Oct 25, 2007 7:03 | Updated Oct 25, 2007 12:02
Halle Berry's Jewish nose joke
By NATHAN BURSTEIN
One of Hollywood's most famous faces has apologized for a joke about a
"Jewish" nose.
Halle Berry
Oscar winner Halle Berry called the New York Post Monday evening to
apologize for a comment she'd made the previous Friday at a taping of
The Tonight Show. In the segment, an audience member told the
newspaper, Berry presented images of herself distorted by a computer,
and upon seeing one in which she appeared with a large nose, remarked,
"Here's where I look like my Jewish cousin."
"No one laughed," the audience member reported, "and [host] Jay [Leno]
nervously said, 'I'm glad you said that and not me.'"
The word "Jewish" was cut from NBC's broadcast of Berry's appearance,
though a brief silence can be heard between the surroundings words.
After the edited comment, Berry is shown joking, "Oh my God, have I
just, like, ruined my whole career?"
The incident follows a series of cases in the last year in which
celebrities got caught making racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic
comments. Radio host Don Imus and Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah
Washington lost their jobs earlier this year for their remarks, which
targeted black women and gay men, respectively.
According to the New York Post item, Berry "sounded like she was near
tears," in her call to the paper, telling a reporter, "I so didn't
mean to offend anybody - and after the show I realized it could be
seen as offensive, so I asked Jay to take it out, and he did."
The first black woman to win the Oscar for best actress, Berry
explained that the "Jewish cousin" joke had first been made backstage
by one of her three Jewish assistants, who she said had looked at the
photo and told the 41-year-old star, "This could be your Jewish
cousin!"
"But," the actress told The New York Post, "I didn't mean to offend
anyone. I didn't. I didn't mean any harm … It was just supposed to be
a silly segment. I am so sorry, and I apologize."
screenshots:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/25/wberry125.xml
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380647088&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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