![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: Entertainment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|
![]() |
Thursday, 29 August, 2002, 09:14 GMT 10:14 UK
Comic Mason in 'racism' row
![]() Mason said he had nothing to do with the decision
Veteran US comic Jackie Mason has been accused of racism after his manager said a warm-up act was taken off the bill at a Chicago club because of his Palestinian descent.
Ray Hanania, a Palestinian-American funnyman and writer, had been due to open for Mason.
"It's not exactly like he's just an Arab American. This guy's a Palestinian," Mason's manager Jyll Rosenfeld said. "Jackie does not feel comfortable having a Palestinian open for him. Right now it's a very sensitive thing, it's just not a good idea."
"It is an act of hate and racism against Palestinians, and we demand an apology," the league's president Ali Alarabi said. Mason, who is Jewish, denied he had anything to do with the cancellation, saying the club had received phone calls in protest at the appearance of a Palestinian comic. "I have nothing but love in my heart for Palestinians," he said. Mr Rosenfeld said it was not a racist issue - but that "it is not a good idea at this time".
His jokes include digs at Yasser Arafat and President Bush's relationship with the Israelis, and he has written a book called I'm Glad I Look Like a Terrorist: Growing Up Arab in America. "I'm upset because I deserve to be on stage and it was a big break for me," he said, adding that he wanted to be judged on how entertaining he was. If the decision was because he was a "lousy comedian" then he would be satisfied, he said. Hanania was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1991 for a series of reports on Palestinian treatment under Israeli occupation while he was working for the Chicago Sun-Times. Unknown The manager of the club, Zanie's, said the decision was down to Hanania's lack of experience. "It's just the fact that he is an unknown," Linda Moses said. "[Mason] is just not comfortable with having an unknown act. It's understandable." The club adhered to Mason's wishes on such matters, she added.
|
![]() |
See also:
![]()
02 Aug 02 | Entertainment
04 Nov 98 | Entertainment
12 Aug 02 | Entertainment
20 Nov 01 | Middle East
20 Apr 02 | Entertainment
24 Aug 02 | Entertainment
21 May 02 | Entertainment
26 Sep 01 | Entertainment
Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Entertainment stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more Entertainment stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more Entertainment stories |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> | To BBC World Service>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |