Sandra Bernhard: Mariah’s only black when it helps sell records
CVK
(Thanks to bell579 and Janice for this one!) Actress Sandra Bernhard appeared on daytime talk show The View last week, and Star Jones asked about a remark Bernhard had made about being singlehandedly responsible for “the emancipation of Mimi.” You can watch the whole debacle for yourself on YouTube, but here’s a summary of what happened from EURWeb:
Bernhard has made jokes in the past about biracial singer Mariah Carey appearing to cash in on her blackness only when her more mainstream pop material became passé. Star, reading from the pre-interview notes on her blue cards, asked Bernhard to explain why she is now claiming responsibility for the success of Carey’s album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”
Bernhard said it was her jokes eight years ago about Carey “being black only when it’s convenient” that led to the singer’s nervous breakdown, which eventually resulted in this current emancipation.
Trying to remain calm, Star hit Bernhard with a “girl please” and said Carey has always been open about being black. Bernhard joked to the audience that Star was about to go off on her. Star smiled and said, “I look too cute today to be going off on you,” then rolled her eyes back toward co-host Barbara Walters to continue on.
Walters said that Carey spoke openly about her African American father during their interview eight years ago. Bernhard finally gave up on the whole thing, shouting, “It’s a joke,” and telling Star she didn’t set up the story right.”
I think this clip really encapsulates several different myths that exist about mixed race people — many of which we discuss in our New Demographic workshop on this topic (see clips here).
Mixed people, especially those who are part white, are often accused of lacking legitimacy as people of color (”he’s not really black” or “she’s not Asian enough“). And more recently, we’re seeing more and more instances where mixed people are accused of exploiting their racial ambiguity for personal gain.
A sociologist named David Brunsma, for instance, is going around telling everyone who will listen (see here and here) that “multiracial individuals in some cases have both sets of choices, ‘to avail themselves of race-based scholarships as well as to attempt to distance themselves from solidarity with their brothers and sisters when the recognition of the racial distribution of privilege and resources remains.’”
Usually this kind of criticism comes from within communities of color. It’s a little surprising to me that Sandra Bernhard, a white woman, would jump on this mixed=advantageous bandwagon too.
Mixed Media Watch - tracking media representations of mixed people on 29 Jun 2006 at 5:28 am
[…] Apparently he and Sandra Bernhard are on the same “hipsters like us are beyond race so it’s ok for us to spew racist garbage because it’s like, you know, meta and post-modern and stuff” bandwagon, along with Kill Whitey and Blackface Jesus. […]
July 2006 New Demographic Newsletter at New Demographic - an anti-racism training company on 01 Sep 2006 at 1:48 pm
[…] On the celebrity front, Angelina Jolie talks about adopting another child like it’s a matter of picking what curtains go with her pillows, and Sandra Bernhard goes on The View to accuse Mariah Carey of playing up her African-American heritage only when it helps her sell records. […]