Here we go again. Last year it was the Snickers commercial that some gays got into an uproar about. Now Richard Simmons has some of them upset. Bridgestone released an ad for the game that features a driver trying to avoid a deer and Alice Cooper (odd, but whatever) standing in the middle of the road. Then, when he comes to (even more strange) Richard Simmons leading an exercise routine in the middle of the road at night, the driver accelerates for a moment, the swerves to miss Simmons.
The editor of AfterElton calls it homophobic. Mike Wilke of Commercial Closet stops short of calling it homophobic and instead raises various questions about the ad. He talked with an out ad exec at Bridgestone who said: “The humor in this ad has nothing to do with sexuality. I don’t know if he’s ever come out publicly or not, and he clearly knew the content of the spot.”
I couldn’t agree more. Simmons isn’t a ‘gay’ figure. He transcends sexuality. He is first and foremost Richard Simmons, regarded by many as one of the most annoying people on the planet. The desire to run over him (and remember, the driver DIDN’T run over him) isn’t because he’s gay, it’s because he’s Richard Simmons. You could have had Carrot Top . . . or Carson Kressley . . . there and gotten the same effect. Sexuality wasn’t a part of the equation, and it’d be nice if some people stopped trying to make it part of the discussion every time a feminine person hits the TV screen. In case you haven’t been reading this Web site for the last eight years, feminine does not equal gay; and every cry about a feminine man on TV from the gay community reinforces that we believe the stereotype.
There were a couple other spots that are getting some gays riled up, but none of them as much as the Simmons ad because, after all, it involves Richard Simmons. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Eg3T9vZ-rAM]
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 9:09 AM
I would have accelerated too. And most definitely NOT swerved.
Now mthere was one ad that I thought was really offensive and I’m not even Asian. The ad with the cartoon pandas with the really thick Cinese accents was pretty bad. I am surprised no Asian groups have come out about it yet, at least that I heard.
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 9:17 AM
Oh and Richard Simmons has allowed himself to be ridiculed because of his perceived sexuality* for years. It’s his “thing”, which I have no problem with. He’s made alot of money allowing himself to be the butt of jokes beginning with Howard Stern and now Letterman and Leno (though as with most things Leno, it’s not all that funny).
*I say “perceived sexuality” because, to my knowledge, he’s never acknowledged even being gay.
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 12:48 PM
Richard Simmons has no one to blame but himself. He’s made himself into this foolish court jester and he’s sticking to it. I’m glad he’s never come out as gay because he’s only perpetuated the worst possible stereotypes in his little “act.” And while sure, it’s harmless I suppose, a profitable idiot’s act, it doesn’t mean it’s admirable or anything other than ridiculous. He’s a clown at the expense of gays’ everywhere…
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 1:00 PM
My God Gays GET OVER IT!!!
Seriously, it’s a commercial. Personally, I LOVED last year’s Snickers commercial, and I chuckled at this year’s Bridgestone Tires ad.
I think there are for more important things to be concerned by than contrived homophobia. You’ve got to be able to let some stuff go.
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 2:17 PM
(and remember, the driver DIDN’T run over him) isn’t because he’s gay, it’s because he’s Richard Simmons. You could have had Carrot Top . . . or Carson Kressley . . . or Bill Belichick…
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 6:14 PM
People really need to lighten up in this so-called “politically correct” society. The ad was funny and “homophobic” certainly didn’t cross my mind. Get a grip people! All these people who continually “raise the flag” make gays look like a bunch of whining wimps!
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 6:20 PM
I was offended by the beer ad featuring the flying man. Instead of being shredded into confetti when he got sucked into the jet engine, like Shary Bobbins on The Simpsons, he ended up at the airport hardly damaged at all. I wasn’t remotely offended by the Richard Simmons ad.
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 6:22 PM
No one’s raising the ‘flag’ – just expressing opinions of the ‘flaming’ stereotype. Listen, Richard Simmons has helped lots and lots of overweight people find exercise and comfort and hope – Amen to that. But, come on, he’s run this schtick into the ground. It’s an idiotic stereotype that he has every right to portray, but i have every right to not care for..
on Feb 6th, 2008 at 11:27 PM
Yeah, those whiney, queeny gays needs to stfu and stop giving butch gays a bad name!
Grow up guys, stop worrying that people think you are sissy because another gay person is feminine. The self-loathing involved in getting annoyed at sissy gays because you don’t want to be “associated” with them is the same emotion that makes actual butch straight guys nervous about hanging out with out gay guys…cause, omg, someone might associate that person’s gayness with them. And we all know, what other people think is what matters.
on Feb 7th, 2008 at 11:47 AM
I completely agree with Chris. There is a common theme through the original story and all the subsequent responses that there is something wrong with an effeminate gay man (i.e., the ‘stereotype’). Moreover, I often get the idea from many gay man (especially here on Outsports) that the effeminate gay man is making life a lot rougher for all gay men. In other words, if gay men were all athletic and masculine, we wouldn’t have to deal with homophobia. WRONG. Homophobics hate gay men because we have sex with men PERIOD. You’re all focusing on the wrong issue/person. There is nothing wrong with an effeminate gay man. There is plenty wrong with homophobia and gay men thinking homophobia is caused by effeminate gay men.
on Feb 8th, 2008 at 7:16 PM
wow mike that is right on. i am not the manliest of them, but im definetely not womanly either. one halloween i dressed up and realized i would be the ugliest woman alive, even uglier than some drag queens. its funny that most people at work or games or anywhere cant tell i dig fellas (makes it hard hookin up some times), but i accept myself for who i am and dont worry about associating with people because of their womanliness or blackness, or penny pinchingness. or whatever some people might percieve as inferior. i kik it with folks that are positive minded like myself. we shoot some hoops, play beisbol, watch sports and have a gay ol time. i aint trippin about other people. but i do agree that sometimes the fems can be a game killer. you know sometimes you wanna be discreet about your dealings, not make it obvious your diggin one of the homeboys, play that cat and mouse game. but when you got sista frida with you it can be intimidating to some individuals. but then again thats their pedo. i kik it with respectable people who offer respect in kind. thats what matters most. and that snickers commercial was great. so was the simmons one. you cant take that mess to the heart. and i never thought simmons was gay, i always thought he was just annoying. a lil fruity, but not a card carrying bugger. rock hudson on the other hand…
on Feb 8th, 2008 at 8:17 PM
I can’t speak for the others who dislike Richard Simmons but for me it’s not about disliking him because he’s effeminate or being uncomfortable around effeminate guys. It is that these seem to be the only (or at least the VAST majority) of portrayals we get in movies, TV, commercials, etc. I’m sure it’s because most people are more comfortable with that stereotype. I don’t have a problem with effeminate men being portrayed just so long as others are represented as well. We’re almost only ever portrayed as the swishy or bitchy comic refief.
Jack (and even Will to a lesser extent) from Will & Grace, Carson Kressley and most of the rest of those guys. Do you think Ross the Intern would be on the Tonight Show all the time if he wasn’t so fey? Would Richard Simmons have a multi-million dollar empire?
These guys are nothing more than the gay Steppin Fetchit or Amos and Andy IMO.
on Feb 9th, 2008 at 8:57 PM
This ad proves EVERYONE loves Richard Simmons. Hell, Bridgestone — a damn tire company! — used him. He’s like the Madonna of annoying diet gurus and that’s it, nothing more. The guy is very much like Michael Jackson in that he’s devoted his life to others, with Simmon’s taking on the largest women in the country. So he’s got 40 BMW’s and 25 Dalmations, does THAT make him gay? Furthermore, shouldn’t all priests be gay too; I mean, who skips a fuck for Jesus, seriously? Whatever the case, he’s fun to watch and always uplifting.
on Feb 10th, 2008 at 12:44 AM
As a gay man I was NOT offended by the spot. I laughed out loud! I may have even accelerated towards Simmons. But thank God he swerved to miss Alice Cooper. He’s the real focus of the spot – nice to see you again, Alice. School’s Out!
on Feb 11th, 2008 at 8:51 PM
I didn’t see the ad live but frankly thought it was not particularly funny and although not intentionally homophobic probably did not help our situation either. Regardless of what you think of Richard Simmons (I personally find him irritating) why is it that effeminate men are one of the groups of people that society feels it can tease and ostracize without fear of reprisal? Doesn’t anyone remember how less than masculine boys were treated in high school? I do and it was not pretty
I have been accused on AfterElton as PC, humourless etc.. First of all there is nothing particularly funny about someone nearly being run over, especially it is someone who is similar to people who are often the subject of violence or teasing. Secondly why don’t they pick a target that is not often picked on? How about a TV evangelist, an irritating sports jock, a mysoginist rapper, or an ignorant political pundit. If they want I can supply several names that could fit the bill! 
on Feb 12th, 2008 at 2:00 AM
I can’t deny it; I’d like to see Bill O’Reilly run over, too.
The problem is, I somehow doubt he’d have had the sheer blitheness to take on such a wacky assignment (nor the court-jester aesthetic necessary to really pull it off). Simmons, on the other hand, went willingly — if he had viewed the ad concept as an attack (either a personal one, or on the broad class of effeminate men generally), I doubt he would have taken the job.
Let me say that I do understand your well-intentioned concerns. It’s just that Super Bowl ads have evolved into a kind of cultural ritual where humor is expected — so I’m not sure anyone really DOES take any serious message from the ads, much less a broad generalization that all effeminate men are lesser human beings just because the antics of a single one happen to be humorous. (And anyone who really DOES form his full philosophy of life from 30-second blips designed to sell consumer products probably has much deeper problems than a single judgmental “ism”.
)
on Feb 13th, 2008 at 1:44 AM
I would disagree with the suggestion that homophobia is caused by the fact that we have sex with men, rather than femininity. I think it is 100% about the femininity. Look at the popularity of the gay character on “Wired.” He’s rough, he’s tough, he shags men, and the thugs and football players of Hetero America love him in spite of shagging men. Why? Because he has no trace of femininity. Same for John Barrowman of “Torchwood,” the hottest show in Britain. Barrowman’s character is a rough, tough gay guy who kisses and shags men constantly on the show and no one cares. Why? Because he’s not feminine. Same for the gay comic heros in Japan; the Japanese LOVE them, because they are not feminine. Even though they shag shag shag the men on the pages of those comics.
on Feb 13th, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Those characters you point out are great but they are hardly “mainstream” (at least here in the US) like Richard Simmons, the fey assistant on Entourgae, Carson Kressley or Jack from Will & Grace. Foreign and independent films have been doing a great job of portraying gays in a broad spectrum. American films and network television programs and commercials have lagged behind quite badly.
on Feb 15th, 2008 at 12:24 PM
As a subculture, we have an unsually good collective sense of humor — except when the joke is on us. And face it guys (and girls, gals, bois and everyone partway between the two) it was a JOKE.
on Feb 18th, 2008 at 1:03 AM
I dont find it homophobic. I am gay and I would have just hit Simmons… I dont get the problem