From the Hollywood Reporter:

Comedy film icon Jerry Lewis was greeted with a standing ovation when he took the Kodak Theatre stage to accept a special Oscar for his longtime charitable endeavors.

… The Academy’s selection of Lewis to receive this year’s humanitarian award has drawn criticism. Some cited his use of the slur “fag” on his 2007 telethon, and during an interview in October on Australian TV, he referred to cricket as “a fag game.” Some in the disabled community also objected to the honor going to Lewis, claiming that he has perpetuated negative stereotypes involving people with disabilities.

Academy exec director Bruce Davis defended the Academy’s decision against such Internet-based protests, saying Lewis “has shouldered the back-breaking job of organizing, and then leading, an unparalleled three-day fundraising effort on behalf of muscular dystrophy sufferers.”

In an early edition of the New York Times, (reprinted in the Rochester, MN, Post-Bulletin):

Jerry Lewis, the 82-year-old comedian who has devoted much of his time to raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, was scheduled to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

But even that was not without complications. As of Sunday morning, advocates for people with disabilities were promising a demonstration in the vicinity of the Kodak Theater to protest the award as standing for an approach that tended to pity more than respect such people.

See also coverage in the Los Angeles Times.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 10:58 am and is filed under advocacy, celebrities, entertainment, muscular dystrophy, NOT2BEMISSED, public attitudes, stereotypes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.