Why, Stacey Dash, why?
The media are buzzing about Stacey Dash’s super-awkward, shift-in-your-chair appearance on the Oscars Sunday. She posed as the new director of the academy’s "minority-outreach program," which I suppose in theory is laughable. This is the same Dash who said that there was no need for Black History Month, among other ill-founded vitriol. Got it. But your joke failed. Horribly.
Still, her appearance made folks wonder: Who is Stacey Dash? And why did she have a mic, anyway?
Let’s talk about around-the-way Stacey.
She’s an actress from the South Bronx, N.Y., whose claim to fame is an appearance in the 1990s movie Clueless. Aside from a music video here and there, her career as an actress has foundered, and her second coming has been as a pundit on Fox. Basically, she’s made herself relevant by saying, well, stupid s—t, particularly as it pertains to issues of race, ethnicity, equality and everything in between.
But, Stacey, let’s not act as if, back in the day, you weren’t fighting over the last blue quarter water at your local bodega. Please.
Here are a few stupid things that the “Clueless” actress has said.
The Democratic Party Has “a Plantation Mentality”
During an appearance on The Sean Hannity Show in 2014, Dash was asked this: “Has voting with Obama 95 percent of the time and Obamacare, has that helped the minority community in Louisiana?”
Dash’s response: “No, not at all. It still keeps them stuck. They’re getting money for free. They feel worthless. They’re uneducated. I mean, as long as you are that way, they can keep you under their control.
The actress continued: “They have a plantation mentality. As long as they give you this much money, you’ll stay right there. You don’t need to know too much because if you do, you might start thinking for yourself."
No BET, NAACP or BHM
“If we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the [NAACP] Image Awards,” Dash said on Fox in January. In the same breath she bellowed, “There shouldn’t be a Black History Month.” Of course, Dash’s face used to be plastered all over BET during her cameos in Game and as a video chick. One of our faves: “All Goes Down.”
Romney for President in 2012
How could we forget Dash’s endorsement of Mitt Romney for president in 2012? Dash tweeted, “Vote for Romney. The only choice for your future.” The issue here was not just that the actress endorsed Romney (which was foolish), and actually believed that his policies would benefit her as a woman of color. The tweet was also accompanied by a picture of Dash in a red bikini behind the American flag. Girl, really?
Trump and Giuliani for the Win
In a recent tweet, Dash suggested that Rudy Giuliani, New York City’s former mayor—Mr. Stop and Frisk himself—jump on the Trump train wreck as vice president: “Here’s an idea, @realDonaldTrump. You as President with Rudy Giuliani as Veep. #NYValues.”
You Received 2.5 Seconds at the Oscars and You’re Still Talking Stupidness, Stacey
“Yes, I’m the actress from the South Bronx who has always dreamed of winning an Oscar. But God has a great sense of humor, and this is my first encounter with one of my dreams of destiny. Bringing diversity to Hollywood … not merely because of color, but politics as well. (After all, different colors of skin is an easy kind of diversity. Ideological diversity is much harder, because it forces everyone to come face to face with actual beliefs. Hollywood needs both.)”
Different skin colors are an easy diversity? Riddle me this, Ms. Dash: If skin is an “easy diversity” in Hollywood, why haven’t you landed a leading role on the big screen in over two decades? Next.
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Felice León is multimedia editor at The Root.