Ellen DeGeneres posted a photo of herself photoshopped onto the back of the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, as he won the gold medal in Rio in the 100 meters. It went viral, sort of like DeGeneres’s Oscars group photo from a few years back. But this time there was a catch: DeGeneres’s pic was perceived by some as containing racist undertones. She captioned it “This is how I’m running errands from now on.” That made some people think DeGeneres implied she’d like to use Bolt as a servant (or service).
This is how I’m running errands from now on. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/gYPtG9T1ao
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 15, 2016
DeGeneres, who herself broke down discrimination barriers for gays on American TV, responded by saying that she understands racism exists, but it is the “furthest thing from who I am.” Discrimination against African Americans and against LGBT people are obviously very different and manifest themselves in different ways. But DeGeneres, having faced down discrimination herself, makes her no-bigotry-here claim with the force and credibility of someone who’s faced at least one version of it. Plus, she’s a comedian. The job entails taking risks with material and possibly giving offense. The same day she posted the Bolt meme, DeGeneres also posted this tweet, about the film Hidden Figures, which tells the tale of three African American discrimination defeaters at NASA during the space race. Would she have photoshopped herself onto a white sprinter’s back? We’ll never know.
The trailer for #HiddenFigures is here! I’m so happy these figures aren’t hidden anymore.https://t.co/x3AmSnrroD
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 15, 2016
I am highly aware of the racism that exists in our country. It is the furthest thing from who I am.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 16, 2016
A typical fan defense that acknowledged the possibility of offense went like this, from Lauren Azevedo:
@JacobHu114 well, people are entitled to an opinion, I get why it might be seen as offensive, but Ellen shouldn’t be the subject of hate.
— Lauren Azevedo (@Lauren_Az) August 16, 2016
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