Can Chris Pratt Save Robert Downey Jr. (and Us All)?

Last updated on: May 25, 2015 at 9:05 am by Kate O'Hare

Can Chris Pratt Save Robert Downey Jr. (and Us All)? 2015-05-25T09:05:30-08:00 Kate O'Hare

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Two wrongs don’t make a right — unless they generate Web traffic or feed some need in ourselves to strike out at others.

That’s what was so brilliant about this Facebook post from the ever-affable actor Chris Pratt:

I want to make a heartfelt apology for whatever it is I end up accidentally saying during the forthcoming #JurassicWorld press tour. I hope you understand it was never my intention to offend anyone and I am truly sorry. I swear. I’m the nicest guy in the world. And I fully regret what I (accidentally will have) said in (the upcoming foreign and domestic) interview(s).
I am not in the business of making excuses. I am just dumb. Plain and simple. I try. I REALLY try! When I do (potentially) commit the offensive act for which I am now (pre) apologizing you must understand I (will likely have been) tired and exhausted when I (potentially) said that thing I (will have had) said that (will have had) crossed the line. Those rooms can get stuffy and the hardworking crews putting these junkets together need some entertainment! (Likely) that is who I was trying to crack up when I (will have had) made that tasteless and unprofessional comment. Trust me. I know you can’t say that anymore. In fact in my opinion it was never right to say the thing I definitely don’t want to but probably will have said. To those I (will have) offended please understand how truly sorry I already am. I am fully aware that the subject matter of my imminent forthcoming mistake, a blunder (possibly to be) dubbed “JurassicGate” is (most likely) in no way a laughing matter. To those I (will likely have had) offended rest assured I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn’t happen (again).

Posted by Chris Pratt on Friday, May 22, 2015

In a genial way, Pratt sought to keep the lions of the Clickbait Colosseum in their pens. He acknowledged his flawed humanity in the hope of reminding the media, and us, of ours.

Mark Hemingway does something similar in a May 21 post at The Federalist, called “For Robert Downey Jr: Forgiveness Transcends Mistakes”:

In a recent piece for The New Yorker, critic Richard Brody purports to offer “Advice for Robert Downey Jr.” I honestly couldn’t make it past the second paragraph without letting my eyes wander off the page in a heady fog of annoyance and bewilderment:

In a recent video interview to promote ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ Robert Downey, Jr., Iron Man, lost his mettle. The interviewer quoted a remark by the director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu that superhero movies are ‘cultural genocide.’ Downey seemed taken aback and responded offensively, with a nativist slur: ‘Look, I respect the heck out of him, and I think for a man whose native tongue is Spanish to be able to put together a phrase like “cultural genocide” just speaks to how bright he is.’

There’s no defending Downey’s remark.

You don’t need to do much beyond read the plain language of Downey’s remarks to understand what he’s saying and realize it’s not offensive at all. Downey is simply saying that he’s impressed by the Mexican filmmaker’s sophisticated use of a second language.

Hemingway goes on to discuss how Downey bucked Hollywood to defend showbiz pariah Mel Gibson.

It’s something wrote about in a piece for CatholicVote called “‘The Passion of the Christ,’ Mel Gibson and Hugging the Cactus”:

In October of 2011, Robert Downey Jr. – an actor whose struggles with addiction, the law and personal demons are well-documented – was honored at the 25th American Cinematheque Awards. Downey, currently the star of the very successful “Sherlock Holmes” and “Iron Man” movie franchises, chose Gibson to present him with a lifetime achievement award.

Downey, who has described his religious beliefs as “Buddhist-Jewish,” was less interested in talking about his own achievements than admonishing the audience about the quality of mercy and forgiveness.

After his well-publicized legal troubles and imprisonment, Downey couldn’t get hired because the cost to insure him was too great. Gibson footed the bill for an insurance bond so that Downey could star in the 2003 film, “The Singing Detective” – a role Downey said was developed for Gibson.

Said Downey, “He kept a roof over my head and food on the table and, most importantly, he said if I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoing and embraced that part of my soul that was ugly – ‘hugging the cactus’ he calls it – he said that if I hugged the cactus long enough, I’d be a man.”

Downey concluded by saying, “I humbly ask that you join me, unless you are completely without sin, and in which case you picked the wrong f***ing industry, in forgiving my friend of his trespasses and offering him the same clean slate that you have me and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame.”

But, to be fair, the rest of Brody’s piece is a meditation on the relative merits of superhero films and independent cinema, and Brody is unstinting in his praise of Downey’s talents.

It’s an interesting article and well worth reading, especially for fans of both genres. It would be a mistake to throw the author under the bus because he may have gone overboard in his negative reaction to Downey’s remark.

And Hemingway doesn’t write Brody off, going on to say:

Brody’s egregious slight of Downey had almost no connection to the rest of an otherwise-interesting bit of criticism on the import of comic-book films.

So, is it possible, even today, to ask provocative questions and have a discussion about sensitive topics that doesn’t involve wanting to mortally wound another person –like accusing Downey of uttering a “nativist slur,” with no evidence to support the charge of bigotry — because we perceive the individual has offended our sensibilities?

Years ago, I was on the set of “Everwood” when Chris Pratt told a hilarious, off-color story about a personal embarrassment to co-star Gregory Smith — unaware that his mike was live. When he came back to the production tent and realized this, he apologized and laughed at himself, and we all laughed with him.

Pratt knows he’s human — and so are we. We all need to forgive, and we will all need to be forgiven. But when that moment comes, will we have already killed the dove?

Image: Wikimedia Commons/RedCarpetReportTV

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