Streep trashes Walt Disney - I knew there was a reason not to go to her movies.

[hookedonears]

I'm in complete agreement with Kevin - just wishing I had said it as well as he did.

What I wonder is whether folks feel the same about statements by celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood or Ted Nugent. Is your position on celebrities, in other words, more than a matter of disagreeing with Ms. Steep's alleged view point or is it a matter of truly thinking that all celebrities. no matter what the view point, should never use their fleeting fame to espouse their views.

Mel Gibson - has been, Clint Eastwood - has been, Ted Nugent - has been. Streep - still wants to be, but for the most part - has been. I'm talking all actors. All Actors need to do what they're paid to do. Act. Not give un-due opinions, because they're given un-due platforms. Actors want to be liked by their fans, so theyll go to their movies or watch their TV shows. They dont want to appear to be elitist millionaires, which they really are. They love to get on their platform and make statements which will make themselves look compassionate and caring. Example. What does Ashton Kutcher know or care about anything? So if he gives an opinion about something he knows nothing about, with his un-due platform, half of the young girls in America, who live and die by every word he speaks, can be, and are influenced. Hollywood is the most powerful industry in America and IMO, and they've abundantly abused it.

 

[old lady]

They also say he was racist and anti - hispanic? As for untrusting of women, it was his wife or his daughters. People say a lot of things, but sometimes just to spread rumors or to blabber.

 

[jcb]

The WD Family museum's website has apparently crashed from the traffic.

http://www.waltdisney.org/content/defense-walt-disney

This was posted on their face book page (linked to by Mary Jo) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...4659881369.102286.100240186369&type=1&theater

 

[DisneyKevin]

From the Facebook post:

"Walt Disney was not a saint. Walt was a human being who made mistakes and had many ups and downs throughout his life. His daughter, Diane, emphasized this many times, stating "what made HIM human is what makes YOU human."

 

[hookedonears]

From the Facebook post:

"Walt Disney was not a saint. Walt was a human being who made mistakes and had many ups and downs throughout his life. His daughter, Diane, emphasized this many times, stating "what made HIM human is what makes YOU human."

Kevin I agree with you 100%.

 

[kbelle8995]

From the Facebook post:

"Walt Disney was not a saint. Walt was a human being who made mistakes and had many ups and downs throughout his life. His daughter, Diane, emphasized this many times, stating "what made HIM human is what makes YOU human."

I love this statement. We all make mistakes and judgement calls. We can be wrong or we can be right. Walt Disney was human with folibles of a human. Meryl Streep should focus on woman getting better roles in todays moves.

(Completely OT) Gender bias is a Hollywood problem in many ways. Bette Davis had to strike to get decent material I still remember the line (well sort of) from the First Wives Club.

"There are three ages of women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney, and Driving Ms. Daisy."

 

[goofy4tink]

For me, this is such a non-issue. This is America. People are entitled to give their opinions. If it's a movie star, so be it. If it's a sports star, so be it. If it's my next door neighbor, again, so be it. I give no more credence to what a movie star says than I do anyone else! Now, if I know them to be well versed in a particular area, then sure. I'll listen to what they have to say.
As far as Walt Disney goes? He was a product of his time. Geez, many men held the exact same ideas. Nothing new there. Walt Disney was a hugely successful man....of course there are going to be people, both then and now, taking pot shots at him. Have at it. I'm sure he wouldn't have been bothered by it in the least. People change as they grow. Did Walt Disney? Probably. I was a teenager when he died. I didn't pay any attention to the kind of man he was. I doubt many did. But, he seems to be up on some kind of pedestal nowadays...as if he was perfect...he wasn't. We are always hearing...'What would Walt think of that' or 'Walt is probably spinning in his grave'. Seriously? Walt knew that things change, that companies have to make money. He was an incredibly gifted artist, with a great business sense. Of course he is going to be targeted.
But I certainly don't much care what Meryl Streep has to say about him or his business practices. I enjoy her acting abilities and love going to the movies she is in..but there it ends.

 

[USMelinUK]

goofy4tink, that was incredibly well said. I don't think I can add anything to that other than it was exactly what I was thinking....

Mel

 

[lugnut33]

If only I was as good a person as Meryl.

 

[DisneyKevin]

If only I was as good a person as Meryl.

You are and if you make movies...we'll come see you!

 

[hookedonears]

For me, this is such a non-issue. This is America. People are entitled to give their opinions. If it's a movie star, so be it. If it's a sports star, so be it. If it's my next door neighbor, again, so be it. I give no more credence to what a movie star says than I do anyone else! Now, if I know them to be well versed in a particular area, then sure. I'll listen to what they have to say.
As far as Walt Disney goes? He was a product of his time. Geez, many men held the exact same ideas. Nothing new there. Walt Disney was a hugely successful man....of course there are going to be people, both then and now, taking pot shots at him. Have at it. I'm sure he wouldn't have been bothered by it in the least. People change as they grow. Did Walt Disney? Probably. I was a teenager when he died. I didn't pay any attention to the kind of man he was. I doubt many did. But, he seems to be up on some kind of pedestal nowadays...as if he was perfect...he wasn't. We are always hearing...'What would Walt think of that' or 'Walt is probably spinning in his grave'. Seriously? Walt knew that things change, that companies have to make money. He was an incredibly gifted artist, with a great business sense. Of course he is going to be targeted.
But I certainly don't much care what Meryl Streep has to say about him or his business practices. I enjoy her acting abilities and love going to the movies she is in..but there it ends.

Completely disagree. Yes anyone can give their opinion about anything, including actors. In the coffee shop yes, talking to friends, yes, but here's the problem and an example.

If I had done years of research and had irrefutably evidence that Walt Disney wasn’t Anti-Semitic in any way, and didn’t distrust women, though I got up and made a statement and gave my opinion, first of all, I wouldn’t have a microphone, secondly nobody would listen, or even care.

Forget Meryl Streep. If Ashton Kutcher gives his opinion publicly about the same subject, or any subject, his adoring, idolizing fans will listen, and many times are influenced because of who he is.

Why are the opinions of actors more important, more insightful, or more knowledgeable about anything. They are given an un-due platforms because of their stardom, and they have the power to influence public opinion because of it, which is wrong.

 

[Borishack]

Other sources has referenced Walt as being anti-Semitic and Ward Kimball suggesting that Walt didnt trust women is a fairly reliable source.

I'm not entirely sure why this opinion was included in a tribute to Emma Thompson, but there seems to supporting information to suggest that what she said is not incorrect.

You and Streep couldn't be farther from the truth:

http://talkbacker.com/movies/meryl-streep-calls-walt-disney-an-anti-semite-gender-bigot-on-stage-while-presenting-award-to-emma-thompson/id=19674

 

[DisneyKevin]

You and Streep couldn't be farther from the truth:

http://talkbacker.com/movies/meryl-streep-calls-walt-disney-an-anti-semite-gender-bigot-on-stage-while-presenting-award-to-emma-thompson/id=19674

First....I didn't state that this was my opinion or that I agreed with anything said.

I explained that there are other sources that reference Walt being anti-Semitic and I stated Ward Kimball (having known and worked next to Walt for MANY years) was a fairly reliable source.

Again....note that nothing I have retyped for you states that this is my opinion or that I agree with any of it.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Completely disagree. Yes anyone can give their opinion about anything, including actors. In the coffee shop yes, talking to friends, yes, but here's the problem and an example.

If I had done years of research and had irrefutably evidence that Walt Disney wasn’t Anti-Semitic in any way, and didn’t distrust women, though I got up and made a statement and gave my opinion, first of all, I wouldn’t have a microphone, secondly nobody would listen, or even care.

Forget Meryl Streep. If Ashton Kutcher gives his opinion publicly about the same subject, because he read a book, or he was told something by someone, his adoring, idolizing fans will listen, and many times are influenced because of who he is.

Why is his opinion more important, more insightful, or more knowledgeable about anything. But he's given an un-due platform because of his stardom, and he has the power to influence public opinion because of it, which is wrong.

People will choose to believe who they choose to believe.

 

[robinb]

When I first saw this thread yesterday and read the first couple of posts I thought that Meryl Streep must have said something really horrible. I just read her speech and I really don't get all the uproar . Disney was indeed a founding member of the anti-Semitic Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals and he did indeed restrict women to the "ink and paint" department.

 

[hookedonears]

LOS ANGELES – Meryl Streep’s Tuesday speech in which she labeled the late Walt Disney a “gender bigot” is being criticized by some who worked with the Hollywood legend, and others who have a much different take on the Hollywood giant’s life.

Walt Disney animator Floyd Norman, who worked alongside the mogul on films including the classic “Sleeping Beauty,” told us Streep is simply misinformed.

“I arrived at Disney in 1956 as a young artist. Surprisingly, there were a fair number of young women working in the art department. I too had heard that women were not allowed in animation. So, even in the fifties, things were already beginning to change,” he told FOX411. “While it is true the studio regarded women differently from men in the thirties, I found many young women who had nothing but good things to say about their years in Ink & Paint. Most loved Uncle Walt and never regarded him as a sexist.”

Indeed it was very much the norm in the 30’s for women to be closed off from jobs in the animation arena, so some argue that Disney was more of a product of his time. But as early as 1941, Disney is reported to have told male artists working on “Dumbo” that “if women can do the work as well, she is worth as much as a man.”

“The myths surrounding Walt Disney are to be expected, I guess. Like most famous men of his time, his legacy has continually been challenged,” Norman said. “No matter how many times we refute the lies about Walt, they seem to continue. I think some people will simply never like the man, no matter what we have to say.”

Another long-term, current Disney employee described Streep’s harsh words as plain “weird.”

“Disney was actually one of the few places that employed women back then,” said the insider.

Also consider the late Marcellite Wall, one of several female employees at Walt Disney Productions when it employed around 35 people. After working in the Ink and Paint department, Wall went on in 1930 to first voice the iconic Minnie Mouse, and also played a key role in defining the cartoon’s personality. Wall described the environment at the studio as “one big family” and even defended her boss during the infamous Disney animators strike of 1941.

Disney legend Dick Van Dyke (“Mary Poppins”) also had nothing but praise for his big boss.

“He impressed me as a nice man, really an old shoe,” Van Dyke wrote in his 2011 memoir “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business.” “I later heard that he was a tough taskmaster, but I only saw his easygoing side, the side that led others to refer to him as Uncle Walt.”

Rob Weiner, Popular Culture Librarian at Texas Tech University, said Disney was also a huge friend to soldiers returning to the work force after World War II, something Streep failed to mention.

“This stands for a heck of a lot. Veterans came home to what seemed like a booming economy, but really wasn’t, and Mr. Disney gave them jobs,” Weiner said. “He was no saint, but Disney did what he could to help them.”

Regardless of what she said, many are impressed with Streep for airing her views in such a public forum, especially since it comes just after the Oscar-winner wrapped a Disney film of her own -- the studio’s big-screen adaptation of the musical “Into the Woods.”

“She wasn’t just funny and delightful up there, she was also frank,” observed the pop culture website Vulture while others hailed the Oscar winner’s speech as “awesome” and “brave” on Twitter.

But at the end of the day, Norman doesn’t think Streep’s views will tarnish Walt Disney's legacy.

“People have been taking pot shots at him for years and will continue to do so. Authors and filmmakers such as myself and others will tell the truth. Yet the truth will never stop people from saying whatever they believe as long as they are given a platform,” he added. “I have a good deal of respect for Meryl Streep and consider her a knowledgeable woman who simply got carried away. However, you'd better back up your comments with facts whenever there are people around who knew Walt Disney and know the real deal.”

 

[WaltD4Me]

Completely disagree. Yes anyone can give their opinion about anything, including actors. In the coffee shop yes, talking to friends, yes, but here's the problem and an example.

If I had done years of research and had irrefutably evidence that Walt Disney wasnt Anti-Semitic in any way, and didnt distrust women, though I got up and made a statement and gave my opinion, first of all, I wouldnt have a microphone, secondly nobody would listen, or even care.

Forget Meryl Streep. If Ashton Kutcher gives his opinion publicly about the same subject, or any subject, his adoring, idolizing fans will listen, and many times are influenced because of who he is.

Why are the opinions of actors more important, more insightful, or more knowledgeable about anything. They are given an un-due platforms because of their stardom, and they have the power to influence public opinion because of it, which is wrong.

I completely agree with this. Very well said

Look at Jenny Mc Carthy. Talk about an un-due platform. The CDC actually called her a public menace and yet for some reason people listened to her because she used to pose for Playboy.

 

[DisneyKevin]

But at the end of the day, Norman doesn’t think Streep’s views will tarnish Walt Disney's legacy.

Because no one cares what Meryl Streep thinks of Walt Disney.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I couldn't care less about her opinion of Walt Disney....or anything else for that matter.

i enjoy her movies, but she doesn't color my opinions one way or another.

Agreed! Who the *bleep* cares what her personal opinions are? I happen to enjoy her as an actress and I see her as merely an entertainer. I do not plan to emulate her.

 

[hookedonears]

Because no one cares what Meryl Streep thinks of Walt Disney.

Well not quite no one. I'm sure there're a number of people who admire Meryl, and will half way believe almost anything she says. Many of these people believe almost everything they here on TV, if the right people say them. It really doesn't matter what she said. I don't really care if it were true. It's the principal of the matter, actors with their star power, spouting personal opinions and views with there given un-due platforms.