While Lewis' ability to remain tirelessly upbeat throughout the 21 1/2-hour variety show is a feat in and of itself, we now know that plenty of other people are still quite alert during hour 18, as well. It was then that Lewis, goofing around onstage at the South Coast Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas, started riffing about an imaginary family reunion. "Oh, your family has come to see you," he said into the camera, beckoning a nonexistent relative. "You remember Bart, your older son," and, motioning toward another invisible figure, "Jesse, the illiterate fag." But while Lewis immediately tried to change the subject, quickly stopping himself and saying "no," his mea culpa didn't come fast enough to prevent a tongue-lashing from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which called France's favorite fundraiser's choice of words "simply unacceptable." Figuring the guy is 81 years old, had been up for 18 hours straight, for a good and noble cause, I'd cut him some slack. But I'm not gay, either.
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I'm guessing "fag" goes over about the same as "######," "wop," "spic" or "kike." It depends which watchdog group is waiting to pounce on the possible offense. I figure Lewis would have gotten by if he'd said "illiterate gay" or "illiterate homosexual," but "fag" is among words that raise ire, no matter how they are said.
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