CHRIS ROCK ISN’T GOING TO BE WEARING A BUNNY SUIT ON OSCAR NIGHT

Look, I’m sure being an AP copywriter isn’t the most exciting job, and proofreading articles can probably get tedious, but at least you might get the chance to express a bit of creativity in the headlines, right? So then why are the headlines often so lazy, crappy, boring and, depending on the reader, borderline offensive. Case-in-point: “Chris Rock Hip-Hops Into Oscar Gig”. OK, I suppose the headline writer should get a bit of a break since the bigger crime was actually committed by writer Beth Harris within the story: “Hip-hopping into the traditional footsteps of such Oscar emcees as Billy Crystal and the late Johnny Carson appealed to Rock,” she writes. Ironically, this line comes just a few paragraphs after Rock criticizes journalists for solely focusing on his skin color:

Rock mimicked the typical question he gets these days: “Oh, a black comic, how are you going to make it whiter? I’m like, ‘Dude, look around, can you get any whiter?'”

So what does Harris do? Throw in “hip-hopping” simply because Rock is a black comic?

There’s nothing about Hip-Hop culture or comedy in any of Rock’s quotes in the story. In fact, if anything, all he talks about is how his ticket sales and ratings demos show that he’s a major crossover attraction. “Whereever I’m at, people show up,” he says. Nor do I think the Oscars, especially with Gil Cates still producing the show, is suddenly going to look like Def Comedy Jam. So seriously? What’s the deal. I’m actually a bit surprised I reacted to this at all, but it’s actually kind of annoying. Tossing tired phrases, cliches and adjectives, especially when they’re not applicable, into stories and headlines has become way too prevalent especially within modern entertainment journalism. Can’t an organization like the AP stay away from it, even if tripe like Entertainment Tonight or The Insider can’t?