Mad Men may have come to an end, but the iconic show is still part of the public consciousness. Everyone is weighing in on what the show’s final moments might signify, including Jon Hamm. The real-life ad man who made the iconic Coke ad featured in the finale doesn’t even watch the show. Meanwhile, Tom + Lorenzo take a look at the cast then and now, to see how much the characters (and actors) have changed over the years (Vincent Kartheiser looks to be about twelve in his photo.) And one Tumblr user has hilariously imagined how the show’s characters would work in the digital age. This is all well and good, and will help fans gradually wean off their addiction to the show. But here’s a piece of Mad Men news that is sure to please very few. Actor Paul Johansson, who played obnoxious, sexist jerk Ferg Donnelly, is apparently as much of an obnoxious, sexist jerk in real life. According to BuzzFeed’s Susan Cheng, Johansson harrassed her during a photo shoot by making inappropriate comments, including at one point saying “I’m sweating like a rapist,” and telling Cheng “I’ll serve the ball right down your throat.” In an article titled “What Hollywood’s Acceptance Of Sexism Looks Like In Practice,” Cheng writes “It took me a second to register what I’d just heard. Still, none of us in the room objected or expressed our discomfort. Instead, I forced myself to laugh before proceeding. After all, it was just the culmination of about three comments from Johansson that would’ve been inappropriate in an ad agency in the early 1970s, like the one his misogynistic character works at on Mad Men. But this is hardly 1970. It’s 2015, and we work at BuzzFeed — far from the time or place where I would’ve expected his remarks.”
As she was leading Johansson out of the office, she indicated a partitioned area where BuzzFeed staff have their meetings. “Do you ever take people in there and make out with them?” asked Johansson. A response from Johansson’s lawyer claims that Cheng misquoted him and “intentionally taking certain of his alleged statements out of context in an effort to make them appear salacious and/or offensive.” His comment, for instance, about sending the ball down her throat was in the context of a conversation about tennis, and he was merely bragging about his serve. That’s a spin on the story that would impress Don Draper. It perhaps should be noted that although Cheng and BuzzFeed are appalled and offended by Johansson, they still went ahead with the funny GIF post that he took part in. A case of having your clicks and eating them too?
