Seth MacFarlane, creator of Fox’s “Family Guy” and this year’s host of the Oscars, is now being called out by Geena Davis over his controversial “We Saw Your Boobs” song at the awards ceremony last week. Seth launched into the song and dance routine, in which he named various actresses who’ve bared their breasts on film over the years. MacFarlane was first dissed over the Oscar performance by actress Jane Fonda. Jamie Lee Curtis followed suit days later, and just yesterday Geena Davis joined the chorus while speaking to California State Assembly members in Sacramento, according to E! News.
Davis was being honored for her commitment to female empowerment. Geena was appointed chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls in 2012. The commission strives to address gender equality, “as a socio-political and economic issue”.
Geena was critical of MacFarlane’s routine as disrespectful towards women, particularly those being honored at the Oscars that night. “It's a shame that that triumph was enveloped in an awards ceremony containing disrespect for women. But it helps illustrate how tone-deaf we can still be regarding the status of women”, Davis said.
The first to voice disdain for Seth’s performance was Jane Fonda. Eonline reported earlier that although she didn’t explicitly name him in her blog, she felt the “We Saw Your Boobs” song was too vulgar given the expected audience.
“What I really didn't like was the song and dance number about seeing actresses' boobs. I agree with someone who said, if they want to stoop to that, why not list all the penises we've seen?”, said longtime feminist Fonda.
Jamie Lee Curtis expressed her distaste for Seth’s song on her Huffington Post blog. She said she was offended both as an Academy member and as a woman. “I expected more from the best that the movie business has to offer.
“The Oscars are about honoring art and artists. It is not supposed to be a cheesy vaudeville show. When did they turn into a ‘roast?’”, Curtis asked.
“I am an actress who has bared her breasts in films to satisfy the requirement of the role I was asked to do…I didn't like doing it. I didn't ask if I could do them topless. I did what was asked of me for the part I was playing. Mostly asked by men”.
The actresses’ criticisms were peppered with other off color remarks the host made during the telecast, most notably the crack MacFarlane made about actresses giving themselves the flu in order to fit into their gowns.
Meanwhile, the Academy finally spoke out in Seth’s defense. They issued a statement which read, “If the Oscars are about anything, they're about creative freedom. We think the show's producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and host Seth MacFarlane did a great job and we hope our worldwide audience found the show entertaining”.
Perhaps it’s best that the 39 year-old writer, singer, composer, actor and producer came out immediately after the Oscars to declare he’d never do it again. Or maybe Seth had already gotten wind of the impending condemnation
What do you think about this issue? Did Seth do a good hosting job, or did he go too far disparaging women?
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