{"id":1201847,"date":"2025-02-10T19:58:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T19:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/?p=1201847"},"modified":"2025-02-10T19:58:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T19:58:03","slug":"5-celebrities-whose-quotes-got-taken-totally-out-of-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/pt\/5-celebrities-whose-quotes-got-taken-totally-out-of-context\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Celebrities Whose Quotes Got Taken Totally Out of Context"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A large industry is devoted to telling you that yesterday, somewhere, a celebrity said something<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Usually, this celebrity didn\u2019<\/span>t issue some official statement to the press or an open letter consisting entirely of this quote. Instead, they sat down for an interview and talked at length about a great many topics, but then some outlet, who didn\u2019t even conduct the interview, isolates one single line and sticks it in a headline.<\/p>\n

Don’t Miss<\/h2>\n

Sometimes, this is an honorable process, ferreting out the nuggets of gold that matter most. We ourselves often do articles highlighting perspectives that celebrities have shared, and we hope you enjoy them. Other times, the aim here is to wrongly stir people up, making you think the celeb said something they never really meant at all.<\/p>\n

5 Denzel Washington
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Gladiator II<\/i> came to home media last month, and the campaign pushed you to see it by saying, \u201cThey don\u2019t make movies like this anymore.\u201d That\u2019s a borderline-insane thing to say, since one movie like this was made earlier that very year, and its name was Gladiator II<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Some ads for the campaign shed light on this tagline. They\u2019re actually quoting star Denzel Washington, who said, \u201cMovies aren\u2019t made like this anymore.\u201d Okay, that takes the blame off the ad writer who repeated that line, but now we\u2019ve got someone else to blame, and it\u2019s Denzel Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Except, that clip starts in the middle of his sentence. He gave an interview, talking about the scale of film, and this is what he said: \u201cIt\u2019s a ride, it\u2019s a spectacle. It\u2019s on a grand scale.\u00a0I don\u2019t want to say<\/a> movies aren\u2019t made like this anymore, I don\u2019t know, but just riding past what looked like thousands of soldiers and the beautiful costumes and the colors and the swords and the shields and the horses, all of it. It\u2019s more than a movie for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he didn\u2019t<\/i> want to say movies aren\u2019t made like this anymore \u2014 but hey, he did say it. It\u2019s an exact quote!<\/p>\n

4 Stephen Fry
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Stephen Fry received some attacks online last month, having supposedly said on a podcast that trans people are \u201cshameful and sad.\u201d This led to wide mockery of him as not just a traitor to the LGBTQ+ community but also a fake intellectual, and an irrelevant has-been.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fry didn\u2019<\/span>t call trans people shameful and sad. The question was about one specific group that said lesbians who refuse to have sex with people with penises are equivalent to racists. Fry had supported this group in the past. He supported them in 1991, when they sent Ian McKellen to talk to the Prime Minister, regarding how Britain used to have a special elevated age of consent for gay men. That meeting led Britain to lower that age from 21 to 18<\/a>, which was still above the age of consent for straight people, which is 16.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked about the old support, Fry now said he doesn\u2019t support the latest push from the organization. And even so, he didn\u2019t call the people shameful and sad but called this shift shameful and sad<\/a>. Then he pivoted from there to talking about his general complaints with the \u201ccommunity,\u201d which turned out to be a joking anecdote about how when he\u2019d go to clubs, no one found him attractive. \u201cI found other gay people monstrous,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I knew that was my own fault, my insecurity. Don\u2019t quote me saying, \u2018I hate all gay people,\u2019 because that\u2019s obviously nonsense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Stephen<\/p>\n

Elena Ternovaja<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI hate all gay people.\u201d \u2014 Stephen Fry<\/p>\n

That might seem like he\u2019d sidestepped talking about trans issues altogether. But earlier in that same podcast, he brought up the subject of trans people, on his own accord.<\/p>\n

This is a free speech podcast (its name is the groanworthy pun Triggernometry<\/i>), and the hosts asked Fry about a famous quote of his, about how saying, \u201cI\u2019m offended\u201d doesn\u2019t really mark someone as being in the right. \u201cIt has no reason to be respected<\/a> as a phrase,\u201d he said in 2005. \u201c\u2018I am offended by that.\u2019 Well, so fucking what?\u201d You might have seen the quote reproduced many times in meme form.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The hosts wanted Fry to double down on this. They could reasonably expect him to, both because he\u2019d said it before and because you can count on any comedian becoming increasingly skeptical of sensibilities as they age and people invent strange new standards. Sure enough, Fry shared a story about coming to the aid of someone who was arrested over a joke tweet (which is something that actually does happen in Britain), but then he switched gears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in a taxi,\u201d he said, \u201cand the driver says, \u2018Stephen, you can\u2019t say anything these days, can you?\u2019 And I want to say to him, \u2018Here, you\u2019re in a safe space, as people like to say. You\u2019re in a cab with me. You can say anything. What is there that you wanted to say in the past that you haven\u2019t been able to say?\u2019 And they won\u2019t say. Because they know what they want to say is actually disgusting probably to most people. It\u2019s just bad manners. It\u2019s inconsiderate. And yes, I say, \u2018So what if you\u2019re offended,\u2019 but at the same time, you recognize it. And a decent person doesn\u2019t want<\/i> to offend people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

They moved on to comedians specifically, and Fry now said, \u201cUnlike Dave Chappelle \u2014 and not that Dave Chappelle has no right to say whatever he wants to say as a comedian, I\u2019m not going to argue with that \u2014 but it\u2019s a pity that in order to show that they are supremely free in their speech, a lot of comedians today will punch low. I mean, does no one have sympathy for some poor child who believes they\u2019ve been born into the wrong body as far as gender is concerned?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever one\u2019s view about real biological sex and gender, not to have sympathy or indeed some admiration for the bravery of children who turn up at school in different clothing and argue their feelings… Not to have any sympathy for it and to use them as the butt of your humor? Bill Hicks used himself as the butt, and you and you as the butt, not some poor minority group that is already mocked enough in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Repeatedly in the conversation, he takes detours to avoid the current hot-button topic of puberty blockers (you can watch the whole podcast<\/a> to hear his comments with no omissions), but there\u2019s really no way to hear his comments and come away saying they were anti-trans overall. It\u2019s possible he came with pro-trans comments mentally prepared. It\u2019s possible he chose his shirt and tie to form a trans pride flag.<\/p>\n

But the briefer the summary, the more misleading it will be. The very title of the podcast episode is misleading. Fry blamed his side for losing politically, so the title grabs a quote to summarize this: \u201cThe Rise of the Right Is the Left’s Fault \u2014 Stephen Fry.\u201d<\/p>\n

3 Martin Scorsese
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If we go by sheer number of online articles, the most important topic that Martin Scorsese has concerned himself with for the past five years is Marvel movies. This is because every time someone interviews him, they\u2019ll ask one question about his famous past comments on the subject, and then a hundred outlets will publish their own article mentioning just that question and answer.<\/p>\n

It started in 2019, when Empire\u00a0<\/i>interviewed him about The Irishman<\/i>. Few read the whole interview at the time, as the interview appeared exclusively in the print magazine, but Empire Online<\/i> published it online later, after other outlets made one excerpt famous. The interviewer asked him about Marvel movies because they were talking about de-aging, and Captain Marvel<\/i> had tried this on Samuel L. Jackson much as The Irishman\u00a0<\/i>had on Robert De Niro. Scorsese was unable to compare the two results because he doesn\u2019t watch Marvel movies. He doesn\u2019t watch them because Marvel movies \u201caren\u2019t cinema,\u201d and this quote circulated widely.<\/p>\n

\"MartinPrompting this meme, which you must deploy sarcastically when the need arises.<\/p>\n

More specifically, he said, \u201cIt isn\u2019t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences<\/a> to another human being.\u201d A few months later, he wrote an entire New York Times<\/i> op-ed to clarify this. He wasn\u2019t objecting to superhero movies specifically but pointing out that movies made by committee don\u2019t communicate art in the way auteur films do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are sequels in name, but they are remakes in spirit,\u201d he wrote, \u201cand everything in them is officially sanctioned because it can\u2019t really be any other way. That\u2019s the nature of modern film franchises: market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted and remodified<\/a> until they\u2019re ready for consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Captain<\/p>\n

Walt Disney Pictures<\/p>\n

They reshot this entire movie in post. Maybe that fixed it!<\/p>\n

Earlier, he\u2019d called Marvel movies \u201ctheme parks\u201d more than the cinema of humans conveying psychological experiences. And now, he clarified that calling them theme parks isn\u2019<\/span>t itself an insult. Hitchcock movies are theme park rides, sometimes. Denzel Washington called Gladiator II <\/i>a ride. Theme park rides are fun. But films can be that and also more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You\u2019d think an entire essay clarifying a quote would be the final word on the subject, but people keep asking him about it, giving audiences the false impression that this is a crusade he refuses to abandon. When Killers of the Flower Moon<\/i> came out, GQ<\/i> did an 8,000-word profile<\/a> on him, but the headline other outlets picked up was, \u201cMartin Scorsese Says Plethora of Comic Book Movies Are a \u2018Danger\u2019 to Culture<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also, you can count on interviews with any superhero actor to bring the matter up at some point. The Times<\/i> profiled Chris Hemsworth about the discovery that he\u2019s at high risk of contracting Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a>. What were other outlets\u2019 takeaway from the interview? Chris Hemsworth Slams Marvel Criticisms by Martin Scorsese<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2 Brian Cox
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Here\u2019s another supposed feud that the media won\u2019t let die. In 2021, The New Yorker<\/i> did an article<\/a> on Jeremy Strong\u2019s acting style, and they interviewed Succession<\/i> costar Brian Cox about it. \u201cThe result that Jeremy gets is always pretty tremendous,\u201d he said. \u201cI just worry about what he does to himself. I worry about the crises he puts himself through in order to prepare. Actors are funny creatures. I\u2019ve worked with intense actors before. It\u2019s a particularly American disease, I think, this inability to separate yourself off while you\u2019re doing the job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a fairly benign concern. But that article went viral for the other stuff it covered, and now, people ask Brian Cox about the topic whenever they interview him about anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

HBO<\/p>\n

It\u2019s either that or asking about a reboot.<\/p>\n

In 2023, headlines read, \u201cBrian Cox Slams Jeremy Strong\u2019s Method Acting<\/a> as \u2018F\u2014ing Annoying\u2019: \u2018Don\u2019t Get Me Going On It.\u2019\u201d And it\u2019s true: Cox said that. But they took that quote from a different magazine\u2019s 3,000-word article, and before it, he said, \u201cHe\u2019s a very good actor, and the rest of the ensemble is all okay with this. But knowing a character and what the character does is only part of the skillset.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then the interviewer asked him if it\u2019s annoying when someone always stays in character. Cox replied, \u201cOh, it\u2019s fucking annoying. Don\u2019t get me going on it.\u201d Based on how conversation works, you understand that Cox is being funny there, right? He next said, \u201cStrong is talented. He\u2019s fucking gifted. When you\u2019ve got the gift, celebrate the gift. Go back to your trailer and have a hit<\/a> of marijuana, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

HBO<\/p>\n

There was a whole Succession<\/i> episode about deceptively editing his words.<\/p>\n

Last month, headlines told us about this ongoing conflict again. \u201cBrian Cox Accuses \u2018Succession\u2019 Co-star of Causing \u2018Hostility\u2019 for the Cast<\/a>,\u201d said the celebrity.land<\/i>, leading with, \u201cBrian Cox is speaking out (again) about Jeremy Strong\u2019s method acting approach \u2014 this time, implying that it caused an even bigger negative impact on the Succession<\/i> cast than initially believed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHostility\u201d is a direct quote, sure. But reading that, you\u2019d swear that this is something Cox brought up rather than one thing that came up in a 4,000-word interview he gave to plug the play he and his wife are in. In that interview, The Guardian<\/i> frames the subject a little differently, first bringing up the old method acting thing and then saying, \u201cBut, today, the newly circumspect Cox would like to accentuate the positive. \u2018He was wonderful to act with<\/a>. I had no argument with Jeremy\u2019s acting.\u2019 But? \u2018He would be an even better actor if he just got rid of that<\/i> so there would be much more inclusiveness in what he did.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

1 Jenna Ortega
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Variety<\/i> gave the world this headline last April: \u201cJenna Ortega Says Approaching \u2018Everything I Do With the Confidence of the Average White Man<\/a> Changed My Life\u2019 and \u2018Made Me Feel Better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

We suppose, if you have a bone to pick with average white men, this concept might make you cheer. It would also inspire rage in many white men, and we can assume Variety\u00a0<\/i>anticipated this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She did say what the headline said she did. But she said this was advice someone else gave her, and the context was her handling a cello on her show without really knowing how to play it. When she says, \u201cAnd that changed my life,\u201d we can take that as deadpan comic hyperbole, because she\u2019s talking about advice she received on the show she\u2019s doing \u201cright now,\u201d not some formative juncture.<\/p>\n

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That wasn\u2019t the craziest mischaracterization anyone has suffered, but what we really find interesting is what she said immediately<\/i> after that<\/a> in that same interview. The question was, \u201cWhat question are you sick of being asked?\u201d Surely the answer was that she was sick of being asked about that one dance scene in her Wednesday<\/i> show. Instead, she said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like a lot of things are soundbites now… I think a lot of times when you do an interview now, people are just waiting for that one bite or one headline. And the things they ask you to touch upon are often trends and viral clips and moments and things that \u2014 yeah, sure, it\u2019s fun to acknowledge and appreciate and talk about, but I feel like the internet doesn\u2019t know when to quit it, or when to drop something…<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like people oftentimes don\u2019t even read a full interview anymore. They read a tweet of something that somebody said that probably is misworded and then it\u2019s \u2014 that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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So, someone whose job it is to comb interviews watched that and said to themselves, \u201cOh yeah, grabbing one soundbite for a headline. That sounds great. Let me do that right this second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0<\/i>Ryan Menezes<\/i><\/a> on\u00a0<\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a> for more stuff no one should see.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cracked.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n