We’re a funny society. We are very quick to ignore, overlook and forgive massive wrongs committed by certain people if they are one of our favorite celebrities. I mean, if that guy can play guitar really well, then I’m sure he had a good reason for doing all that cocaine and beating up his girlfriend.
If that legendary baseball player hit so many home runs, there’s no need to talk about the fact that he was a womanizing, abusive drunk.
If that TV star has a hit show and is really cool, then we can just overlook that he got behind the wheel of a car after drinking and killed two kids.
And hell… if Batman becomes a self absorbed, narcissistic, primadonna little whining bitch… then it’s all cool because he’s a great actor… weather he actually assaulted his mother and sister or not.
Yes, since we all loved Batman so much, most people quickly jumped to Christain Bale’s defense when reports came out that his own mother and sister called the cops on him. People were so desperate to defend their hero, that they pointed the finger at the alleged victims. Forums were filled with people saying (before knowing any facts) that the mom and sister were just trying to get Bale’s money (It should be noted here that formal charges were never laid and the incident was dismissed.
Make no mistake about it… people only jumped to Bale’s defense because he’s Batman. Period.
Don’t believe it? Imagine if you will that the EXACT SAME INCIDENT occurred, but it was Uwe Boll instead of Christian Bale. You think people would have jumped to his defense if his own mother and sister called the cops on him for assault? No, they wouldn’t. They would have crucified Boll (again, probably before any of the official facts were known). I defy anyone to argue this point.
Again, Bale may have been totally innocent or totally guilty in the incident with his mother and sister. Neither is really the point. The point is that we as a society jumped to excuse or defend Christian Bale for no other reason than we like him in the movies… and we would have burned Boll at the stake for the same thing because he’s not so good.
Then last month came the infamous Christian Bale freak out on set of Terminator Salvation. We’ve all seen and heard it, so there’s no reason to play it again. Bale berated, embarrassed, humiliated and abused another person for over 5 minutes in a profanity laced outburst, name calling and even threatening with violence. And what was this other “lesser person’s” great sin? He walked behind the camera for a moment.
I’m sorry, I’ve been on lots of movie sets… and sometimes people do quietly move behind the camera while a scene is being filmed. It happens. It’s not a big deal. Well… it’s not a big deal unless you’re a self-perceived god-man who really believes all his own press and hype, and who just maybe actually thinks he might be Batman.
But once again, people rushed to Bale’s defense. “Everyone loses their temper once in a while” some will say. “Maybe he was just having a bad day”.
Shortly afterward, Christian Bale came out and apologized for the incident. But that was MONTHS after it actually happened and only after it was released publicly. And it should be noted that he has apparently never actually apologized to Shane Hurlbut, the target of his outburst.
Now, once again… had this been Uwe Boll, people would have been quick to point back the the alleged incident with his mother and sister as maybe detecting a pattern of behavior. But this wasn’t Uwe Boll… this was Batman… and we love batman… so we ignore it and VERY QUICKLY let it go… sweep it under the proverbial rug. I never read ANYONE bringing up the previous incident. Not once. I’m sure someone out there did… but not enough that I saw it.
Look, I’ve gone on record before that I don’t think we should allow the personal character of an actor detract from our enjoyment of their acting. Hell, I always say that Russell Crowe is hands down the best actor on the planet right now… but he’s still a jerk.
Christian Bale is not just a GOOD actor… he’s an AMAZING actor. His talent is indisputable, and not just because of Batman… he’s brilliant in just about everything he’s ever in. But this pattern I see, a pattern of self-importance, really turns me off as a fan. And it’s not just the mom or rant incidents. You can see it in his interviews too.
For me as a FAN, I’m having a hard time now looking forward to Terminator Salvation… just when I was finally starting to get excited about it. When I see Bale in the trailers now, all I see is that jackass who decided he was more important that everyone else on set. berated another human being in front of everyone and only showed any sense of remorse once he got publicly outed for his asshole behavior. Maybe it’s all just perception, but it’s still the perception I have of him at the moment.
Look, Christian Bale might be a great guy. It’s possible that he was totally innocent in the incident with his mother. It’s possible he was totally justified in his behavior on the Terminator set. The point of this post is not “Is Bale right or wrong”… the point is that I’m amazed how quickly we all just let our favorite celebrity off the hook when we would have crucified almost anyone else in the exact same situation.
FACT: If it was anyone other than Batman, we wouldn’t have so quickly swept all this under the rug.
And for me personally, I’m still hung up on it. I’m sure I’ll get over it and I totally believe everyone deserves a second chance… but right now… yeah I admit it… the whole thing is effecting my enthusiasm for Terminator, and I wish it wasn’t.
