TORONTO — Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner is getting slammed on social media for complaining last week about a lack of women who are both funny and beautiful in Hollywood.
While speaking with Goldie Hawn at the Aspen Ideas Festival on July 2, Eisner said: “In the history of the motion picture business, the number of beautiful, really beautiful women — a Lucille Ball — that are funny, is impossible to find.
“The hardest artist to find is a beautiful, funny woman. By far.”
The full conversation can be heard here.
Eisner, who was CEO of Disney from 1984 to 2005 and previously served as president of Paramount Pictures, quickly realized the remark was going to cause a stir. “Boy, I’m going to get in trouble,” he said. “I know this goes online. But usually, unbelievably beautiful women are not funny.”
On Twitter, film critic Callum Petch called the comments “disgusting and sexist.” Petch added: “I’m also sure, by that logic, that Eisner’s wife is thrilled to find out that her husband finds her either ugly or a humorless shrill.”
Actress and director Elizabeth Banks simply tweeted: “Stop spreading this bulls***.”
In a statement, Hawn said: “The gift of comedy given to the many outstanding talented women throughout history has never been predicated on physical beauty. It’s brilliance, timing, truth, fearlessness, and without a doubt a sign of high intelligence. Long live the women who bring laughter into the hearts of people everywhere.”
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Not everyone thought Eisner was out of line. Syndicated columnist Amy Alkon opined: “You might not like it, ladies, but is Michael Eisner wrong?”
Here is a sample of the reaction on Twitter to Eisner’s comments:
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