One of the tiresome aspects of the race hustlers in entertainment is how they profess to be victims of racism and persecution. They operate in society at a stratum above 99% of the country, with a soapbox and notoriety few enjoy, but they try to sell the concept of being oppressed.
On a recent episode of The View, we have Sunny Hostin showing again that she is a perpetual source of this type of narrative. She was at it once more (beginning at the 14:00 mark) as she claimed that she has been the victim of Hollywood bigotry. Hostin has written a series of bawdy novels – she admitted on the show that her books are “smut.” Her complaint is that her books have not been translated into a visual medium.
“I’ve written a trilogy, and for six years, I’ve tried to get my films or my stories made into series and films. And the gatekeeping in Hollywood around Black and Brown creative content is insane. I cannot get New York Times best-selling books onto the screen to tell diverse stories to diverse communities.”
Her complaint is an odd one, as she seems to believe that adapting novels into film or a television-streaming series is compulsory in Hollywood. And her argument that Black and Brown content is not being produced is defied by filmographies.
Additionally, there is an entire network, BET, dedicated solely to black entertainment. Is that cable channel racist for not striking a deal with The View hostess?
The curiosity is that Hostin has been shown to be engaging in some of the very same restrictive behavior she is alleging. Her efforts to get her smut books adapted into other media involve resorting to digital production techniques. Doing so displays a dose of pulling up the ladder on her part.
Recently, there was news that Sunny Hostin had licensed her likeness to an AI production company, with the intent of seeing her books made into a feature. I will give you a moment until the shudders subside.
She claims she needed to go the AI production route because Hollywood “gatekeeping” is preventing her books from being produced. The hypocrisy of this was so blatant that she was actually called out by the other gals on the panel of her show.
When Joy Behar cannot abide your mewling, that should serve as a wake-up call, Sunny. Here is that exchange:
BEHAR: But if those people are, in fact, robots, how does that help the real black community?
HOSTIN: They’re not robots. They’re A.I. images.
BEHAR: – The real people are not working!
HOSTIN: Because the stories are not being told, Joy. Because the real people are not getting jobs in Hollywood. Black and brown actors are not getting the jobs.
BEHAR: Well, this makes sure they never will.
HOSTIN: That would be great if the studios would not gatekeep and allow the stories to be told.”
BEHAR: I get that Sunny, but we’ve said that already, but I’m saying that those same people that you’re worried about are now out of work.
HOSTIN: Yes, but I’m not the person putting them out of work, because the studios just won’t make these projects, Joy.
BEHAR: Well, force them to do it rather than have a robot replace black people in movies.
It’s rather amazing to see Joy delivering some true wisdom. Notice how Hostin is trying to steer away from the actual problem she has created. She is hectoring Hollywood over the lack of hiring Black artists, but when called on her AI hypocrisy, she tries to deflect by saying, “I didn’t fire them.”
No, you did not, Sunny – but you are also not hiring them when you resort to AI. Is that not the very argument you are making?! Hollywood won’t hire Black people, according to Sunny Hostin, so she resorts to an AI production company…so SHE will be hired. But using that tech means fewer Black people like herself will be signed up.
It appears that when it comes to gatekeeping taking place, it is only unethical when it supposedly costs the hostess from The View from getting work. As for others left scratching at the window? Well, that’s not something Sunny Hostin needs to address.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
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