Universal Pictures will replace 'insensitive' preview scene from upcoming flick.
By Mawuse Ziegbe
Vince Vaughn and Anderson Cooper
Photo: Getty Images
The Vince Vaughn vehicle "The Dilemma" is already running into problems of its own after promotion of the film recently kicked off. Following an outcry over the use in the trailer of the word 'gay' as a derogatory zing, Universal Pictures has announced the preview will be reworked.
"The teaser trailer for 'The Dilemma' was not intended to cause anyone discomfort," the studio said in a statement released Friday (October 8). "In light of growing claims that the introduction to the trailer is insensitive, it is being replaced. A full trailer, which has been in the works for some time, will post online later today."
The comedy has drawn high-profile criticism from the likes of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for the use of the word "gay" in a joke in the movie's trailer. In a version of the preview that has been circulating online, Vaughn's character holds court in a boardroom and says, "Electric cars are gay. I mean, not 'homosexual' gay but 'my parents are chaperoning the dance' gay."
"I was sitting ... in a movie theater over the weekend, and there was a preview of a movie, and in it the actor said, 'That's so gay.' And I was shocked ... not only that they put that in the movie, but that they put that in the preview, they thought that was okay to put it in the preview to the movie to get people to go and see it," Cooper said on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Wednesday. "We gotta do something to make those words ... unacceptable, 'cause those words are hurting kids."
Gay-rights organization GLAAD also weighed in on the controversy.
"The use of the word 'gay' in this trailer as a slur is unnecessary and does nothing more than send a message of intolerance about our community to viewers," GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said.
The uproar comes after the tragic suicides of teens such as Tyler Clementi and Seth Walsh pushed anti-gay bullying into the spotlight and the debate surrounding the repeal of the U.S. armed forces' controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
What do you think about the use of the word "gay" in "The Dilemma" trailer? Sound off in the comments.
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