Make no mistake about it: John Wayne was not, by any means, a bleeding heart liberal. However, given the shocking reaction from many this past week, stemming from some old comments Wayne gave more than four decades ago, it seems like progressive millennials really thought The Duke was one of their own.
I thought the 1971 interview Wayne gave to Playboy Magazine was well-known and infamous for its bluntness and the way Wayne came off as being utterly bigoted towards African-Americans, Native-Americans, and homosexual couples. Why must social media be up in arms about it today? What’s the point of it resurfacing almost 50 years later? Does this just prove that people have absolutely no idea how racist things were back in the day? It’s not like there aren’t other interviews where you can unearth racist-filled diatribes from well-known celebrities, stemming from back in the day. One has to just go back and find them online. Just a little bit of knowledge kiddies, America has a history of extreme racism, if ya didn’t know.
Now an L.A. Times writer calling for Wayne’s name to be stripped off of Orange County Airport. Outrage culture has gone out of control, folks.
A sampling of some of what Wayne had to say:
PLAYBOY: What kind of films do you consider perverted?
WAYNE: Oh, Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy—that kind of thing. Wouldn’t you say that the wonderful love of those two men in Midnight Cowboy, a story about two fags, qualifies? But don’t get me wrong. As far as a man and a woman is concerned, I’m awfully happy there’s a thing called sex. It’s an extra something God gave us. I see no reason why it shouldn’t be in pictures. Healthy, lusty sex is wonderful.
PLAYBOY: Angela Davis claims that those who would revoke her teaching credentials on ideological grounds are actually discriminating against her because she’s black. Do you think there’s any truth in that?
WAYNE: With a lot of blacks, there’s quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we can’t all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.