Jay Leno joke sparks diplomatic trouble with India
By James Brady RyanJanuary 23rd, 2012, 7:00 pmComments (14)
Count this as a big score for Team Coco: Jay Leno has courted the wrath of the country of India for a joke he made at Mitt Romney's expense last week. In a jab at Romney's widely reported wealth, which seems to be increasingly a hindrance as he tries to secure the GOP nomination for presidential candidate, Leno used an image of the Golden Temple in Amritsar and called it Romney's summer home. (Uh... hilarious "joke," I guess. Aren't you all laughing yourself to tears right now? Nailed it again, Leno.)
Unfortunately, that happens to be the most sacred shrine in the Sikh religion, and I guess some people aren't happy to see it flippantly referred to as some American politician's vacation house. Not only does the temple house holy items and serve as a pilgrimage destination for adherents, but it was also the site of a violent altercation between Sikhs and the Indian military in the 1980s. Apparently people can be kind of touchy when it comes to such places! And the offended parties are serious, even getting the government involved in the matter:
The Press Trust of India reports that the Indian Embassy will contact the U.S. State Department over the joke.
“This is not acceptable to us and we take a very strong objection for such a display,” Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said to the BBC.
An online petition started by U.S. Sikhs said that the First Amendment does not protect Leno’s remarks as they spread hate. It also accuses Leno of a history of derogatory comments about the Sikh religion.
Let's hope this little matter can be smoothed out, because do you really want to find yourself in forty years explaining to your grandchildren that the great war between the U.S. and India was started over by a hacky late-night talk-show host? I didn't think so.
Commentarium (14 Comments)
you can't consider every interpretation when you roll a joke out. in the right context that is freaking hilarious!
This new development redeems the shoddy joke. Comedy causing international shockwaves is always funny, especially when it's unintentional. No disrespect to Sikhs, of course. I'm laughing at Jay Leno's buffoonery, not their holy site.
Not a very funny joke, but I certainly hope Jay Leno tells the Sikhs to suck it, instead of making some half-assed apology. It would be the first thing he's ever said that I really enjoy.
I know that two wrongs don’t make a right, but you should hear how they talk about the US. Maybe Leno should consider an apology after they apologize to the US.
The rest of the world thinks the USA is a hunk of shit and they don’t hesitate to say so. But if anyone from America says something even remotely bad about them, their government gets involved and it’s an international incident. F*uck ‘em all.
Except the US hasn't just fucked 'em all, it's bombed 'em all as well. :)
(and in an act of serendipitous hilarity, my Captcha for this post was 'USAMen denote')
The Golden Temple raid by the Indian army caused the assassination of Indira Ghandi by her Sikh bodyguards. Isn't that fucking hilarious?
Some people say I have a Sikh sense of humor.
It's hilarious how they're contacting the government. Sorry, but not every country has a media controlled by the government. Also, how in the world does Hooksexup decide who they like and dislike? You hate GOP, then hate on a TV personality for making a joke at their expense, as though that reaction was somehow expected or justified, and not entirely exaggerated. Also, U.S. Sikhs obviously don't understand the first amendment.
Most (non-Sikh) Americans would not begin to know what that structure is, let alone its cultural significance. Leno probably just picked the photo because it is an ornate building covered in gold. This is more ignorance than bias. Also, even assuming something this idiotic can be considered hate speech, the First Amendment does not have a "hate speech" exception. Americans, Sikh or otherwise, should know better.
You missed a golden opportunity to say, "In a Pun-jab at Romney's widely reported wealth..."
RJ sez: "Sorry, but not every country has a media controlled by the government."
True. Some have the government controlled by the media.
This is just too stupid to even get upset about, The man is a comenian his job is to make jokes and make people laugh at others expence, Get over it and move on ,I don't give a dam what your religion is . Next thing you see on the national news will be a bunch of Sikh rioter's burning an American Flag in Protest.
Man just wht happen to jay leno. He gt say srry
Now you say something