Jezebel
For the last few months, reports Erin Carlson of the Associated Press, Oscar-winning Juno scribe Diablo Cody has been somewhat of an anomaly in Hollywood: The Celebrity Writer. "Not even wordsmith heavies Paul Haggis, Wes Anderson or Charlie Kaufman have stood in a spotlight so bright," writes Carlson. "But then, none of them had the allure of a pole-dancing past, punkish attitude or surprising smash-hit, Oscar-worthy pregnancy comedy." Of course, as most celebs know, there's a terrible downside to fame: The Haters. And one can't help thinking it's a Crime Against Womanity. Would the Coen brothers ever be so aggressively mocked in parody videos? Would anyone have called Waldo Salt a whore? Blame the shoes.
Every year, Stuart Weitzman has a woman wear a million dollar pair of heels on the Oscars' red carpet. If you're a Hollywood enthusiast, or insider, you know this; Cody, apparently, didn't. So she blogged about it: "I must have somehow missed the part where my shoes cost a MILLION FUCKING DOLLARS and my 'choice' of footwear would be publicized nationwide... This looks really attention-whorey, and for once, I didn't do it on purpose." Stuart Weitzman responded, noting that Cody selected the shoes herself (which she doesn't deny) and stated: "I offered her the opportunity initially because I so enjoyed her film, and I'm very happy for her success." But the incident — and Cody's newfound place in the spotlight —rubs some people the wrong way. Comments on a Stuart Weitzman-related post over at Oh No They Didn't range from mean-spirited to insulting to downright misogynistic. "It seems as if everyone involved with Juno drank some kool aid that turned them into self-important bitches this awards season," says Disco_Balla. "Uh, you're a stripper/screenwriter. Whoring out should not be a problem for you," writes Gobbledoo. Commenter Idiophone says, "That bitch shouldn't even be invited." "Yeah shes a cunt," chimes in Superhyphy. A reader named Helen who brought this post to our attention via email asks:
What is it about unconventional women that make people (especially other women) hate on them so viciously for any perceived missteps? It's like nothing's changed in a thousand years and we just love to pick up big ol' sharp things and chuck 'em at the first "cunt" who talks too much out of turn. I'm sick of sitting around while women kick other women in the face.I am pretty sure that whatever Cody does or doesn't deserve, she gets more (pointed, claws-out) hate than an equally eccentric man.The truth is, a woman has never won an Oscar for Best Director. Since 1927, when the awards began, six women have won for best screenplay (four have won best adapted screenplay). Diablo Cody is not a nerdy shrinking violet with thick glasses and a tight bun — or whatever a female "writer" is supposed to look like. As she said in a recent interview, "I've gotten an excessive amount of attention because I have that cheesy back story. It's really a lot of bells and whistles. We're really all just sedentary geeks, who love to write." Yes, she's a former stripper, yes, she wears leopard print, yes, she has tattoos. Does that make her a "whore" a "cunt" or a "bitch"? There have been comments on this very blog, from women, saying they don't want to see Juno because they don't like Cody's "attitude." Where does the backlash stem from? Is a woman not allowed to be smart, outspoken, sexy and trailblazing? And if she is all of those things, why do so many — including other women — automatically hate on her?
Diablo Cody Pays the Price of Fame, Too [Breitbart]
Women Screenwriters In Oscar Spotlight [Showbuzz/CBS News]
Diablo Cody's Blog [MySpace]
Earlier: Diablo Cody: A Flash Of Leg, A Tear And An Oscar
Behind The Scenes Of Juno With "Diablo Cody"
Do The Oscars Really Need A "Best Actress" Category?
Comments
Dodai, I love you for posting this.
I love you Diablo, keep on keeping on...
jealousy, and the fact that since she's not married to anyone or "knows" anyone they can't pin her success on riding someone coattails and have to recognize that the girl is actually talented and that she became famous on her own terms (shady past history and all).
Jealous.
Fucking.
Coontz.
WHEN will we find the answer to this girl hate question??
I thought Juno was overrated, but it hurts my heart when people hate on Diablo. Sigh.
Women hate on Diablo Cody because they want to be her. It's obvious. The women who go on and on about her attitude wish they had her fucking attitude. So it's better to rag on her than take a few notes and modify your own behavior.
To me there is something about her that screams "TRYING TOO HARD," but that being said, I liked Juno okay (first ten minutes of unintelligible hipper-than-thou dialogue aside), and props to her for ya know being female in Hollywood and not made entirely of post-consumer recycled plastic.
Seriously. Time for the backlash to get some backlash. The haters all make me feel tired.
@ineffable.me: @pete: yes, jealously is a very good answer.
Oh all the hate is pure unadulterated jealously. She didn't get a break for being a stripper, she got a break because she is legitmately talented. I hope the backlash peaked with the non-exclusive nude pictures that "leaked" yesterday, but I know I'm wrong.
something in the same vein that made the wimmins at teh "club" in disco bay, hk, hate me so much? i had none of the accoutrements of a supposedly successful life-- husband/maid/kids to bitch about. oh, but i did have a job and (bad) dates! it's not ms cody, it's the choices these men/women have made, and are angry that despite choosing to sell-out, they're still not happy with what they have?
I don't worship at her alter or anything, but I certainly don't see what all the hoopla is about. She obviously wasn't aware, and probably isn't quite accustomed to how things work in that world.
Oh, Dodai, I love you so.
Everyone hates everything on ONTD, bb!
I have a hard time reading the comments on that site. It gets really vicious in there.
Also, too many acronyms. Most comments are like
"OMG that bitch should DIAF plz, bb, sry2say"
I loved Juno, and I think Diablo is great. Fuck the haters, says I.
I resisted Juno until this past weekend (wanted to get all five movies under my belt before Sunday night).
I thought it was very funny and touching.
Boo, haters!
Sad sad and depressing. I think it's taught, institutionalized hate stemming from sexism. It's a way to keep us down while we participate fully in it. The whore, cunt, bitch labels all diminish us, but we're taught that they are perfectly OK to throw out. Taught by whom? Not by someone who respects us.
I just think she's a bad writer.
I think she might be getting less shit if she hadn't changed her name to Diablo Cody. I just don't like that name.
But I do think she's talented and I don't think she deserves all the shit she's getting from people. And yes, I want to write a screenplay now, and seeing Juno made me realize perhaps I should give it a shot like a creative writing prof once suggested (well he said play, but close enough).
And yes, I'm jealous. But I should use that as motivation more than anything. And it's nice to know that hey, girls can write screenplays.
I wouldn't have worn them either. Those things were fugly grandma shoes, no matter how much they cost.
@hortense: Seconded. Nothing on ONTD, especially not the comments, should be taken seriously, bb...
I literally had to stop myself from getting mad at this shit. Then I remembered that people who have the time to spend all of there time posting on ONTD are probably losers and also teenagers. And I don't put much stock in what teenagers say.
I have loved her since I saw her on Letterman when he made her book the only selection for his "book club". The book was great, reading her blog is great. The backlash is ridiculous. I expect as much from certain types of men, but from other women it's especially wrong.
@midoriland: Well, when you argue your case like that, who are we to disagree? You've got me convinced.
In the words of Fannypack, "I don't know, girls like to hate."
@meaghan2k: I liked Juno enough and I am trying to rein in any ill feelings towards Diablo Cody. Because, lets be honest, I am just increadibly jealous of her. She hit the jackpot this year.
In our society, a woman can do no right. She will get torn to shreds for being herself and being successful no matter her style or personality. Women are seen and judged as a product, rather than by the merits of their accomplishments.
I think part of the backlash goes back to people arguing about what makes someone a feminist, as if there is a "right" way to be one. When a woman stands out in a field dominated by men, she is them held up as an example for all women, and maybe some of the hate comes from people just not liking her (what they think they know of her, anyway) whereas if she was a man, it'd be no big deal; one film out of all the others by men that you didn't like that year.
Also: I have taken my shots at the script for Juno, but it is quite another thing to call someone a cunt because you don't like their movie.
This is why female writers never fucking get anywhere. Instead of offering constructive criticism: "Step back from the pop-culture references, Diablo, they date your movie and come across as trying too hard", we get "what a fucking stuck up hipster bitchface cuntbag, oh, and also she was a stripper, so slut."
It's fucking horrible.
Is she really not that bright in re: to the red carpet?
I mean, they do have a point. The stuff from her past only makes her more "edgy", which Hollywood likes
There has been one female Best Director: Sofia Coppola. Also victim of girl-on-girl crime.
First of all they're ignorant. She stripped as research for a book, liked it and kept doing it for awhile. She's pretty open about it and doesn't try to work it as "Oh, I was a stripper, came from nothing, and now I'm a star!" It's just because she doesn't fit into anyone's mold.
That being said, Wes Anderson has been seriously overlooked (not counting Darjeeling). Can we show him some love now?
As much as I know she must have used the back story to her advantage, for fuck's sake, it's her life. And I was actually slightly offended when Jon Stewart made some kind of joke about it during the show.
I know those 2 sentences totally counteract one another, but I don't know... it felt exploitative.
Also I loved her dress and her haircut = the one I keep urging my stylist to give me and she keeps messing up.
The girls that rip on her are jealous. The boys are misogynistic fuckheads that can't understand how a woman can do something as intelligent as writing an Oscar-worthy film. Both, assholes.
Also, Dodai I love you!
@meaghan2k: Agreed. The people that pay her this negative attention and comment in blogs about her are people who probably think of themselves as hip and in the scene and perhaps creative. People who are like her. That Cody is attractive, smart and now very successful makes them jealous, especially because she's homeschooled and not Hollywood (or New York) royalty.
I know that's such a mom answer but I really think it's true.
@hortense: Empty insults are one thing but the misogynism that comes out whenever any blog does a post on Diablo makes me stabby. Inevitably, some dumb fuck makes a comment about women not being funny and everyone agrees.
Disgusting.
I just wish people would stop casually mentioning (not) that she used to be a stripper. Will she ever live that down.
@awfulicious: ha, I haven't seen it but my parents nearly walked out during the first 10 minutes, then loved it.
I think "more conventional" women worry that every time a woman is in the spotlight, it is a reflection on them! That might be the origin of a lot of this bad behavior.
Like Helen said, typically the subjects of girl hate are "unconventional"--outspoken, culturally defiant women. People hate on them because they aren't the type of women women are SUPPOSED to be. It threatens the social order and scares the shit out of female and male misogynists alike.
@awfulicious: "To me there is something about her that screams "TRYING TOO HARD,"
But wouldn't that, to some extent, be expected of someone who's not privy to the inside-scoop of the Hollywood-types considering she's from so far out of that realm?
Insecurity and jealous run rampant with the vagina-toting set. Whether it's genetics or social conditioning, I don't know but it's there. How to make it go away or at least become much less evident is a question I personally would love to have the answer to because I certainly haven't figured it out.
It kills me that people are hating on her so much. She did something smart! She didn't show her vagina getting out of the car to a bunch of photogs. Paris Hilton has been treated better.
Sure the comments are a bit harsh and undeserved, but I still think she's a fake, using her hipster persona to appeal to the masses...I'm sorry, Juno sucked (except for Ellen Page)..it had nothing of an indie film, it was TAILORED for a mainstream yet slightly condescendent wannabe indie audience..it was the biggest dissapointement ever, this comming from a huge moldy peaches and micheal cera fan.
But anyhow, you are right in some parts..women LOOOVE to hate on other women. Diablo Cody irritates me but calling her a whore because of her past? That's just low.
@hatey: I luuuuurv Fannypack.
Backlash is the new black.
something about her just kind of rubs me the wrong way. but i did like juno.
I haven't seen Juno and I honestly don't know much about Diablo. But a woman with real talent making it in Hollywood is something I cannot hate on. I'm happy for and proud of her. I just wish it happened more often.
I don't like Diablo Cody because her story is basically "Pretty Woman" and I think it send a dangerous message. Seriously, let's glamorize sex workers. Also, her success implies that the only interesting things women have to say are about being a stripper or having sex. Her's the the best personal marketing I have ever seen since Jewel "lived in her car".
It's been said before, but she really does look like Slut Machine! And I want to brush her shiny, shiny hair. (Diablo's, in this context.)
Oh yesh, the backlash against the backlash. I'm sure somoene can come up with a legitimate claim for how criticizing those who criticize the critiquing of Diablo Cody are all off base and are contribuing to the downfall of womanhood. sigh.
THANK YOU for this, Dodai. I haven't seen Juno and don't really know enough about Diablo Cody to have an opinion of her, but she has succeeded in writing a movie that a lot of people responded to, which is more than a LOT of writers can say... and, moreover, she has managed to earn recognition in a notoriously sexist industry [and from an Academy that is biased against comedy, I might add]. Whatever Juno's relative merits are, Diablo has helped pave the way for other women writers to succeed on their own terms, and it's about damn time someone did.
@Rhody: Yeah, I was a fan of Juno, I'm not madly in love wi