Near the end of today's Live with Regis and Kelly, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa offered their apologies to the Dominican community over remarks they made on the show last week. It seemed like a sincere apology, even if it was read from a teleprompter. Anyway, since I don't watch the show every day, I had no idea what remark they were talking about. So I immediately fired up the ol' Google search machine and plugged in "regis kelly dominicans." Sure enough, a story (and accompanying video) came up from our cousins at TMZ about the Reege laughing at a joke where Kelly associates "donkeys" with "Dominicans," and the ensuing protest by Dominican organizations.
But then a click on the video clouds the issue a bit.
In it, Kelly describes a conversation with her daughter about the election where the little moppett descibes which animal is associated with which party: according to the little Ripa, the elephants are the Republicans and the donkeys are the Dominicans. Cute.
Regis chuckles and says, "She's pretty close," which is the part that pissed off the Dominican community. So... what am I missing here? I figured "She's pretty close" referred to the squirt's confusion between Democrats and Dominicans, not that Dominicans are like donkeys. I mean, Regis is a grumpy old crank, but he's not a racist grumpy old crank. Am I interpreting the joke incorrectly? Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-04-2008 @ 12:14PM
Bob said...
i think you got it right joel. people need to get a grip.
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11-04-2008 @ 12:34PM
KJ Waterskin said...
I saw the original airing and Regis was clearly saying the word sounds were similar for a young child to easily get mixed up. How very much like a typical .... wait for it..... overly PC sensitive person to take offense where none was meant. It was very responsible on the shows part to have Regis and Kelly apologize, even if they needn't have. I'm surprised the offended parties (of which I'm sure there weren't many) even planned on picketing the show. Too bad they didn't let Regis take the time to explain the obvious joke he was implying, but they took the high road and instead just sent out the sincere apology. Regis and Kelly are a class act!
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11-04-2008 @ 12:52PM
Mike Doran said...
I'm just guessing here, but given that both Regis and Kelly are both from Catholic backgrounds, the reference might be to the Dominican order of teaching nuns, rather than the Dominican Republic. As a kid in the '50s and '60s, I was taught by the Dominican nuns from Adrian, MI, which order had most of the schools in the Chicago archdiocese in their purview. In the 1960 election, all of us Catholic kids (well, most of us, anyway) were rooting for JFK - one of US - to get the big job (of course, we had no idea that Kennedy had at least three commandments on the critical list). I have no way of knowing the extent of either Regis's or Kelly's Catholic observance, but based on my own experience and that of people I grew up with, even cradle Catholics tend to steer the kids to the Church, even if they don't go any more themselves. Anyway, as I said, it's just my guess...
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11-04-2008 @ 1:02PM
Rocketboy said...
Can we just stop it with the apologies? Really.
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11-04-2008 @ 1:20PM
Craig said...
My first thought on "Dominican" was also the Dominican order of teaching nuns. Regis and Kelly are due an apology.
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11-04-2008 @ 2:40PM
Tobias Talock said...
I'm Dominican, but I haven't taken Regis' comment to offense, just because I'm not 100% sure about what he meant. If you just listen to his words, he could have meant that Dominicans are like donkeys, that Dominicans are like democrats, or just that "Dominicans" sounds like "Democrats". Most people I have spoken with, have cited his body language as a sign of him realizing his slip-up. Myself, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and spread out the love.
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11-04-2008 @ 2:44PM
Rocketboy said...
Yes, I'm sure he was saying that every Dominican had the physical attributes of a Donkey. Doubly-so for your mother.
11-04-2008 @ 2:46PM
Claudia said...
Regarding Regis and Kelly. I agree with the writer. I'am Latina (Mexican).
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11-04-2008 @ 3:59PM
1iPete said...
Dammit this is the last straw! It's time these insensitive, foul-mouthed "entertainers" were removed from the air once and for all!
And that child should be punished as well.
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11-04-2008 @ 4:22PM
kevjohn said...
If this is what it takes to get this crappy show off the air, I'm all for it!! :)
11-04-2008 @ 5:22PM
StillBash said...
They need to apaologize like Randy Marsh on South Park!
You know... apo... apologiiiiiiizzzze.
NOW.
IT IS THE LAW!!!11!!
11-04-2008 @ 6:14PM
Elizabeth said...
Of course there’s no need for an apology, she’s not calling your race a bunch of ‘ASSES’
I say boycott the damn show…and I’ll make sure Dominicans in my area (Inwood & Washington Heights) do not watch it.
Oh and at no point did she refer to the Dominican order or Dominicans, which is a Catholic religious order, founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France.
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11-28-2008 @ 10:21AM
terribletim said...
Check my friend's theme song idea for the regis and kelly show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx7IxWk3EyA
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12-02-2008 @ 10:55AM
carolann765 said...
KELLI RIPA NEEDS TO GAIN WEIGHT. SHE IS WAY TO THIN.
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12-08-2008 @ 8:06PM
Luz said...
Kelly and Regis are worldly ignorants :)
I mean, really, make a joke like that in national television?
She's just insulting the Americans and giving away a very poor image.
I'm from Dominican Republic and everyone got a bit pissed, but now we're just laughing it off 'cause it is really sad how uneducated she is.
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