In a social climate increasingly savvy to LGBT rights and homophobic slurs, public use of anti-gay language is showing a marked decline.
Hefty fines and heightened awareness have led many celebrities in the entertainment and sports industries to swear off such language all together, according to Newsweek/Daily Beast writer Ramin Setoodeh; and perhaps this is why Jennifer Aniston’s use of a particularly derogatory term in her new movie, “Horrible Bosses,” has garnered so much media anxiety.
Aniston plays one of the titular bosses in the new comedy, which opens Friday, and as such does all manner of despicable things (in character, that is). However, some believe that her character’s use of the so-called “other F word” is overstepping the line – and that the character’s “horribleness” could have been conveyed without perpetuating the use of a word offensive to so many members of the LGBT community.
In one scene, Anniston’s character (a sex-obsessed and harassing dentist) attempts to seduce her beleaguered assistant (played by Charlie Day). When he reacts with discomfort, she says, “You’re starting to sound like a little f—– there, Dale” – a line that, according to co-screenwriter Jonathan Goldstein, is meant to efficiently yet effectively show just how “irredeemable” Aniston’s character really is.
While crafting the script for the film, Goldstein explains that the writers “tried to think: what are the most offensive things they can say?” He maintains that “using a word like that [f—–] is one of them,” and that Aniston’s use of the word is meant to illustrate character rather than offend audience members.
On the other hand, as Showtime executive producer Dan Bucatinsky notes, character development may not be worth the “collateral damage” that might come from the now-infamous line in “Horrible Bosses.”
“What’s going to happen when millions of people watch an actress who is supposed to be America’s Sweetheart say a word like that?” he asked.
SERIOUSLY??? I mean are you kidding me with this?
Ok…lets look at this from the stand point of the people in this world…individually we have NO control over what anyone chooses to say or do. If I, or anyone for that matter, were to write a script, about a character that was racist, would we expect the dialogue be cleaned up because it would offend? NO!
Saying that Jennifer Aniston’s image will be tarnished because a CHARACTER she PLAYED in a film used the word faggot is RIDICULOUS!!!!!
IT IS A CHARACTER, PEOPLE!!!!! The writers obviously felt that her “CHARACTER” would say this…does this mean the writers are homophobic? NO! They are staying true to what they felt the character would say….
COME ON!!!!! Are your lives so boring that you need to find things to be angry about?
The LGBT community was NOT singled out, and the comment was NOT said for that purpose….there are SO MANY films out there that include dialogue which can be taken as a “slur”, SO MANY….If you are going to raise a stink about ONE WORD in a film then you better be prepared to do the same for ALL films and characters…
Ridiculous