.

00:05:00:05 – 00:05:20:26
Joseph
So how many red flag does it take to clue in a mega media giant into a problem? Disney missed numerous red flags, any one of which could have clued you in to a potential problem. So you could have prevented it. The Texas based high school’s nickname were the Indian Acts. You’d think that would have been a first sign of a possible problem.

00:05:20:26 – 00:05:44:23
Joseph
But apparently Disney missed that clue The fringed costumes the team wore were a clear case of cultural appropriation of traditional indigenous peoples dress. Another clue Disney either missed or simply ignored. And finally, the school’s official fight song is titled Cherokee. Okay, so I could see how you might confuse this as perhaps a homage to that particular Native American tribe.

00:05:45:27 – 00:06:14:22
Joseph
But a few seconds of Googling would net you a video of the song along with its racist lyrics. Instead, Disney allowed them to perform at their parks, either oblivious to the issue because they neglected to do their due diligence or simply ignoring the warning signs. Despite the damage done, Disney was quick to distance themselves from the performance or their responsibility for screening those performing in their parks as if they had no foreknowledge of what it contained.

00:06:15:27 – 00:06:35:02
Joseph
Disney spokesman Jackie Waller said in a statement, quote, The live performance in our park did not reflect our core values, and we regret it took place. It was not consistent with the audition tape the school provided and we have immediately put measures in place. So this is not repeated.

00:06:35:23 – 00:07:30:11
Michelle
So criticism has been lodged at Disney for their lame attempt to distance and dismiss the racist performance. At no time has Disney condemned the performance, nor have they acknowledged their own mistake in hosting this group. And there has been no statement of support for indigenous peoples or even an apology that it happened In recent years, the company has started putting disclaimers on its more dated works in an attempt to acknowledge insensitive material Movies like 1950 Three’s Peter Pan now have warnings to viewers about stereotypical portrayals of indigenous people Disney is also in the process of rethinking aspects of the park that caught more sensitive materials, such as the Song of the South themed Splash Mountain, to

00:07:30:11 – 00:08:01:18
Michelle
make it more universally acceptable. The entertainment giant has initiated steps it takes for new material to avoid these types of issues. A diversity and inclusion initiative reviews and filters, new material from four from the company Their aim is to amplify underrepresented voices. An attempt is being made to champion the importance of accurate representation in media and entertainment.

00:08:02:05 – 00:08:27:13
Joseph
So is this all just buzzword bingo here? Disney seems very adept at saying the right things about these issues. Of course, they usually say those things after they’re called on the carpet for them. Which leaves the casual observer and the offended party scratching their heads as to how out of touch Disney really is. It’s clear Disney prime objective is to protect their image and preserve their bottom line.

00:08:28:06 – 00:08:56:25
Joseph
They don’t seem to be inclined to acknowledge shortcomings in the organization until a spotlight has been shown on them. Disney needs to be more proactive at acknowledging the hurtful things they as a company are consistently responsible for and need to take the initiative to correct these issues instead of waiting for someone else to point them out. Now, while we can’t blame this one on Bob Chapek directly, the fact of the matter is the buck stops with him, and this happened on his watch.

00:08:57:13 – 00:09:16:10
Joseph
So, like, I always say, blame it on Bob. So what do you think? I mean, the fact that they haven’t even condemned the performance at this point, they basically just said, Oh, that’s not our problem, and they’re just distancing themselves like that. That’s like the height of irresponsibility, I think.

00:09:16:11 – 00:09:24:24
Michelle
Well, I think there was something that came out basically saying they were never going to be allowed to perform again. But that was really it.

00:09:24:28 – 00:09:44:02
Joseph
Right. Like, they didn’t it was almost like the performance was the problem. It wasn’t the message. Right. The performance. Right. They they failed to sing. They seem that they are failing to acknowledge that the content was bad. It was almost like they were like, oh, well, it just wasn’t a bad act and we’re not going to have it back again.

00:09:44:03 – 00:10:11:25
Michelle
Right. Right. And granted, I’m sure they get thousands upon thousands of, you know, audition tapes from schools all over the country, probably all, you know, even the world at this point. So. Okay, so do you have time to. All right. You know, you would think if they pick a school that looks good in the air, their audition tape.

00:10:12:02 – 00:10:14:06
Michelle
Well, let me just Google them to see.

00:10:14:12 – 00:10:15:11
Joseph
At a minimum.

00:10:15:19 – 00:10:16:20
Michelle
If anything I mean.

00:10:16:20 – 00:10:22:23
Joseph
Literally, it took 2 minutes. Right. Look, this school up and and see how offensive they’re performing.

00:10:22:23 – 00:10:38:27
Michelle
Right. And the other thing, too, was for the performance in the parade, they didn’t they weren’t in full uniform because their full uniform actually for the Indiana arts. They actually do have a headdress as well from what but what they.

00:10:38:27 – 00:10:41:03
Joseph
Did wear was clearly cultural appropriation.

00:10:41:03 – 00:11:07:00
Michelle
Absolutely. Their whole uniform itself was was that so? And that’s the thing is you have all of these high schools that still have their old names that, you know, at least you’re starting to see the major league teams, you know, the the NFL teams and the baseball teams starting to change their names or changing their logos. To not be.

00:11:07:05 – 00:11:33:12
Joseph
Seen. But as a policy, if you’re going to have a school come in that has an offensive name to it like that, Don’t use the mascot name or their theme name. Right. The school name is perfectly fine. Right. And they can’t wear the offensive uniforms and they can’t perform offensive material. You can still allow the kids to come out and do a performance just within certain parameters that are not offensive.

00:11:33:12 – 00:11:34:18
Joseph
And that’s difficult to say.

00:11:34:18 – 00:11:50:28
Michelle
Right? But that’s the whole thing, like thinking about our daughters, you know, marching band. They have, you know, their uniform. If they were to get picked to perform, but yet had some sort of, you know, inappropriate outfit.

00:11:51:18 – 00:11:52:05
Joseph
Well, our.

00:11:52:05 – 00:11:52:17
Michelle
School.

00:11:52:17 – 00:11:54:16
Joseph
Probably limits the outfit too.

00:11:54:26 – 00:12:16:22
Michelle
Well, and that’s the whole thing is. I’m sure. Well, I’m sure I’m guessing I didn’t see what the rest of the marching band because it was just their majorettes, I guess, that were in the outfit. So I didn’t see what the rest of their marching band was wearing. So they might have had a different outfit, but I’m guessing that’s a uniform that they use all the time.

00:12:16:22 – 00:12:19:24
Michelle
Whereas like with our school, I’m just saying because like our.

00:12:19:24 – 00:12:22:06
Joseph
School, you need to get a different uniform if you want to perform.

00:12:22:15 – 00:12:24:17
Michelle
Well and that’s the whole thing, depending.

00:12:24:17 – 00:12:29:24
Joseph
On uniform. Had a big middle finger on the back of it. Disney’s not going to let you perform, are they right?

00:12:29:25 – 00:12:46:04
Michelle
Probably not. But I’m saying looking at their uniform that’s probably a uniform that is worn every year by them. Just like for the marching band. The marching band has the same uniform every year, but the our color guard, their outfit change is based off of.

00:12:46:05 – 00:12:48:07
Joseph
And the theme of the show point there.

00:12:48:08 – 00:13:01:23
Michelle
So my whole thing is if Disney said, Okay, you can come, but you need to change your outfit, I’m guessing they probably wouldn’t have gone because they would have had all of those problems solved.

00:13:03:13 – 00:13:05:01
Joseph
Right. I mean, you know.

00:13:05:12 – 00:13:08:11
Michelle
We’re looking for this and that. And that’s the thing is now.

00:13:08:27 – 00:13:09:11
Joseph
Maybe.

00:13:09:13 – 00:13:10:01
Michelle
Faster.

00:13:10:09 – 00:13:29:18
Joseph
If Disney said, well, you can’t come and wear a uniform like that because it’s offensive, maybe it would have taken a school, direct the band director a second and think, wow, if the if the uniforms offensive, maybe what we’re going to perform is offensive to, maybe the name that we chose is maybe it actually starts people thinking, hey, this is kind of insensitive and we shouldn’t do this.

00:13:30:00 – 00:13:46:16
Joseph
Maybe Disney should be leading the pack on this instead of, again, trailing behind and trying to play catch up and, you know, fix the problems they’ve created. Maybe that’s the way they should be going as the corporation that they are. They should be leading. They shouldn’t be followed.

00:13:46:17 – 00:13:47:06
Michelle
I agree.

00:13:47:09 – 00:13:52:17
Joseph
I agree. So anyway, Disney doing it wrong again. And it’s possible.

00:13:55:02 – 00:13:56:24
Michelle
You just enjoy that way too.

00:13:56:25 – 00:14:38:08
Joseph
Much. He’s such an easy target. Yeah. Yeah. So we’ll be right back with some Star Wars news for over seven years, the second Sith Empire has been the Premiere Community Guild in the online game Star Wars, The Old Republic, with hundreds of friendly and helpful active members. A weekly schedule of nightly events, annual guild, meet and greets in the community, both on the rim and on Discord.

00:14:39:10 – 00:15:19:20
Joseph
The second of Empire is more than your typical gaming group. We’re Family. Join us on the Star Forge server for nightly events such as Operations, Flashpoints, World Boss Funds, the Star Wars Trivia Guild Lottery and much more Visit us on the web today. And w w w start the second sip and fire dot com So Weird Al Yankovic almost officially made it into the Star Wars universe.

00:15:20:15 – 00:15:32:02
Joseph
It’s hard to listen to the Don McLean classic American Pie and not confuse those immortal lyrics with the saga. Begin lyrics of the Weird Al spoof, especially when every time the song comes on, our daughter sings the weird.

00:15:32:05 – 00:15:34:09
Michelle
Well, I was going to say with our daughter.

00:15:34:09 – 00:16:04:07
Joseph
Yeah, that’s very difficult. It’s hard to hear the kinks classic Lola and not think of Weird Al’s Yoda parody. These have become iconic contributions to the notoriously non-canon world of Star Wars. Thanks to that zany musician with a talent for parody we all love. But they were all separate and independent from the Star Wars universe. Well, it turns out Weird Al Yankovic actually had a golden opportunity to be official part of the Star Wars lexicon.

00:16:05:05 – 00:16:24:10
Joseph
Star Wars Detours and animated series developed by Robot Chicken creator Seth Green and Matthew Shiner featured an episode that included music composed by Weird Al himself. Sadly, the series was shelved and never saw the light of day, so we all missed out on more of it. Creative Genius.

00:16:25:02 – 00:16:56:00
Michelle
So was there really going to be a Star Wars? The Musical Yankovic had actually confirmed on an appearance on the George Lucas talk show. He said, We were working on a Star Wars musical that was a third season show. We were writing songs, and all of a sudden it was just like, This is not going to happen. Yankovic was tight lipped about details of the music, but did confirm there are at least a half a dozen or more songs that would have been part of the episode.

00:16:56:00 – 00:17:16:09
Michelle
Along with various characters. He noted that they actually recorded the characters singing their songs about a week before they found out that the project had been canceled. We’re now trying to recall details of the project did indicate the songs were all original and not parodies of existing contemporary material.

00:17:17:06 – 00:17:48:25
Joseph
Detours was developed under the original owner of Lucasfilm prior to the company sale. George Lucas was a comedic series that was over 40 episodes, which had been created for debuting with a sizzle reel back at Star Wars celebration. 2012. It showed great promise. Both Green and Signer worked closely with George Lucas to develop the series, which Seth Green later wound up kind of attributing to, like, the best experience of his career, you know, in an interview.

00:17:48:26 – 00:18:06:00
Joseph
Oh, I’m sure. Yeah. Lucas When Disney took over the company months later, they shelved a number of new projects in the works, detours being one of those casualties. Apparently, Disney was concerned that newcomers first experienced to the series not be a satirical one.

00:18:06:17 – 00:18:34:02
Michelle
So he’s more than just a music guy. We’re now also voiced the character of for a long time on the series of robotic bounty hunter who made its debut in The Empire Strikes Back. Yankovic wasn’t able to recall the complete roster of singers, though. He said it’s it really was a long time, a long while ago. I’m not sure that I was actually even in that particular episode, so probably not, he said.

00:18:34:02 – 00:18:53:16
Michelle
Regarding whether he sang for the episode. I think probably most of the principal actors in the series were involved. Lucas films under Disney has given no hints about a possible revival of the comedic series, but fans continue to hope that they one day will see the finished project.

00:18:53:29 – 00:19:03:17
Joseph
Now it’s funny because there was a whole bunch of projects that Disney had canceled when they took over, this being one of them. But this was like 90% of the way.

00:19:03:25 – 00:19:06:06
Michelle
They had 40 episodes already done.

00:19:06:23 – 00:19:09:05
Joseph
How do you seasons ready to go with this?

00:19:09:06 – 00:19:18:14
Michelle
Yeah. Like, how do you not know? And especially now that you have Disney plus you have an opportunity to to put it out there.

00:19:18:14 – 00:19:45:04
Joseph
And the funny thing is this was a satirical, animated version of Star Wars. Well, Star Trek came out with their own right, their version, their lower deck series, and that’s been received extremely well. So there’s a lot of speculation in that, given how successful that’s been for the Star Trek franchise. It might be worthwhile to go back and revisit these and make them, you know, non-cash and still.

00:19:45:07 – 00:19:54:15
Joseph
Right. Right. But you’ve got this entire work of mini media. Right. And they’ve been pulling all kinds of crazy stuff back onto Disney plus. They have it.

00:19:54:15 – 00:20:07:05
Michelle
And the other thing, too, is not only you know, because at first when Disney Plus started, it was family friendly. There was nothing that was, you know, PG. You had a couple of things, but nothing more.

00:20:07:05 – 00:20:08:20
Joseph
Than that wouldn’t have flown Robot.

00:20:08:20 – 00:20:15:11
Michelle
Chicken. Totally. But now they’ve added a lot of the more adult things.

00:20:15:11 – 00:20:17:01
Joseph
Right along the parental controls.

00:20:17:02 – 00:20:34:24
Michelle
Right. So now you have the parental control. So if you put that on, they have everything tagged. So if your kid is logging on, as long as they don’t know your passcode, they can’t get to it. So you could totally bring this stuff. If there was anything that was questioned double that. You don’t.

00:20:34:24 – 00:20:37:22
Joseph
Want kids. That’s a huge Star Wars fan.

00:20:37:23 – 00:20:38:16
Michelle
Oh, my God.

00:20:38:17 – 00:20:59:04
Joseph
It’s almost a shame. It’s certainly a shame to the fans to not. Mm hmm. Get his creative mind into the franchise. Right? Right. But I feel probably worse for him for for not getting that opportunity to actually be involved in that and be a part of that. Yeah. Yeah. Like, you know, the one concert that we went to.

00:20:59:08 – 00:21:14:14
Joseph
And, you know, when he goes into the the Star Wars segment, you know, he’s got his full costume on it. Yeah. You know, who’s is his his musical director. I forget his name. Who plays the piano for him.

00:21:14:29 – 00:21:15:29
Michelle
I can’t think of his.

00:21:15:29 – 00:21:31:00
Joseph
Name, but he’s got his Sith Lord. Right, right. Yeah. Everybody get it’s great that the show, the stage show that he does is great. Right. But he did a fantastic job with what he has done. It would be nice to see him become officially part of the Star Wars.

00:21:31:01 – 00:21:50:18
Michelle
Right. Right. And he’s such a part of Disney already. You know, he has he’s voiced a bunch of different Disney characters, you know, for different animated things. So, you know, he’s already part of that. So you need to just kind of let him cross over, you know, a little bit.

00:21:50:18 – 00:22:10:27
Joseph
And given all the stuff that Disney has been reviving from the Lucas era and trying to put their own spin on some of it kind of work, some of it. Right. You know, questionable if this is a moneymaker for them, like it was for Paramount. Yeah. Yeah, totally. See them, you know, bringing it out and they’re done. Right.

00:22:11:01 – 00:22:29:16
Joseph
Exactly. They brought back Clone Wars. They did a whole nother season of Clone Wars. Right. Finish the story off. Right. So you’re sitting on a potential goldmine here with like zero investment. Mm. Put it out there so there’s no reason not to do it. Right. And I think the fans will get a kick out of it. When we saw that sizzle reel, there, it was.

00:22:30:04 – 00:22:53:28
Joseph
It was very much it was a toned down version of the Robot Chicken Star Wars. It wasn’t quite as adult humorous. Mm hmm. So I think it would. It would pass muster. You know, but the article that I had read cited that Disney didn’t want people’s first experience to be satirical. Why not? You want your their first experience to be that that mass of a trilogy you put out.

00:22:53:28 – 00:22:54:13
Joseph
Really?

00:22:54:17 – 00:23:05:06
Michelle
I was going to say, if you haven’t seen Star Wars already, it’s been 40 something years. Right. Granted, if you’re a little kid, you have to start them off with.

00:23:05:06 – 00:23:26:29
Joseph
No, you know this series because you had Lucas’s involvement. This series was a toned down version of Robot Chicken so the kids could enjoy it. Right. There were characters in here. Made it more kid friendly. Right. I mean, you took some pretty dark characters. You put them in an animated form that the kids could enjoy. Right. So I don’t know.

00:23:26:29 – 00:23:33:17
Joseph
I think you may see it coming back to Disney plus. I hope so. If nothing else, this this might serve to get a petition going ahead.

00:23:33:18 – 00:23:34:20
Michelle
There you go, Evan.

00:23:34:20 – 00:23:42:18
Joseph
Bring it up for sure. That was all we had for our Star Wars news. We’ll be right back with the big story of the week.

00:23:50:17 – 00:24:09:07
Michelle
Insights into Teens, a podcast series exploring the issues and challenges of today’s youth. Talking to real teens about real teen problems. Explore issues from braces to puberty, social anxiety to financial responsibility.

00:24:11:13 – 00:24:25:08
Michelle
Each week we talk about the topics concerning today’s youth. We look at how the issues affect teens, how to cope with these issues and how parents, friends and loved ones can help teens handle these challenges.

00:24:27:24 – 00:24:56:14
Michelle
Check out our video episodes on YouTube.com Backslash Insights into things Catch our audio versions on podcast insights into Teen XCOM or on the web at insights into things dot com So the Oscars, right?

00:24:58:23 – 00:25:26:02
Michelle
So to say that it was a night full of emotion would be an understatement. Putting aside the obvious big emotional outburst of the night there was more to the 94th Academy Awards than just the slap heard round the world. Troy costars Best Supporting Actor Win for his role in Cota tugged at the heartstrings for so many people in the audience who signaled their approval with waving hands.

00:25:26:11 – 00:26:04:17
Michelle
The ASL signal sign for applause. The trend of inclusivity continued with the Best Supporting Actress award going to ARIN Ariana DuBose for her role as Anita in West Side Story. She scored the win 60 years after Rita Moreno was claimed the award for the same role in the original 1962 film version of the Broadway musical. DuBose was also the first Afro Latino, an openly LGBTQ actor, to win in the category.

00:26:05:02 – 00:26:18:25
Michelle
In her heartwarming speech, she touched on what it was like to have her dreams come true, and spoke to anyone who had ever questioned their identity, assuring them that there was a place for all.

00:26:20:09 – 00:26:44:08
Joseph
Thankfully, politics took the night off, mostly after the past few years of showcasing a politically charged stage for activism. The politics were pretty low key at this year’s awards. There were a few references to the Don’t Say Gay Bill. Among them were cohost Wanda Sykes, who herself is openly gay, she says. And for you people in Florida, we’re going to have a gay night.

00:26:44:26 – 00:27:08:24
Joseph
That was just a mild jab at the controversial legislation later that night. Best Actress winner Jessica Chastain. Chastain Justine fired a more obvious shot across the bow of Florida’s Republican legislators and governors saying, quote, We’re faced with discriminatory and bigoted legislation that is sweeping our country with the only goal of further dividing us.

00:27:09:10 – 00:27:36:28
Michelle
So the big winners of the night Dune took home six Oscars for best cinematography, best original score, best film editing, best production design, best visual effect and best sound. Coda scored three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. And The Eyes of Tammy Faye earned two Oscars for best actress and best makeup and hairstyling.

00:27:37:07 – 00:28:09:19
Michelle
So who won? So Best Picture went to Coda. Best Cinematography went to Dune. Best Director went to Jane Champion, for Power of the Dog. Best Actress, as previously previously mentioned, went to Jessica Chastain for her role In The Eyes of Tammy Faye Best actor went to Will Smith in King Richard and more on him in a bit. Best Supporting Actress, of course, went to Arena Ariana Dubos in West Side Story.

00:28:09:27 – 00:28:36:10
Michelle
Best supporting actor. We all went ready had mentioned went to try Costar in Coda. Best animated feature film. Went to Encanto. Best Documentary Feature Summer of Soul. Best Original Song was no Time to Die by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell. And that rounds up the top categories. So you can check out links in our show notes for a complete list of all of the winners.

00:28:37:10 – 00:28:58:27
Joseph
So what happened with The Slap? I really I didn’t want to put this in the show because so much pressure been about it, but it was, um, sadly, it overshadowed the entire show, so we can’t help it talk about it. So Chris Rock best summed it up with his quick and concise assessment that, quote, Will Smith, Just slap the shit out of me.

00:28:59:02 – 00:29:24:04
Joseph
And that’s exactly what happened for sure. And it happened in front of the entire audience on stage with the sound quickly cut out for the American audience at least, thanks to an Australian broadcaster, we were able to get the entire thing what led up to this was what can be best described as a tasteless and insensitive joke directed at Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

00:29:24:22 – 00:29:53:24
Joseph
Chris Rock, on stage to present the best documentary award to Questlove, had made a joke comparing Smith’s wife to Demi Moore’s character in G.I. Jane a reference to her shaved head. Jada Pinkett Smith is very open about her suffering from the autoimmune disease alopecia, which results in hair loss This result it and Will Smith climbing up on stage, walking up to Chris Rock and laying one of the most epic slaps to the face on him in the history.

00:29:53:24 – 00:30:10:15
Joseph
Of Faceless Rock, to his credit, took it in stride, trying to play off the assault jokingly, only to have Smith, who by now have returned to his seat, berate him in a vulgar tirade about keeping his wife’s name out of his mouth.

00:30:11:05 – 00:30:37:27
Michelle
So Entertainment Weekly has since reported that an unnamed source affiliated with the show confirmed that the joke that set off the moment was not in the script. The New Yorker seemed to further confirm this by a source identified only as a man who worked a tech job at the ceremony, who was overheard by attendees saying Everything I know from backstage was that that was totally real.

00:30:38:06 – 00:31:08:05
Michelle
He further clarified, It was certainly not in our script. Will Smith who would go on to win the Best Actor Award later in the evening, apologized to the Academy and other winners during his acceptance speech. Smith has since issued a public apology on Instagram for his actions, saying violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. Maybe heavier at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.

00:31:08:18 – 00:31:33:01
Michelle
Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but jokes about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear, and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I’m embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love.

00:31:33:01 – 00:31:33:27
Michelle
And kindness.

00:31:34:26 – 00:32:00:09
Joseph
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did issue a statement condemning Will Smith’s actions and announcing they are beginning a formal review and will be exploring further action and consequences in accordance with their bylaws and standards and conduct. And California law On Wednesday, they issued an update on their formal review, saying they had already begun the disciplinary proceedings against Smith.

00:32:01:05 – 00:32:34:26
Joseph
They say that, quote, inappropriate physical contact, abusive and threatening behavior, and compromising the academy as violations by Smith. According to the bylaws, Smith will receive 15 days notice of the Academy’s vote and have an opportunity to be heard via a written response. Smith could face suspension, expulsion, and or other sanctions. CNN also reported that the statement acknowledged that Smith was requested to leave the ceremony after the altercation and refused to do so.

00:32:35:22 – 00:32:42:27
Joseph
To this, the economy. The Academy also recognizes, quote, We have handled we could have handled the situation differently.

00:32:43:22 – 00:33:07:14
Michelle
Chris Rock was back on his Ego Death tour on Wednesday after receiving back to back standing ovations at his show in Boston. Rock made his first public comments on the incident since Sunday. I’m still kind of processing what happened, so at some point I’ll talk about it it’ll be serious and it’ll be funny. But right now I’m going to tell some jokes.

00:33:07:23 – 00:33:36:01
Michelle
Rock also put to bed that he had been in contact with Smith saying, I haven’t talked to anyone, despite what you’ve heard in the latest development in this ongoing saga. Will Smith has now officially resigned from the Academy Variety reports that Academy President David Rubin issued a statement saying, We have received and accepted Will Mr. Will Smith’s immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

00:33:36:10 – 00:33:51:07
Michelle
We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings after Mr. Smith against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s standards of conduct in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18th.

00:33:52:09 – 00:34:00:21
Joseph
So I’m not sure what powers they have now, short of stripping his Oscar from him. Clearly, they can’t suspend him or expel.

00:34:00:21 – 00:34:04:04
Michelle
Him, right? Because he already said, All right, that’s fine, I’m out.

00:34:04:05 – 00:34:24:07
Joseph
Right. Nor do I know they don’t really have any enforcement rights on his working in the industry. That’s going to be a union based thing, right? So what’s going to come out of this? You might see him get stripped from his Oscar there and then I’m not sure how they handle that moving forward.

00:34:24:09 – 00:34:31:15
Michelle
Right. Because I don’t you know, if you strip somebody because I don’t I don’t know if they’ve ever done that in in the past.

00:34:31:15 – 00:34:33:06
Joseph
So is their research on it.

00:34:33:07 – 00:34:42:18
Michelle
Right. So is it something where like the runner up, whoever was the next to get votes gets it? Or do you just have a little asteroid, you know, next.

00:34:42:18 – 00:34:43:26
Joseph
To the award this.

00:34:43:26 – 00:34:56:12
Michelle
Year, you know, formally given to whatever, you know, former Academy Award winner? I don’t know. It’s it’s such a weird nerd thing, you know, that happened because it’s never.

00:34:56:12 – 00:34:58:26
Joseph
As if the world wasn’t screwed up enough already.

00:34:58:26 – 00:35:14:16
Michelle
Right. And like you’ve had some wacky people, you know, win the award or, you know, Marlon Brando famously, you know, set up a replacement and they were just kind of like, yeah, whatever, you know? And you even had Sean Penn.

00:35:14:16 – 00:35:16:29
Joseph
But they didn’t strip either of them. Right or.

00:35:17:01 – 00:35:39:23
Michelle
Right. And you had Sean Penn, who was basically saying, well, I’m going to melt it. Down if you don’t, you know, bring attention to the war that’s going on, you know, in the you know, so there’s all this, again, wackiness that comes from the people that end up winning. But in so many cases, you have people that have won and then just kind of drifted off.

00:35:39:23 – 00:35:43:06
Michelle
And, you know, you never hear from them. Yeah. So again, it’s.

00:35:43:06 – 00:35:53:02
Joseph
Not unheard of. The people use the award as a platform for an agenda that they have. Right. But they’re never punished for it.

00:35:53:12 – 00:35:53:26
Michelle
Right.

00:35:54:09 – 00:36:11:05
Joseph
And I mean, not publicly, according to the bylaws. Right. Right. Marlon Brando was largely blacklisted for a while after he did his. Right. Of course, no one’s ever gone up on stage and slapped somebody at the awards either. Right. It’s all next.

00:36:11:14 – 00:36:19:12
Michelle
Thing is like, why did they keep it going? Like, why didn’t they just go to a commercial? So that there wasn’t?

00:36:19:13 – 00:36:45:28
Joseph
And it’s funny because they discussed this this week on The View. Okay. Someone had kind of made the same point on the show and Will be Goldberg, who is an officer, I think I don’t know what what role she plays, but she’s on the board of the academy. Okay. And she made the point of it’s a live show So the last thing you want to do is have an army of security guards come out and forcibly remove somebody on the live TV.

00:36:46:15 – 00:37:12:04
Joseph
And to that my point is, cut the commercial, right? I mean, you have stuff like this happen on live TV all the time. So that’s really a poor excuse. And she was really defensive about the fact that the co-host on the show at the time was labeling a Hollywood elite as as one big group. And she made the statement of, well, that’s like saying black people like chicken.

00:37:12:18 – 00:37:34:07
Joseph
It’s like, well, no, it’s it’s not. I mean, it’s a it’s a generalization. But the man got up on stage and slapped another person award show, and nobody said anything right. And stayed in their seats. And they then applauded it. They gave him a standing ovation when he got up to his award. Right. How was that acceptable?

00:37:34:20 – 00:37:35:28
Michelle
Yeah. Yeah.

00:37:36:10 – 00:37:46:13
Joseph
Like, he should have immediately been removed. Mm hmm. They should have had someone there to accept the reward award for him and then been done with. That would have been the right thing. To do. Right.

00:37:46:13 – 00:38:07:26
Michelle
Right. And that’s the thing is because, you know, they have the dump button. Now, granted, they haven’t really had to use it in many years. Not so much for the Academy Awards, more so when you have, like, the Grammys or something, you know, something else where, you know, you know, they have that delay button that they can you know.

00:38:08:10 – 00:38:10:10
Joseph
They cut the sound out in the United States.

00:38:10:11 – 00:38:17:01
Michelle
Right. But that’s what I’m saying is if you can do that, then just go to commercial when that’s as soon as you see him.

00:38:17:01 – 00:38:19:17
Joseph
If he gets up there and as soon as he cut the commercials.

00:38:19:17 – 00:38:21:02
Michelle
Right. You should have been like that.

00:38:21:14 – 00:38:24:15
Joseph
But that’s the producer’s fault. They’re keeping that off. Yeah.

00:38:24:18 – 00:38:35:00
Michelle
So that’s the whole thing is if you would have done that, then you wouldn’t have had all these clips and, you know, videos floating around. I’m sure somebody would have had something.

00:38:35:00 – 00:38:35:18
Joseph
So but.

00:38:35:18 – 00:38:36:07
Michelle
Then a.

00:38:36:07 – 00:38:49:27
Joseph
Couple other things to throw out there that I didn’t include in in our script, but we’re in articles. The joke that Chris Rock made, which confirms have not been in the script, right? So that was, you know, him trying to.

00:38:50:07 – 00:38:51:13
Michelle
Just off the cuff.

00:38:51:18 – 00:39:12:12
Joseph
And Howard Stern was quoted as saying he was basically trying to make a joke to make a terrible show funnier and more enjoyable, you know, and he’s a comedian. That’s what he does. Right. I can understand that to a certain extent. And then he also, Chris Rock also came out and claimed he knew nothing about Jada Pinkett Smith medical condition.

00:39:12:29 – 00:39:36:23
Joseph
And he wound up apologizing for making the joke after finding out about it how truthful that is. I don’t know. I didn’t see what the sources were for it. I don’t know, because he’s you know, the two of them are associated with each other. He he he was on, you know, Smith’s show ages ago. And they’ve had friendships in the past.

00:39:36:28 – 00:39:44:03
Michelle
Right. But they’ve also been kind of at each other, too. They kind of have a back and forth thing that’s also been going.

00:39:44:03 – 00:39:49:04
Joseph
On, which is, you know, I, I question his sincerity of whether he knew about.

00:39:49:20 – 00:40:11:23
Michelle
Well, and that’s the other thing, too, is and here’s where, you know, I kind of, you know, whatever. So, yes, the the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, all of these things, you know, depending on who the host is, Somebody is going to get roasted. And where, you know, Will Smith even said, I know jokes are coming at me.

00:40:11:29 – 00:40:18:01
Michelle
And that’s the thing is he was the one that was nominated. So you make the joke at him.

00:40:18:02 – 00:40:18:19
Joseph
Exactly.

00:40:18:26 – 00:40:39:10
Michelle
Nobody else, you know, basically anybody else that’s there should be left alone, you know. And why do we need to make fun of people anyway? They’re you know, if you have that type of humor where you have to make fun of other people, then you’re not funny, in my opinion. Now, granted, there are people that think Chris Rock is hysterical.

00:40:39:18 – 00:40:45:04
Michelle
And honestly, I am not I’m not a fan of.

00:40:45:23 – 00:40:47:21
Joseph
Chris Rock and Chris Rock.

00:40:47:22 – 00:41:08:20
Michelle
You know, I have friends, women of color, who were like, he was totally out of line. And you know what? There’s stuff that he said in the past that’s even worse than this. Like, this was tame in comparison. And that he really needs to be done with like, you know, yes, he shouldn’t have gotten slapped. That shouldn’t have happened.

00:41:08:26 – 00:41:31:01
Michelle
But why do you keep bringing somebody who’s been so offensive to so many people back and back and back to. There’s no point for that. So, you know, again, a lot of back and forth with was it right? Was it you know, and the other thing, too, is he wasn’t there to host. He didn’t need to sit up there and do a spiel.

00:41:31:02 – 00:41:33:02
Michelle
He didn’t need to do sort of a script.

00:41:33:02 – 00:41:34:15
Joseph
He was there because.

00:41:34:15 – 00:41:43:13
Michelle
The award doesn’t have the knock on. And granted, yes, they always have, you know, little skits and things back and forth.

00:41:43:13 – 00:41:43:26
Joseph
Banter.

00:41:43:29 – 00:41:58:00
Michelle
And the band, the banter, you know, back and forth. But there was no need for him. So if he had just gone up there, stayed to his script, we wouldn’t be talking about it. We’d be able to say, hey, look at all the.

00:41:58:03 – 00:41:59:01
Joseph
I mean, there’s great.

00:41:59:01 – 00:42:01:17
Michelle
Things that happened at the Academy Awards.

00:42:01:17 – 00:42:24:19
Joseph
That’s the worst part of this whole thing, that this entire thing is overshadowing the accomplishments of the other people who awards here. Right. Even the nominees right now, no one’s going to talk about anything else other than the slap. Right. Which is which is really the tragic thing, which is, you know, when and when will I not include his his resignation speech here?

00:42:25:08 – 00:42:33:09
Joseph
In his resignation speech, he mentions, you know, he apologizes for overshadowing. Right. Else I mean, there’s plenty of blame to go around.

00:42:33:10 – 00:42:33:26
Michelle
Oh, absolutely.

00:42:33:26 – 00:42:57:00
Joseph
Chris Rock was not innocent in this entire thing. He didn’t deserve what he got. Right. But you know, the joke that he made was highly inappropriate and should not have been me, period. So if anything, he should have that should have been done backstage. There should have been a discussion. There should have been an apology that was issued afterwards.

00:42:57:17 – 00:43:09:05
Joseph
And that’s how it should have been handled, not by getting up on stage and slapping. And that’s never the way to do it. Yeah. Anyway, hopefully this drama is over and we can put it behind us now and move shall.

00:43:09:05 – 00:43:09:24
Michelle
Say.

00:43:11:11 – 00:43:14:28
Joseph
I will officially stop caring about this after this podcast is done.

00:43:15:09 – 00:43:16:17
Michelle
I’m so glad to hear that.

00:43:16:23 – 00:43:26:07
Joseph
Not just my position. I want to put it out there. Okay. So that was all we had, believe it or not, that was all we had for entertainment news. Really. That was it. We didn’t have.

00:43:26:07 – 00:43:26:18
Michelle
Anything.

00:43:26:18 – 00:43:43:17
Joseph
Else. We’ll be right back with me trying to find my mouse cursor similarities. We’ll be right back with some upcoming convention news. I’m sorry I don’t have it cued up, but we’ll talk about what we’re doing tomorrow to just last minute stuff.

00:43:48:28 – 00:43:50:07
Joseph
So what’s our convention?

00:43:50:17 – 00:44:15:19
Michelle
So the big one is obviously next weekend, and it is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And it is Fan Expo, formerly Wizard World. It’s going to be at the Philadelphia Convention Center. It is the eighth, ninth and 10th. So join tens of thousands of fans who are just like you and experience the ultimate playground for comics, sci fi, horror, anime, and gaming.

00:44:15:26 – 00:44:47:00
Michelle
Three days of citywide events, family friendly attractions and world renowned celebrities await the showtimes are Friday four from nine 49, Saturday ten to seven and Sunday, ten to five. Presale tickets I or at least the reduced rate of presale tickets has already ended. So you can probably still buy tickets online and I’m sure they are going to be doing tickets at the door as well.

00:44:47:21 – 00:44:49:20
Joseph
Okay. And what are we doing tomorrow?

00:44:49:23 – 00:44:56:12
Michelle
So tomorrow we have the April Fools Toy Show, and that is.

00:44:56:12 – 00:44:56:21
Joseph
Really the.

00:44:56:22 – 00:45:03:23
Michelle
Fool, right? And that’s one of our smaller little toy shows. Kind of well, not really local because welcome Delaware.

00:45:03:29 – 00:45:04:14
Joseph
Fan.

00:45:04:18 – 00:45:34:21
Michelle
Tens of a couple hundred fans. Yeah, it’s, it’s a nice little local area. It’s about a half hour for us in Delaware, right over the bridge. It’s at the Nerd Shrine Center. They do Saturday. Today is actually the train show that I think goes until like four or five in the afternoon. And then tomorrow is the toy show part of it.

00:45:35:07 – 00:45:50:06
Michelle
They have a couple of different rooms, usually some classic toys. Some vendors even have new stuff. It’s definitely a place to find the unique one of a kind type things, too, as well.

00:45:50:06 – 00:46:03:16
Joseph
So, yeah, the one thing that I like about this is it’s a lot of older toys. So one of the things that I look for when I go shopping at these, you know, they’re not conventions they’re.

00:46:03:26 – 00:46:05:05
Michelle
Yeah, it’s just a toy show.

00:46:06:00 – 00:46:20:27
Joseph
I look for vintage Star Wars, too. This is a great place to find this. I found my card at Vader here. Yep. I wound up pulling a lance beater that was in really good shape. My Millennium Falcon. I pulled from it. So this is a great place to pull stuff for.

00:46:21:12 – 00:46:41:07
Michelle
Yeah. And it’s kind of set up you know, it’s all inside, but it’s kind of set up like a flea market, I guess, you know, with lots of different rows of tables. And, you know, it’s funny, because there’s always the guys that are selling, like, really old stuff, and it’s like, nobody ever buys anything. Like, you never see anybody buying it.

00:46:41:07 – 00:47:01:04
Michelle
So it’s almost like, here’s an opportunity just to, to display where other people, you know, are. They’re obviously looking to to make money. They usually have a guy selling video games is usually somebody selling, you know, like one or two video game people, one or two DVD.

00:47:01:04 – 00:47:02:01
Joseph
The movie people.

00:47:02:02 – 00:47:03:28
Michelle
The movie guy is usually there.

00:47:04:24 – 00:47:07:05
Joseph
The 3D printed guy usually isn’t there, though.

00:47:07:07 – 00:47:10:28
Michelle
No, he’s not at this one. He’s usually at the the bigger one.

00:47:10:28 – 00:47:38:20
Joseph
So yeah, so anyway, we’ll be there tomorrow and we’ll let you know how we make out. Yeah, we might have a few few finds that we write back with absolute Lee. So that was all we had today. But before we go, I do want to once again employ employer you, not employees, because I’m not paying anyone to come to work like I would implore you or at least invite you to visit and subscribe to the podcast.

00:47:39:02 – 00:48:03:26
Joseph
You can find audio versions of this podcast. Listen, I didn’t say it’s an entertainment. Audio and video versions of all of our podcast can be found listed as insights into things anywhere you get a podcast these days. Pandora Castro’s Stitcher Pod being, Buzz Sprout, etc., etc. We also invite you to contact us and give us your feedback. You can email us at comments and insights into things like.

00:48:04:14 – 00:48:10:00
Michelle
You can find us on Twitter at Twitter.com Slash Insights underscore things.

00:48:10:01 – 00:48:14:17
Joseph
We do stream five days a week on Twitch at Twitch, dot TV slash insights into.

00:48:14:17 – 00:48:19:08
Michelle
Things. You can find us on Facebook under Insights into Things podcast.

00:48:19:20 – 00:48:25:06
Joseph
We’re also on YouTube with High Rise videos at YouTube.com, Slash, Insights into things.

00:48:25:06 – 00:48:28:23
Michelle
You can find us on Instagram under our insights into things.

00:48:29:04 – 00:48:37:16
Joseph
Or you can get links to all that and much more on our official website at insights into things dot com. That’s it. And in the.

00:48:37:16 – 00:48:40:05
Michelle
Books. Have a good week everyone buy. Bye.