seductive_tee
09-26-2005, 12:39 PM
COMEDIAN PAUL MOONEY'S OUTRAGEOUS ATTACK ON DIANA ROSS AT BET AWARDS TAPING: A Freaked out, Tracey Ellis Ross, Was in the Audience
September 26, 2005
Paul Mooney
*What started out as comedian/writer Paul Mooney's questionable
"Nigga Wake Up Award" turned into an all-out insult to Diana Ross last
night at the taping of the BET Comedy Awards at the Pasadena Civic
Auditorium. For some reason Mooney thought the famed singer was deserving of
being talked about like a dog because of her arrest for drunk driving
from a year or two ago.
Needless to say, Mooney's mean spirited tirade was met with
disbelief, disgust and silence from the audience in the auditorium and
members of the press in the media room covering the event. What made it more
difficult to witness was the fact that Tracey Ellis Ross was in the
auditorium while Mooney went through his attack. Actually Miss Ellis Ross
couldn't take it and ran out of the auditorium.
Backstage in the press room when EUR's Lee Bailey confronted
Mooney about his bit on Ross being way over the top, the comedian defended
his actions.
"How can somebody get arrested for (being under the influence)
and go to jail and I be over the top? I think that's over the top, don't
you? Agree or disagree, folks. No, comedy is not over the top," Mooney
said. "When you are a celebrity and you do crazy stuff, that's the
game."
At that point Bailey asked him if thought about the fact that
Tracey Ellis Ross was in the room while he delivered his diatribe against
her mother.
"I didn't know ... her mama could've been in there, that's not
the point. I didn't drive drunk," Mooney shot back. "Now I'm responsible
for Diana Ross? If you scrutinize Jay Leno and David Letterman the same
way you scrutinize me, then I'll agree with you, but if you don't touch
them white folks don't touch me. They say what ever they want to say
every night."
Record executive and member of old school group Club Nouveau, Jay
King, was in the audience and was clearly disgusted by Mooney's
comments.
"Diana Ross' thing to me was just a personal demon she was
dealing with, it wasn't something that he needed to go on record (talking
about). If he'd have kept it light and funny it would've been fine, but he
got down right dirty and divisive," King told us. "He said he says
nigga a hundred times a day, well today he did ... he was a nigga a hundred
times for doing that. Her daughter was in that audience. That's
ridiculous. He was nasty and he was rude. Paul Mooney knows better than that.
He knows where to draw the line and stepped over the line tonight. I've
seen him push the envelope, but tonight is the first time I've been
offended by something he said, because with the Diana Ross thing, once he
knew he was offensive, he just continued on ... he didn't wanna stop.
At that point, he meant to hurt and damage somebody."
That raises the question of how BET is going to deal with
Mooney's "moment." In fact, with all the "niggas," "bitches," "MFs" and other
words that can't be said on TV, the network's producers and editors
have got one hellava challenge ahead of them. The BET Comedy Awards air
tomorrow night from 9 until 11 PM E/P.
In tomorrow's EUR, we'll bring you more about the show as well as
comedians Steve Harvey and Sheryl Underwood's reactions to Paul Mooney.
September 26, 2005
Paul Mooney
*What started out as comedian/writer Paul Mooney's questionable
"Nigga Wake Up Award" turned into an all-out insult to Diana Ross last
night at the taping of the BET Comedy Awards at the Pasadena Civic
Auditorium. For some reason Mooney thought the famed singer was deserving of
being talked about like a dog because of her arrest for drunk driving
from a year or two ago.
Needless to say, Mooney's mean spirited tirade was met with
disbelief, disgust and silence from the audience in the auditorium and
members of the press in the media room covering the event. What made it more
difficult to witness was the fact that Tracey Ellis Ross was in the
auditorium while Mooney went through his attack. Actually Miss Ellis Ross
couldn't take it and ran out of the auditorium.
Backstage in the press room when EUR's Lee Bailey confronted
Mooney about his bit on Ross being way over the top, the comedian defended
his actions.
"How can somebody get arrested for (being under the influence)
and go to jail and I be over the top? I think that's over the top, don't
you? Agree or disagree, folks. No, comedy is not over the top," Mooney
said. "When you are a celebrity and you do crazy stuff, that's the
game."
At that point Bailey asked him if thought about the fact that
Tracey Ellis Ross was in the room while he delivered his diatribe against
her mother.
"I didn't know ... her mama could've been in there, that's not
the point. I didn't drive drunk," Mooney shot back. "Now I'm responsible
for Diana Ross? If you scrutinize Jay Leno and David Letterman the same
way you scrutinize me, then I'll agree with you, but if you don't touch
them white folks don't touch me. They say what ever they want to say
every night."
Record executive and member of old school group Club Nouveau, Jay
King, was in the audience and was clearly disgusted by Mooney's
comments.
"Diana Ross' thing to me was just a personal demon she was
dealing with, it wasn't something that he needed to go on record (talking
about). If he'd have kept it light and funny it would've been fine, but he
got down right dirty and divisive," King told us. "He said he says
nigga a hundred times a day, well today he did ... he was a nigga a hundred
times for doing that. Her daughter was in that audience. That's
ridiculous. He was nasty and he was rude. Paul Mooney knows better than that.
He knows where to draw the line and stepped over the line tonight. I've
seen him push the envelope, but tonight is the first time I've been
offended by something he said, because with the Diana Ross thing, once he
knew he was offensive, he just continued on ... he didn't wanna stop.
At that point, he meant to hurt and damage somebody."
That raises the question of how BET is going to deal with
Mooney's "moment." In fact, with all the "niggas," "bitches," "MFs" and other
words that can't be said on TV, the network's producers and editors
have got one hellava challenge ahead of them. The BET Comedy Awards air
tomorrow night from 9 until 11 PM E/P.
In tomorrow's EUR, we'll bring you more about the show as well as
comedians Steve Harvey and Sheryl Underwood's reactions to Paul Mooney.