Last night was the debut of NBC's new summer series Undateable (co-starring former Portlander/ current adorable and hilarious person Ron Funches)... and? It was not as bad as one might expect! It got very good ratings for a summer sitcom, the reviews have been not unkind, and a few of the actors are very good (Funches included).
So what's the problem?
Undateable is about a gang of friends who have terrible luck with women, so out of desperation they take advice from their pickup artist pal who trains them in the field of romance. Obviously the timing of this plotline coinciding with the UCSB tragedy is not optimal. BUT! In fairness, this plot is a standard, overused trope we see all the time on TV, and despite the situation they're in, the characters are not overwhelmingly misogynist (although using phrases like "crush that ass" doesn't help their case). BUT! I'm sure the series is intended to be moving toward a place where all of these guys become better people and more importantly, better men.
HOWEVER.
When the lead actor in your series about picking up women bashes the #YesAllWomen Twitter hashtag campaign? That is NOT how to promote your new sitcom. From The Wrap:
Chris D'Elia, star of NBC's summer comedy series “Undateable,” lashed out at the Twitter hashtag campaign #YesAllWomen, calling it “rude” to the victims of the shooting rampage at UC Santa Barbara.
Many women tweeted #YesAllWomen last weekend to note examples of sexism and violence they've experienced in their lives, which D'Elia ridiculed on social media. HuffPost Live's Josh Zepps asked D'Elia on Thursday why he mocked the campaign.
“I think that it's terrible that a lot of these people [are] tweeting about this, using this hashtag,” D'Elia said. “I think it's a little bit s—-y to what actually happened. I think that what happened was terrible, people died, and somebody's like‘a guy looked at my butt, people died, yes all women.’ I think that's kind of rude to the people who lost their lives.”
Obviously Chris has a deep misunderstanding about what the #YesAllWomen campaign is about, and should probably read this. But will his comments hurt the show? I dunno. Did Rev. Phil Robertson's homophobic comments on Duck Dynasty hurt their series? [Spoiler Alert: Not enough.]
I sincerely hope this doesn't blow back on the excellent work of Funches, because he is a very sweet, humane guy... and he's going to go far wherever his career takes him. But this Chris D'Elia guy? Sorry, but he's currently a piece of shit in my book.