That Race Issue Comes Up AGAIN in Awkward FANTASTIC FOUR Interview
Man, this really has been a week for awkward interviews, hasn’t it? First Suicide Squad star Cara Delevigne got called by the wrong name and asked crappy questions only to then be told off, and now Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan have had to deal with that race issue yet again in promotion for Fantastic Four. Jordan is playing the Human Torch in the reboot, which has proved troublesome for a lot of fans for one key reason – he’s black. His sister, Invisible Woman, is played by the white Kate Mara. Common sense should tell you that this incarnation will have Sue as an adopted child rather than the characters be related biologically, however that wasn’t enough for Atlanta’s Rock 100.5 Morning Show.
“From what I’ve seen you’re brother and sister. Am I missing something? You’re white and you’re black. How does that happen?”
Sigh.
Jordan handled it pretty well (much better than I would have), explaining how it’s presented in the movie.
“They could be raised as brother and sister. There’s a whole bunch of family dynamics that could be without the ‘obvious adoption.’”
If you’re relatively unfamiliar with the movie then you might be a little confused at first, but a question like that can be phrased better. “How is your relationship presented in the movie? Are your characters still brother and sister?” It’s not something which needs to be difficult. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. The hosts quickly moved on to Mara and it got worse. They clarified that she was “way, way hot” and then asked something about her hair. Then something about toes just as the PR lady brings it to a close. I don’t know, it got weird.
The interview was pulled for obvious reasons but some kind soul has fortunately uploaded a low-quality video online, which you can check out below.
“Absolutely not! That’s not mine or the show’s thing. Look, not a huge fan of these controlled 5-7 minute interview junkets they run in the first place but I was curious about the brother and sister thing. You have a white sister and black brother wouldn’t you want to know how that happened? I did. The other Fantastic Four franchises explain the relationship so I figured with this new hipster version they’d have some different backstory.
“My partner’s (Southside Steve) conversation about Kate’s hair is something that came up while Michael B Jordan took a phone call so I think they were kind of just going back forth in a playful way. As for him complimenting her toes and why people are upset about that…sorry…no idea. Steve likes girl’s toes. People should be appreciative when they get complimented. Those that are upset on Twitter I guess don’t get enough of them. Who knows?”
Yeah, okay guys.
I’ve dealt with the junket experience once before and while it was a fun experience for me, after a while it probably gets very derivative. It’s all very controlled and you need to ask something relevant and then get out. It means it’s a pain for the actors and a pain for the writer, because you just have to ask the same recycled questions in order to get hits – which is in turn even more painful for the actors because they have to answer the same questions. That’s why I’m usually a fan when journalists and the like break away from the traditional and just have a little chat or come up with something interesting for them to do. I say “usually,” because sometimes it results in this.
At least Jordan and Mara came out on top this time around. I wonder when the next awkward interview will crop up.
Fantastic Four is out this Thursday. Early word of mouth says the movie is actually pretty good.
S#!T Talking Central