Not funny, Leno! Oral Sex Jokes about Christine O’Donnell: SEVERE MISOGYNY
On Friday, The Tonight Show host Jay Leno made severely misogynistic jokes about Christine O’Donnell giving oral sex during an interview with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. During the shocking segment, Leno said,
"Now, I know you're a very opinionated guy. I see you on my friend Bill Maher's show and all that stuff, and you were talking about this Christine O'Donnell, you know, the anti-masturbation woman who is running for Senate, and you were talking, and you said you would enjoy having sexual relations with this woman?" SETH MACFARLANE: You know, that was a little joke. He showed a clip from her, and I think it was like 1998, and she had the poofy '80s hair, and it made her look like Kelly Kapowski from "Saved by the Bell"... LENO: Wow…Now, why -- why do you find -- does the fact that she's the anti-masturbation candidate -- MACFARLANE: I think the second she opened her mouth, it would probably ruin everything. LENO: Really? MACFARLANE: Yes, yes -- once we got into -- LENO: Or make it really good.”
This type of sexist commentary is extremely damaging to women running for public office and should not—under any circumstances—go unrecognized by the general public. A study conducted by Lake Research Partners reveals that sexism, even in its mildest form, has a damaging effect on the political standing of female candidates. Sexist media coverage has a proven negative impact on voters’ likelihood to vote for women candidates, and it further perpetuates the inequitable political environment experienced by all women.
The Name It. Change It. campaign is reaching out to The Tonight Show and asking that Jay Leno offer an apology to Christine O’Donnell. Name It. Change It. strongly encourages The Tonight Show and other media outlets to take our Equality Pledge to end all sexist media coverage.
Published by Kate McCarthy on 10/04/2010