Rolling in the racism

Paul Russell, National Post

Re: ‘Too Fat’ Comment Really Hurts, letters to the editor, Feb. 11; Rolling in Grammys, Feb. 13.
Adele, the big-voiced British singer-songwriter-guitarist, spoke a highly insensitive ethnic slur

Anti-Semitic chanteuse Adele

while trying to joke with the crowd during her show at Massey Hall in Toronto in 2009.
She was telling a story about how she had bought two guitars from “a rude Toronto pawn-shop owner” earlier in the day. “He wasn’t Canadian — he was Jewish,” she said, before realizing that statement was incredibly offensive to Jews in the audience, including my daughter, her friend and the friend’s father.
In a statement later released by Columbia Records, the singer said: “I sincerely apologize for being so naive and disrespectful! It was not my intention to be hurtful and I’m very sorry.”
This apology reads a little like: “I’m sorry for calling you stupid” or perhaps more appropriately, “I’m sorry for calling you fat.”


If Adele had said: “He wasn’t Canadian — he was black,” I suspect the media and public response would have been quite different. Somehow, in recent years, it’s become acceptable to disparage Jews in public, and we are all to blame for allowing it to just happen.
This was a disgraceful comment, and it’s a clear reflection of Adele’s true feelings about Jewish people. A half-baked apology doesn’t change that.
Ironic, isn’t it, that Karl Lagerfeld’s foolish and offensive comment that Adele is “a little too fat” has received so much attention, when Adele’s own racist slur did not.
Ronna Rubin, Toronto.

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Article posted in Discrimination/Racism/Hate crime allegations, Multiculturalism
  • Lornee

    I can’t make up my mind if Adele is bigoted, or ignorant, or both. Either way
    she was quite offensive.

    • Susan Charman

      This happened in 2009. The woman apologized. I am behind the times, I admit it. I missed when it became official that apologies were no longer accepted.

      Becareful of the standards you set for others, for it is reasonable that you will be held to same.

      • Mark Lynn

        You can’t apologize for doing something you didn’t really mean like getting mad. You can’t just apologize for being a bigot. It’s who you are. Her apology should have said “I’m sorry that I actually SAID what I FEEL. Now that this is out in the open – I feel bad.”

  • owainglyndwr1416

    She was only saying what the apologists are too afraid to say..

  • LG

    This post is horribly offensive due to profanities and anti-semitic rhetoric. I would like if it was removed immediately please.

    • CanadianImmigrationReport

      Abusive and vulgar comments will be deleted.

  • anon

    Is the word jewish meant to describe a religion or race