Apr 09 2009
Bill O’Reilly: He’s Mister Know-It-All!
You gotta love “The O’Reilly Factor” and its venerable (that might be dubious to some people) and equally venomous host. Bill O’Reilly has a way with words, doesn’t he? We all know how he feels about rappers - remember the Ludacris-Pepsi case, anyone? Well, now he’s targeting Eminem! It seems Mr. “No Spin Zone” has a problem with Slim Shady mocking Sarah Palin in his new video, “We Made You.” In it, Eminem raps:
“I’ll invite Sarah Palin out to dinner, nail her/ Baby, say hello to my little friend.”
Apparently, that didn’t sit too well with Bill. He called the comments “crude,” considered everything an “attack,” and then said:
“Few Americans take the vile rapper Eminem seriously. He represents the lowest form of entertainment in this country and is a publicity hound to boot.”
Somebody obviously needs to check the glass house that he’s throwing stones from.
Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t take everything that Eminem says seriously. I say he’s a great artist, and I take his craft seriously, even if the rest of the world may not. Hell, maybe Bill’s right about people over the age of 25 not listening to his music. At the same time, however, some things are rather disgusting to hear - killing your spouse in graphic detail, for one thing, is not something I care to listen to - even as a joke. But come on, let’s get serious here: Sarah Palin was made an object of derision and desire the minute she stepped onstage at the Republican National Convention to announce her vice-presidential candidacy last summer. I don’t think that’s Eminem’s fault alone. But honestly, for Mr. O’Reilly to say that he’s a publicity hound would only serve to undermine whatever shred of credibility he has since this is one of those incidents that virtually paints him as a hypocrite. Oh, not to mention that he was involved in some really unusual - dare I use the word “freak” - sexual harassment scandal with someone who worked on the production of his show some years ago. So, Bill… really? This just doesn’t work for you.
Oh, and I loooove this quote:
“All I want to do is repeat that Eminem means nothing. The video means nothing. It’s played for kids that are confused.”
As opposed to what? Don’t you think that’s an insult to people’s intelligence? I guess not! I don’t like a lot of music played on the radio, but that doesn’t mean much. I guess what he means by “confused” is that the kids don’t know anything that isn’t filled with sex or violence, especially when it comes out of that particular person’s mouth and they don’t care because that’s what makes it good. Maybe that’s not the case, but who knows? I personally don’t think a record that exploits sex and violence makes it a classic, but that’s not the point here. Bill O’Reilly is taking Eminem to task for raking a politician across the coals in a demeaning manner, something for he is known for.
People, they both know what they’re doing.
I’m not say we should police his words - it’s censorship that doesn’t mean anything, and neither Eminem nor Bill O’Reilly would back down from a verbal smackdown. But quite frankly, I just find the whining so pathetic. We have better things to talk about. I don’t mind talking about this, but if you can’t do it in a respectful manner, who the hell’s going to respect you?
Certainly not me.
