Chenoweth no Tony for Wicked because she was Christian? — Page 4

Putting aside religion. Idina Menzel and for that matter Tonya Pinkins also, gave better performances. The real race was between those two, not Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.

I agree. I'm completely over her.

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In some of the interviews that I have seen with Kristin, she hits me as so fake. I could be totally wrong and someone will probably tell me so. I applaud her for standing up for her beliefs, but she can't use them as some kind of excuse. It's pretty easy to criticize your former place of employment but it usually comes back to bite you in the ass.

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After reading the excerpt..and then the whole article...I dont' think there is any implication about Kristen not winning the Tony based on her faith. I read it simply as people expecting her to act a certain way, or she would be criticized...especially by the Christian media. Unfortunately, the world is full of stereotypes, and according to those good Christian girls don't complain or get angry or dislike people.

I'm not sure about people stretching meaning. It's not like someone is forcing Kristin to do these interviews. When people speak publicly, other people have a right to listen and interpret.

Kristin makes is seem that the producers created drama by singling her out because she wouldn't extend her contract, and she had to deal with it - her "faith was tested." In the overall context of the question she was answering, "do most of your colleagues in the industry know you are a Christian," it takes on a deeper meaning. She didn't have to bring up the subject of her producers in this interview. It seems ungrateful. Also, there are plenty of working christians in this industry (though almost all are not right-wing fundie/radicals.)

Oh, Pseudolus! A READER! Come sit next to me!

My fave quote from radioactive, above:

"Liberals have a lot of power, and being a sucessful conservative is not easy."

Ahahahahahahaha.

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Well Crazy, since you question my reading comprehension with personal attacks, let's see:

"The meaning is being stretched when the false conclusion is made by reading the following line: "the producers weren't happy that I wasn't going to stay. They even said that if I left they wouldn't promote me for a Tony Award, but I said, 'Well, that's okay.' And I was nominated for a Tony anyway" and then inferring from the above statement that she is REALLY saying she thinks she didn't win, or wasn't promoted correctly (and therefore didn't win) because she's Christian."

Well, I never said any of the above. You must have read into it - is it a reading comprehension problem? However, I was referring to an overall persecution mentality, in which a simple question about her colleagues in the industry knowing she is a Christian leads to a story about how she is persecuted (but overcomes it to get the nomination). You can parse words all you want, but when you look at things in context (and yes, Crazy, context is a part of reading comprehension), you get the story.

"There is a whole other section in there where she talks about that period of her life (when doing WICKED) being difficult in general--that her mother got sick around that time, that she started to get overtired, that she had stomach problems-- and because of that, her faith is tested."

It was Kristin Chenoweth (or the editor) who immediately talked bout "faith being tested" right after talking about her producers. "I worked with some tough people in that one (WICKED) - and my faith was tested." Her words, not mine. And only then does she say "My mom was also struggling for a while with health issues." It seems that you are the one twisting the words, Crazy.

"And "honestly" doesn't neccesarily mean "factual representation of exactly what happened,"

Yep - the neo-conservative in the Republican Party have been relying upon your idea of "honesty" for years to manipulate things. And to many people in this country right now, "honesty" has nothing to do with "facts." George W. Bush "honestly" believes that he reacted appropriately to the New Orleans flood - you think? Maybe the more important word here is "truth," which is based upon actual facts or events. remember facts, Crazy, facts?

"Finally, your last sentence: "there are plenty of working christians in this industry (though almost all are not right-wing fundie/radicals.)" makes you sound as bad as the people you proclaim to dislike because they're extreme right wing. Making sweeping judgements (in the form of name-calling) about anyone on EITHER side of the political/religious spectrum only makes the name-caller look like a hypocrite, or like someone unable (or unwilling) to make an educated point backed-up by facts."

Well I make no apologies for trying to separate the mainstream Christians from those criminals and liars such as Pat Robertson, James Dobson or Bill Frist who have claimed the title of "Christian" in order to advance a political agenda. Indeed I made the OPPOSITE of a sweeping generalization.

I also make no apologies for disliking people who I think are intentionally trying to destroy the Constitution of the United States. I was saying that most "Christians" who work in this industry don't hate gay people and feminists and blame them for 9/11 (ala Falwell and Robertson) and don't want the federal government to become a theocracy. (BTW, Crazy - gay people and women do make up a large number of people in the industry - hence my meaning.) I also reject your idea that someone has to be on one "side" of the political spectrum or the other - frankly you sound like a right-wing mouthpiece when you say this (with us or against us). From what I've seen, the right-wingers are the most radical group ever to come to power in this country - they have gained power by lying about their intentions and lying their way into war, but I don't believe they truly represent the ideals of this country.

I personally have never professed to being a christian or done interviews about it, nor do I now believe that Chenoweth is a right-wing fundie (though she does want them to buy her album).

Frankly, Crazy, you went out of your way to take shots at me while ignoring the main point of the posting. I suggest you do a little boning up on your reading comprehension.

Updated On: 9/19/05 at 11:03 AM

For she's a jolly good fellow.
For she's a jolly good fellow.
For she's a jolly good felloooooow.
Which nobody can deny (can deny...)

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"What's difficult is that once they know it, they will begin to watch how you react to things."

Ok, this is how i read this. Have you ever told anyone that you're REALLY religious (regardless of denomination?) Or been in a room with someone who IS really religous? And you (or that person says,) "Oh, I'm a Christian, and I'm very devout..." or something along those lines? While I am not religious, I've got a couple of friends who are, and whenever they tell someone they're very devout, and get in to a discussion about it, there IS usually a reaction--whether intentionally or not intentionally--in that other people start to pull back, or they watch themselves or the other person to make sure they either don't unwittingly offend the person, or else their defense mechanism kicks in. In the latter, the other person of a seperate point of view ends up feeling very protective of what he/she believes, because he/she believes the very religious person must automatically think A, B, and C about him/her. Even if that person doesn't think those things--there IS the automatic association a lot of people feel with certain religions and certain biases that tend to run with them. I think it's a very common knee-jerk reaction, and I've seen it, and a lot of people do it without realizing they do it.

I can't tell you exactly what Kristin is trying to say. All I can tell you is that I totally didn't get anything negative or self-serving from that interview. And I think it's obvious that she's not claiming to be "persecuted." To me it sounded like she just had a hard time with the people she worked with and felt this was one of the reasons. Unless we were backstage at WICKED, none of us can really say what went on there. Also, it sounded like Kristin just had a lot to say that was vaguely related, and the way it was written made it sound like some parts are exagerrated. But from what I can see, most of the people in this thread didn't feel she was "dissing" anyone or saying that she feels persecuted. It's a Christian publication. Clearly, the focus here is going to be religion.

Also, I don't think Kristin's publicist is doing a bad job at all. She's getting a lot of fairly good, well-rounded exposure from what I can see. And also, i think it's clear that Kristin herself has an idea of what she wants and how she wants it (IE: she wants to reach out to other Christians) and so her appearance in a number of those magazines is because she feels strongly about that, and so her publicist is helping her towards that end, instead of saying outright, "No, Kristin. You can't do that. The general public will not understand." It seems to be that the public is overall very supportive and not at all put-off by her wanting to speak for what she believes.

I also respect her honesty when she speaks her mind, and I wasn't offended at all by anything said in that Christian publication. And I'm just a fan of Bway in general without any real politcal or religious slant. I mean, I don't share her beliefs AT ALL as far as religion goes, but I believe in her right to be able to express those beliefs as an entertainer. Far as I can see, there isn't really anything here she hasn't already said in not-so-many words, and I really think her overall message here is clear, which is that she is who she is, and she wants to do good, and she wants to spread her love of her religion, and she wants to stay true to that despite challenges she sees in her profession.

But if you want to make it negative, it's probably possible to take just about ANY article or POV and turn it that way, if that is how you want to see it.

Speaking as a crazy Cheno fan, I'd have to say that that IS THE STUPIDEST THEORY ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET AND WHOEVER CAME UP WITH IT SHOULD BE DRAGGED INTO THE STREET AND SHOT!!!!

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I can understand her viewpoint on this issue. It's rare to be a Christian in the entertainment buisness and the moment it comes out that you are people put the filters on their mouth and watch and disect everything you say.

whenever they tell someone they're very devout, and get in to a discussion about it, there IS usually a reaction--whether intentionally or not intentionally--in that other people start to pull back, or they watch themselves or the other person to make sure they either don't unwittingly offend the person, or else their defense mechanism kicks in.

I admit I recoil a bit. I'm not sure why. I don't recoil from people who tell me they believe in Santa.

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