14 DAY TRIAL // Robert Pattinson, undoubtedly the world’s favorite actor of the younger generation, judging by the number of fans alone, is featured in the latest issue of Details magazine. In the interview, the British star talks anything and everything, from how much he’d like the chance to prove himself to the world as an actor to how he’s almost unable to connect with people and how fame has changed his life beyond recognition.
Though, for the most part of the interview, Pattinson comes across as a sensitive guy, who spends his days tormenting over his art and whether people will know to appreciate it, there is one segment in it that is already causing quite a ruckus on the Internet. Some see in the actor’s remark a sign that he’s a “racist,” while others are quick to defend him, saying that he’s just trying to draw a parallel without aiming to offend anyone.
The Details piece goes like this: “‘As an actor, you can elevate the human condition or cheapen it. I would assume it’s the same with anything you do – you try to elevate and maybe someday you will.’ An actor may indeed have the ability to raise us, but Rob unconsciously starts speaking sotto voce each time he utters the word actor or any variation of it. Rob, did you know that every time you say actor or acting you lower your voice to a whisper? He’s genuinely startled. ‘I do?’ Yes, so quietly it’s like you’re saying Negro. He laughs, lightens up. ‘What if we were ‘acting’ like ‘Negroes’? Then we’d be [expletive]-ed – we couldn’t hear anything...’”
Though many a media outlet are quick to point that it’s not Pattinson bringing up the N-word, there are also those who see the remark as racist. Among them is Hip Hop Wired, which leaves little room to doubt as to what’s the meaning behind the actor’s words. To add insult to injury, Details magazine is equally blamable for the slur for deeming it necessary to include this part in the final print issue, the e-zine says.
“Although the statement can be taken in a variety of ways, it goes to show exactly how comfortable and disrespectful that certain ethnicities are about being intolerant of others’ differences. What is even worse is that Details felt that it was relevant enough to include the statement in the article. SMDH, if that would have been an interview with Kanye, we all know what would be the topic of all conversations right now,” Hip Hop Wired says.