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Welcome back to our VIP video series "Off the Beaten Path," featuring my friend Christian Toto of Hollywood in Toto! Christian and I start off our week by discussing stories and ideas that may fly under our radar, in culture, politics, sports, and more. Plus, Christian previews his latest podcast at HiT.
What amounts to cancel culture these days? Two big stories from the entertainment world test all sides in the debate. First, Christian and Ed discuss the latest outrage and backlash against actress and model Sydney Sweeney for her provocative new ad for an online gambling platform. The ad has generated a firestorm of criticism over whether Sweeney has reduced female athletics to the "male gaze," which conveniently overlooks the ways in which female athletes did the exact same thing a few years back for ESPN. Does Sweeney owe them an apology, and did Raymond Arroyo actually offer a far more pertinent criticism of the ad on Fox News last night?
Next, we tackle a more difficult debate concerning Macklemore and Ed Sheeran, about which Ed wrote earlier this morning. Did Robert Kraft 'cancel' the rapper over his political point of view, or just choose not to allow his venue to be used to promote antisemitism? That's not an easy line to draw, although the context of Macklemore's past certainly has to come into that consideration. Sheeran is trying to avoid politicizing his concerts, but he may get stuck in the middle whether he likes it or not. We both have a new appreciation for Taylor Swift's wisdom in light of this controversy.
Finally, we talk about the career of John Malkovich, who has never won an Oscar, but may get a chance this year with a role in what appears to be an Oscar-bait film, Wild Horse Nine. How did the Academy miss one of the greatest actors of his era? Christian and Ed review some of his award-worthy performances of the past, and note that the actor seems to be playing it politically safe in the run-up to the film's November release.
Watch it all and join us in the comments!
