Clint Eastwood just released the final movie of his iconic career, going out by directing and starring in Cry Macho which came out a few weeks ago.
And while many have celebrated Eastwood’s career during this time, something cropped up on social media that drummed up an unfortunate incident from decades ago. Because of it, some are accusing him of racism due to comments he made at an awards show back in the early 1970s.
The clip that resurfaced this week is of the 1973 Academy Awards and is precipitated by a speech made by actress and Native American civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather. The clip is about a minute long and shows Littlefeather giving a short speech followed by the response from Clint Eastwood. Check out the video which has been viewed almost one million times on Twitter.
1973: Native American actor Sacheen Littlefeather boo’d (and cheered) by Hollywood at the Oscars before being mocked by Clint Eastwood and almost physically assaulted by John Wayne simply for asking that Indigenous people not to be dehumanized in film.pic.twitter.com/BgOiuBq4hR— raf (@rafaelshimunov) October 11, 2021
Sacheen Littlefeather was accepting the Academy Award for Best Actor in place of Marlon Brando that year. She mentions as much in her speech. Brando was boycotting the awards show that year even though he’d won for his role of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
But instead of showing up, he sent Littlefeather who at the time was the president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. As she said in her speech, Brando (who declined the award) was protesting the treatment of Native Americans in the film industry. The crowd gave it a little booing followed by a bit of a cheer. And then Clint Eastwood took the stage after.
It’s what Clint Eastwood said next that has some people a bit up in arms. He makes a “joke” about whether he should present the award “on behalf of all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford Westerns…”
He’s referring to the iconic director of the silent era and beyond who dealt in the genre. Eastwood might have been a little rankled at the time about the speech from Littlefeather and made an ill-timed comment. Some are seeing it as a racist attack, though it’s hard to draw that as anything like a firm conclusion.
Clint Eastwood made this comment afterward, though in the original tweet there is a reference to the reaction from John Wayne as well. In a later interview, Littlefeather said that Wayne had to be held back by security guards as she exited the stage.
According to that description, Wayne was more than a little perturbed at what she had said. Again, a weird reaction for someone who was simply calling for Native Americans’ equal treatment and representation in the movies at the time. Both were out of line for sure.
Considering we are close to 50 years removed from this incident, it’s hard to imagine it going all that far when it comes to Clint Eastwood. Should he have said that at the time? No. But considering the kind of career he’s had sense and his ability to weather other negative press, this probably just fizzles.
That being said, with cancel culture anything is possible. We will see if this starts more of a negative press cycle for the 91-year-old Eastwood.
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Original Article: https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/cltr/clint-eastwood-trending.html
How stupid can people be???? What he said or didn’t say in 1973 has no relevance to anything today. The intolerant left just can’t leave anything alone! I am absolutely sic of all this.
Our you serious? Hard to believe the wimped wrist left have their underwear in a knot! Grow up morons!
These so called ‘people’ need to give it a rest! Almost 50 years ago??? All of our lives were diff back then.
No sense of humor in these tiny brained folk. One of them researched just to be offended. Sitting in mommy’s basement and playing along with the best of Toobin, one hell of a career choice.
Fifty years ago was definitely a different time. It’s too bad we can’t all be as stupid as the Woke Left is today. They continually make matters worse. What was done is done and no matter what you do you can’t change the past but you can change the future by being a better person, treating everyone with respect. After all, we are all brothers & sisters, having come from the same seed and we all bleed the same color. Get over yourselves.
So fed up with all your sites and news organizations always trying to start shit how come like in this example you never go to the other races and see all the comments they even make Nowadays typical troublemakers surgeons can’t find something decent to write about some of uplifting stories start calling in Zoll national Inquirer
Funny how liberals decide who said what that was wrong and they can go back for decades. I say screw them all I will say what I want just like people of color do and are never called racist. This political correctness is a bunch of bs and if you have to go back that far to attack Clint I think he’s doing pretty fricken good!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clint is a good man and probably a normal person, I think we have all said something at sometime would rile some ones feathers. What a tragedy, she can find something more recent to cry about if only she will look. Clint would say it again today if you ask nice.
the old marine
I totally agree with Littlefeather, but I think Clint Eastwood tried feebly to diffuse the situation. I don’t see any racism in his comment.50 years ago people said a lot of things that would be racist and sexist today which were not classed as such back then. Times and people change. And BTW, almost the same thing could be said about how women were treated in the movie industry then, as now!
I think those “cancel culture” people have a screw loose in my opinion. Clint is a good man and 50 yrs ago who cares.
TYPICAL CULTURE CANCEL MORONS because their feelings are hurt by something someone said they think you need to apologize for it no matter how trivial it waa.