Stirring the Pot

Julia Child was a woman of her time and background and shared the prejudices of her time and background. Being a wonderful cook, writer, and television personality does not necessarily make her a wonderful person in every respect, but it seems a little hysterical to call her a bigot. Nora Ephron respects the privacy and personal decisions of her Hollywood colleagues. Too bad everyone can't do that. And by the way, Childs' lawyer, Robert Johnson, once claimed that both Julia and Paul were in love with him. Whether that was true or not, Julia was shocked to discover Johnson was a closeted gay man after he died of AIDS. But I knew it long before; back in the 60s I slept with him.

I just reread the article and wanted to make another point... Nora Epheron, who is Jewish, is perpetuating the same ideals that kept many Jewish actors in the closet in Hollywood during the early days. Many of our beloved stars changed their names, dyed their hair blonde, etc so they would not be perceived as a Jewish person and not get the roles. Today, because many people have stould up and spoke out, being Jewish in Hollywood is no longer an issue. When Nora perpetuates the homophobia by publically standing that its ok to be in the closet because of your sexuality and you might lose roles, she is being disrespectful to her fellow Jewish forefathers and mothers who were told to hide their religion so they can get cast. So, would Nora dare say it was ok to hide your race and religion in the US now to get arole. Our problem is people still put the $$ ahead of moral and principles.

We really need to stop promoting the celebrity of blatant homophobes like Julia Child and find works that spotlight those who are not hatemongers. I read an excerpt of Child's interview in one of the Boston magazines and it made me wanna puke. I do not think mainstream America is going to walk away from this piece saying...gee lets forget about Julia and stop showcasing her talent. And furthermore we need to stop socializing with people like her. Until we stop giving them subtle hints and throwing their hateful selves out the door of our houses nothing is going to change. Any LGBT person that admires her for her cooking and rejects her homophobia is no more of a hypocrit than love the sinner hate the sin mentality. Of course many in our community are in awe of celebrity and will tolerate behaviour in order to basque in their idols presence. Also brings up the point who is worse the homophobe like Julia or members of our community that sit back and tolerate the comments

My ex and I were devoted fans of Julia Child during the 1970s. Late in that decade my ex's sister was hired to co-author and edit two cook books with Julia. We naturally begged and pleaded for invitations to meet her, which we did over supper on a number of occasion. During an otherwise wonderful dinner prepared at home by my ex's sister, out of nowhere Julia began to complain about lesbians destroying Smith College. My ex's sister's husband and our host, a distinguished Harvard professor, gave me quick "let me handle this" look. He gently attempted to tell Julia that he regularly sailed with a group lesbians who were decent people and not a problem of any kind at Smith College or anywhere else. Julia changed the subject, but seemed unconvinced. Julia was a genuine force of nature who exuded enthusiasm about good food. I had long admired her. i was astonished that someone I otherwise admired so much could be so hateful about gay people.

You know, I just have to make another comment. Here is a world-class bigot, Julia Childs. She dies. Then, Nora Ephron decides to capitalize on this, and write a movie. THEN, she tries to pimp it to the very people the bigot used to get ahead, and treated like dirt. ...............WOW! Although I still like the way she gave Bruckheimer a piece of her mind, still. With "friends" like that, who needs enemies?

Kudos for Nora Ephron for giving Bruckheimer a piece of her mind! as for Julia, she was a big ol self hating dyke, married to a gay man, and everyone knew it. I have absolutely no sympathy for her. Exposure to others unlike yourself is supposed to enlighten, not reinforce bigotry. I will not spend one thin dime on that woman. I encourage everyone else to do the same, and also expose that woman for the bigot she truly was.

I've read Laura Shapiro's bio on Julia as well as many of her leaked letters (some even from the 1980's). She made a lot of hateful comments about gays. She had a huge distaste for gay men regardless of having worked with and around many gay men. I don't think she ever overcame her homophobia.