Gal Gadot can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Wonder Woman star is no longer responsible for the worst celebrity-driven public service announcement. That dubious distinction goes now to itakeresponsibility.org, which released a video this week that is worse somehow than Gadot’s coronavirus singalong.
The new video by the anti-racism group features a handful of too-earnest celebrities, some more famous than others, pledging too-earnestly to take racial discrimination more seriously. At long last.
Actor Stanley Tucci, for example, promises that he will never again allow for a racist joke to go unchallenged in his presence. Kristen Bell, meanwhile, says she takes responsibility for “every time it was easier to ignore” racism than to “call it out.” Actor Aaron Paul then declares that “killer cops must be prosecuted.”
The video goes on like that for a bit, showcasing the usual Hollywood political activists, including Debra Messing and Julianne Moore, and several others who I do not recognize from anywhere. They all have a message, and they all deliver it with the same very serious and over-dramatic tone: Racism is bad. Somebody had to say it.
They then pledge at the end of the video to “stand against hate.” Bold.
The anti-racism group’s website is nearly as silly as the video itself. Upon entering itakeresponsibility.org, users are confronted by a drop-down menu, titled “I take responsibility for…,” and asked to select from a number of responses, including “turning a blind eye to racism,” “explaining away systemic racism,” and “denying white privilege exists.” There is then a second drop-down menu, titled “and to make it better, today I will…,” which asks users to select from yet another list of responses, including, “demand for police accountability,” “support organizations on the front lines,” and “mobilize voting efforts.”
Anyway, I feel really good about this. We have made enormous strides this week in the name of racial reconciliation. Stanley Tucci says he will no longer tolerate racist jokes. It’s like Selma all over again.
