Ben Stein Makes "Jokes Disparaging Women," Loses Citi Gig

Ben Stein Makes "Jokes Disparaging Women," Loses Citi Gig: Gothamist 56° our cities: AustinBostonChicagoLondonLos AngelesNew York CitySan FranciscoSeattleShanghaiTorontoWashington DC  PolarBearCon 2011: Riding Bikes With Ursus Maritimus featured  Big Soda Not Happy About Bloomberg's Food Stamp Soda Ban  Politicians Want To Ban NYPD From Handcuffing Children At Schools Ben Stein Makes "Jokes Disparaging Women," Loses Citi Gig

 Ben Stein is a lawyer, a former Nixon speechwriter, a sarcastic Obama appreciator and, yes, Ferris Bueller attendance taker. But that's no match for a woman who felt his jokes at a Dallas private equity conference were sexist—and therefore demanded that Citigroup ditch Stein as keynote speaker for the banking giant's conference. And guess what—Citigroup agreed, "We have decided to present the conference without Mr. Stein’s participation." Yeah, probably doesn't help to have possibly sexist jokes dropped while Citigroup is dealing with a gender discrimination lawsuit.

According to Bloomberg News, Villareal, a Dallas bank executive, contacted former White House budget director and current Citi vice chairman Peter Orszag about Stein's jokes.

One joke was about a wealthy man, his wife and his mistress, she said.

Another involved a female airline passenger who, realizing the flight is about to crash, takes off her clothes and asks if there is a man aboard who will “make me feel like a woman,” according to Villarreal’s e-mail, which was also sent to Bloomberg News. A cowboy in a hat removes his shirt, hands it to the woman, tells her to iron it and fetch him a beer.

Villarreal said the jokes she sent to Citigroup were versions found on the Internet based on her recollection of what Stein said.

Orszag forwarded the email to the event's organizers, who quickly decided to lose Stein.

Stein told Bloomberg News "that the joke targeted the man, not the woman, and that in his Dallas telling the woman didn’t remove clothing," explaining, "It’s usually a joke understood to be making fun of a kind of cloddish, dopey guy. When I was finished with this speech, dozens of women in the room came up to me and wanted their pictures taken with me, wanted autographs from me. Dozens of them. I got fan mail from women who had been at the group saying how much they liked the speech." And he added, "Every one of those jokes are thoroughly vetted with my wife... I don’t think any woman in the world would call me a misogynist. For this woman to say this is just fantasy."

The speaking agency that represents Stein says that he usually gets $45,000 per engagement (plus first class airfare) and claims he'll still be paid for the Citi speech. If this is a sample of his humor, no wonder Citigroup needed a bailout.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips. By Jen Chung in Arts and Events on April 28, 2011 9:45 AM bad jokes bank Ben Stein citigroup sexist Other Interesting Stories Comments [rss] OvaltineJenkinsWhy do women have smaller feet than men? It's an evolutionary development that allows them to stand closer to the kitchen sink. Haw haw haw! Funny stuff, funny stuff.Ladder157Ben Stein years ago, cemented his place in the Town Hall of Idiots. There is nothing new about his ridiculous ideas on evolution and education and everything else in between. Stein is an idiot of the first class.Ladder157P.S.robingeeAre these Playboy Party Jokes from the 60's?birdtirdBueller.....? Bueller....?okhMaybe he can sponsor Vagino-American Night at CitiField as part of the national mea culpa tour that's going to follow.ktinnycI'm glad you're showing your true colors okh. I knew you had it in you.okhI'm sorry?DanielBen Stein just got a taste of his own medicine. I remember ten years ago he was supposed to do a phone in to a radio show, The Opie and Anthony show, and was on hold during a commercial spot. One of the hosts was doing a bit for the commercial about chewing down prices in an exaggerated sale's voice. Stein got on and lost his shit accusing them of saying "Jew down prices" and playing up to anti-semetic stereo types of Jewish cheapness. Even after they replayed the audio for him proving they said "chew down prices", he refused to admit he made a wrong assumption, instead accusing them of implying what he thought he heard anyway and then went around telling people that the hosts were anti-semites anyway because he refused to admit he made a mistake.TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerI have never heard the expression "chewing down prices." Has anyone used that expression other than Opie and Anthony?

IOW, don't be dense - everyone knows what they were doing. For them to feign innocence doesn't fool anyone except you, apparently.DanielReally? Because it used to be common used car lot sale's lingo, and stop pretending that you ever even heard the original broadcast I brought up just because two other people commented on it too...TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerOkay we've established you're are now or used to be a used car salesman.

I've sold cars for dealerships in my former life, too. That term was never used. So I'm calling bs. The only way such a term would be used would be to pretend one wasn't saying, "J*wing down the price."

As for listening to Opie and Anthony, why would I need to listen to that show? You described the event in your first comment, Mr. Alzheimer's.DanielThe only true thing established here is that you're a phony knee jerking troll...TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerActually what we've established is that you don't care too much for Jews.

There is nothing I've said that is either phony or knee jerking.

As for trolling, you are the one who smeared Ben Stein for standing up for his religion. You just don't like being called out on it.DanielI'm a Jew you idiot...TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerAnd?
Stein stood up for his religion, and you don't.DanielWow are you reaching into thin air with the assumptions... I'll play the bizarre assumption game with you though, apparently you seem to have a healthy dislike of women based on your defense of the man. You probably grew up in a household where hitting women was acceptable...
Isn't there a carney show where you should be selling snake oil cures at?TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerYou've never told a joke about the immortal differences between men and women? What a stick in the mud. A real killjoy.

Do you wear unisex Mao uniforms, too?DanielDon't bring what goes on in your bedroom into this...What ever you and your life partner do is your own business.TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerOh I get it...you don't have a sense of humor.DanielOh god are you dull and dense! If you didn't get what that was a response to, then you really are the unfunny idiot hack I pegged you as for even using phrases like stick in the mud and the Mao suit as a reference...TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerIf your tired references - which have appeared on every forum on the internet 1,000 times before - are your idea of comedy, you'd better stick to your day job.

Give us something fresh. And don't offend women - unless it is really funny.

It reminds me of two co-pilots who had to parachute out of their plane during the war. They found a gorgeous widow who let them hide in her barn.

Well, one of the pilots sneaked out of the barn and spent the night with the woman...

I'd tell you the rest of the joke, but since your ears are so sensitive...

DanielWhat are you talking about you batshit insane maniac?TheDoctorWhoCuresCancerGet some rest, Daniel. You're out of your league.iam draizeHe called Ron Paul an anti-semite on CNNs Larry King once. I sense a pattern...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...hotsteppergood memory. i was listening to that segment too and he came off like a total asswipe.

then i saw the trailer for "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" and he came off like a total asswipe.

then i saw this story on Gothamist and he...well you know the rest.okhI remember that show, too. He just didn't want to be on the phone with those guys so he engineered a little outrage to get out of it.

Listen, all sides of the political spectrum do it but just because they do it doesn't make it any less chickenshit.TBE11What's wrong with being sexy?chuzzlewitwell, that's - nitpicking, isn't it?Val EricksonI can't imagine Bill Maher making such archaic sexist jokes, but if he did I wouldn't be cool with that either.okhSorry for replying again - I did actually look at Maher's sexist comments. How's about calling a woman twat? More offensive than some tired old hack line from the Borscht Belt?

Sorry for the edit (again) - how's this for offensive? “New rule: stop acting surprised someone choked Tila Tequila! The surprise is that someone hasn’t choked this bitch sooner."Ladder157The NYPD really brainwashed you well.okhI'd like you to explain this comment.okhI'm not going to go through Maher's whole catalog, but it's safe to say that he makes a good living saying offensive things about people. It's his job. He's a comic. Not a good one, but a comic nonetheless.okhLet's all stop with the histrionics. If it was Bill Maher making those jokes, everyone would have been cool with it. Can the fake outrage.James515I think some folks are missing the point. If Bill Maher were making the sexist joke at a corporate function, I suspect there would be the same concern. And if Ben Stein made it at a comedy club, I doubt there would be any concern at all. The issue is the venue. And sexist jokes, racist jokes, jokes about sexual orientation ... are all about classes of people who have a history of being discriminated against in the workplace. Most companies have HR policies against such "humor".Potty_BoyGlad I don't bank at Citi.
I'll make sure to watch Ben Stein next time.sunsetsloperBen Stein is not an idiot. He's just a troll. A really smart troll who likes to talk in monotone. He's one of those republicans that knows his shit is stupid but says it cause he realized his constituents give Skoal as valentine's day gifts. I'm pretty sure he doesn't drink his own kool-aid. He just pretends to sip it and then hands the rest to his party and collects his check and goes home to sit in a scented bath. Trump on the other hand, is drunk on his own ego.atomicgirl24Ben Stein is not a troll, because he's been talking and thinking this way from a time before "trolling" for ratings, TV shows, or book deals or whatever became profitable. Hell, even before anyone even really knew who Ben Stein was he was this way. Remember, this was the guy who basically inspired the TV movie, Amerika, because he was so outraged over "The Day After." And this was back in the '80s.

So this guy is no "joke." He really is every bit the crackpot he appears to be.John Forrest TomlinsonBen Stein is so wrong on so many things - both on facts and on ethics.MattyGoldchains"Another involved a female airline passenger who, realizing the flight is about to crash, takes off her clothes and asks if there is a man aboard who will “make me feel like a woman,” ". A cowboy in a hat removes his shirt, hands it to the woman, tells her to iron it and fetch him a beer."

heh. heh. heh.

Really, some people have no sense of humor...Jose QuilesHave you heard the one about a Republican at the airport men room?Mordicai"Some of my best friends are women!"

I used to be charmed by Ben Stein, back when he had his game show. Then I listened to his wackadoo opinions on evolution, realized that he was an anti-choice activist, & that he was a big proponent of subprime investing & a denier of the crunch...aka the sort of stuff that led to the current recession...well. Being good at Trivial Pursuit doesn't make you SMART.p qIt's amazing to me that someone can be pro-choice about killing babies, but anti-choice when it comes to educating them.Mordicai...wait, what?blog comments powered by Disqus ? PreviousHome send a tip Got something to share? Let us know! From tips@gothamist.com

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Citigroup Drops Ben Stein Speech After Complaint His Jokes Disparage Women

 Actor and economist Ben Stein participates in a roundtable discussion on Social Security in The Cash Room of the US Treasury building in Washington, D.C., on May 19, 2005. Photographer:David Scull/Bloomberg

Citigroup Inc. (C) canceled a planned keynote speech by writer, actor and TV personality Ben Stein after getting a complaint that he told jokes disparaging women at a private-equity conference in Dallas earlier this year.

Stein, 66, had been contracted by Citigroup to appear as a speaker at the May 17 event the bank is hosting in New York for pension and endowment funds. According to the agenda, other scheduled speakers include hedge-fund manager John Paulson and Peter Orszag, the former White House budget director who’s now a vice chairman in Citigroup’s investment bank.

“We have decided to present the conference without Mr. Stein’s participation,” said Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a spokeswoman for the New York-based bank. Stein, in an interview, said his jokes were mischaracterized and that the company didn’t call him before canceling.

Citigroup, accused in a gender-discrimination suit last year of being an “outdated boys club,” canceled the speech yesterday to avoid being associated with any inappropriate remarks, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The decision was made after Orszag received an e-mail from a woman who attended the March 2 event in Dallas and complained that Stein was “offensive and irresponsible.”

The woman, Lynda Villarreal, 41, had learned that Stein was scheduled to speak at the Citigroup conference, and e-mailed Orszag to ask him to reconsider, she said in interviews. Men and women at the March conference had told her they were offended by his remarks, she said.

Orszag, 42, who wasn’t one of the organizers, forwarded the e-mail to the sales executives in Citigroup’s trading division who were overseeing the event, the person with knowledge of the matter said, declining to be identified because the deliberations were private. Those executives decided within hours to cancel Stein’s appearance, and the decision was relayed to Villarreal, the person said.

Stein, a Yale University-educated lawyer and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon who played the droning high-school economics teacher in the 1986 movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” said in an interview that his jokes at the Dallas conference had been incorrectly retold.

“I’ve been in this speaking-gig business for a number of years, I’ve told these jokes before, and I have never gotten one syllable of complaint,” he said. “I don’t think any woman in the world would call me a misogynist. For this woman to say this is just fantasy.”

Stein’s agent, Marcia Hurwitz, said Citigroup had initially contracted with Stein through a speakers bureau and that his typical corporate fee is $45,000, plus first-class travel for two. In the event of cancellation, he still gets paid, she said.

Stein delivers “deadpan humor and serious insights on the economy and human nature in talks that leave people laughing and thinking,” according to the Washington Speakers Bureau website.

Citigroup’s Romero-Apsilos declined to comment on whether the bank had given Stein a chance to respond before canceling or whether he may still be paid.

“I am delighted that Citi has taken this action,” said Villarreal, a Dallas resident and vice president of business development at Trident Trust, which has offices in London, Atlanta and the Cayman Islands and provides accounting services to hedge funds and private-equity firms. “It shows their corporate leadership and respect for women in the financial industry as well as their clients.”

Citigroup has described the allegations in the October 2010 gender-discrimination suit, which was filed by six former and current employees, as “totally inaccurate or selectively incomplete.”

Villarreal’s e-mail to Orszag told of three jokes at the Dallas conference she said were disparaging to women. One joke was about a wealthy man, his wife and his mistress, she said.

Another involved a female airline passenger who, realizing the flight is about to crash, takes off her clothes and asks if there is a man aboard who will “make me feel like a woman,” according to Villarreal’s e-mail, which was also sent to Bloomberg News. A cowboy in a hat removes his shirt, hands it to the woman, tells her to iron it and fetch him a beer.

Villarreal said the jokes she sent to Citigroup were versions found on the Internet based on her recollection of what Stein said.

Stein, who has written columns for Bloomberg News and appeared as a guest on Bloomberg Television, said in the interview that the joke targeted the man, not the woman, and that in his Dallas telling the woman didn’t remove clothing.

“It’s usually a joke understood to be making fun of a kind of cloddish, dopey guy,” Stein said. “When I was finished with this speech, dozens of women in the room came up to me and wanted their pictures taken with me, wanted autographs from me. Dozens of them. I got fan mail from women who had been at the group saying how much they liked the speech.”

The jokes are not original, he said.

“Every one of those jokes are thoroughly vetted with my wife,” said Stein. According to his website, she is a former lawyer, and they live with six cats and three dogs in Beverly Hills, California. Stein’s father, Herb Stein, was a member and later chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

In August 2009, the New York Times dropped Ben Stein as a columnist for its Sunday business section because he was simultaneously working as a pitchman for a credit-monitoring company, according to an Associated Press report at the time.

Earlier in 2009, Stein withdrew as the University of Vermont’s commencement speaker over complaints about his critical views of evolution in favor of intelligent design, according to the AP. He discussed those views as host of the 2008 documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.”

Stein said he is “very involved in helping women’s groups,” including ones supporting unwed mothers and wives and widows of people in the military.

“I didn’t think I had an enemy in the world, except for the people who didn’t like my movie about evolution,” Stein said. “I am super, super, super encouraging to women. I support an awful lot of women who are trying to make their way in the world.”

An agenda for the Citigroup conference agenda accessed on the bank’s website yesterday afternoon listed a keynote lunch with Stein, billing him as a “noted financial expert and economist” and a “popular film and TV star.” By early today, Citigroup had updated the agenda to remove him.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bradley Keoun in New York at Bkeoun@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net

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Donald Trump squirms as Barack Obama deals death-by-jokes

PRESIDENT Barack Obama told jokes at the expense of US property mogul Donald Trump on Saturday night, mocking his possible presidential ambitions in remarks at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.With Mr Trump in the hotel ballroom audience of celebrities, politicians and journalists, Mr Obama zeroed in on talk fuelled by the billionaire that the president was not US-born.

Last Wednesday, the White House released a longer version of Mr Obama's birth certificate to answer some Republicans, including Mr Trump, who claim he was not native-born and therefore ineligible to be president, with the president himself giving a short speech blasting "carnival barkers" who refuse to let the issue die.

Mr Trump has seized on the issue while testing the waters for a possible 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination. Mr Obama is running for re-election with the Democrats next year.

"Donald Trump is here tonight. And I know that he's taken some flak lately. But no-one is happier, no-one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than 'The Donald'," said Mr Obama, using Mr Trump's nickname.

"And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?" Mr Obama added, drawing laughs and applause.

Roswell refers to an incident in the vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, where, according to some theories, an object that crashed in 1947 was an extra-terrestrial spacecraft carrying alien occupants. Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur were rap stars whose deaths are the subject of continuing controversy.

Mr Obama suggested that Mr Trump's biggest decisions typically involve the sackings he dishes out on his reality television show Celebrity Apprentice, such as when he dumped actor Gary Busey last week, while keeping singer Meat Loaf.

"These are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night," Mr Obama deadpanned. "Well handled, sir. Well handled."

Trump grinned, pursing his lips and looking uncomfortable.

"I think we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience," Mr Obama said of Mr Trump, drawing laughs.

"Say what you want about Mr Trump," the president added. "He certainly would bring change to the White House."

Big video screens in the ballroom then flashed an image of what was labelled "Trump, The White House," spoofing the businessman's practice of naming buildings after himself.

It portrayed a hotel-casino-golf course with bikini-clad girls frolicking in a fountain, and the white columns replaced by gold ones.
Mr Trump's mood worsened as comedian Seth Meyers picked up where Mr Obama left off.

"Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising," said the Saturday Night Live actor. "I just assumed he was running as a joke."

Mr Trump has made a series of controversial comments as he mulls a presidential campaign and attacked Mr Obama and other US political leaders in a profanity-laced speech in Las Vegas last week, calling them "stupid".

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The best jokes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Many years ago, there was a cricket match between the West Indies and England. (Cricket's a little like baseball, only takes longer and often no one wins.)

The radio commentators were talking about a bowler (pitcher) called Michael Holding. The batsman (hitter) was Peter Willey. One of the commentators then said, quite naturally: "The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey."

Top five jokes on Donald Trump’s ‘Taj-Ma helmet’ hair

If real estate powerhouse Donald Trump is serious about running for president, he should probably acquire thick skin, as his fluffy hair tends to attract negative attention.

Trump, who has been a key promoter of the idea that President Barack Obama may not have been born in the United States, has been the subject of many hair jokes lately. Celebrities, opponents, and supporters alike can’t figure Trump’s mop out, and some people have even joined the Trump “Balders” movement, attesting that the billionaire shouldn’t be eligible for the presidency because his hair came from another country.

If you have more fun debating the origin of Trump’s mane than Obama’s birth place, you’ll be amused by our compilation of the most hilarious Trump hair jabs of all time.

5. Comedian Robin Williams describes Trump’s mane as “the creature”

“I believe the hair is actually The Donald,” Williams told Joy Behar last week. “That’s actually the creature.”

Williams explained more about “the creature,” saying it comes to life, orchestrates Trump’s life, and asks, “How are we doing today? Who shall we marry next?”

“He wants to see Obama’s birth certificate, I want to see his hairline,” Williams said. “I think that’s actually a helmet!”

4. Alec Baldwin likens his mother’s hair to Trump’s

“30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin stooped to a new low when he compared his mom’s locks to Trump’s mane, noting that she had “a very serious comb-over” following a major chemotherapy induced hair loss.

“She’s a breast cancer survivor, so she has what we call [Donald] Trump hair,” Baldwin told talk show host David Letterman. “We call it the onion loaf, it’s a very serious comb-over, we have to fluff it really well.”

3. David Letterman asks if Trump has hair or a “Taj-Ma helmet”

In 2002, television personality David Letterman laid out 10 ways to describe Donald Trump’s hair. They included:

No. 7: Trumpy
No. 6: Strangely hypnotic
No. 5: Unbe-weave-able
No. 4: Wiggy
No. 1: Taj-Ma helmet

2. Tracy Morgan says “The Apprentice” host conceived an illegitimate Harlem child who has floppy hair like his dad

Comedian Tracy Morgan joked earlier this month that he’d investigated Trump and learned that the billionaire fathered a young boy in Harlem.

“I got some people up town in Manhattan checking you out…Little black boy with blue eyes and hair that go like this,” Tracy said on “The Daily Show,”? imitating Trump’s flying mane. “Come see that boy. Come see that boy, Donald.”

1. Letterman makes parallels between Trump’s hair and “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” film

Television host Letterman can’t say enough about Trump’s mane, which he once compared to D-list children’s movie “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”.

“The Beverly Hills Chihuahua is ready for Halloween. He’s dressing up as that thing on Donald Trump’s head,” Letterman said in 2008.

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Obama jokes no one checked his ID at the door

Following the release of his long-form birth certificate yesterday, President Obama poked some fun at the "birther" brouhaha last night.

"My name is Barack Obama," the president said at his final fundraising event in New York. "I was born in Hawaii," he continued, which elicited cheers and applause from the audience of supporters, "the 50th state of the United States of America."

"No one checked my ID on the way in," he said. "But just in case ..." Obama added and reached into his breast pocket before pulling his empty hand out and chuckling.

Watch video of the scene below via CNN:

 

The president attended three fundraisers in Manhattan last night following a taping for the Oprah Winfrey Show. Obama reportedly made light of the "birther" controversy at all appearances, keeping in line with his comments earlier in the day suggesting that it had turned into a "sideshow" led by "carnival barkers."

"Today was a fun day," he said at one of the events.

"But it was also a serious day because part of what happened this morning was me trying to remind the press and trying to remind both parties that what we do in politics is not a reality show," the president said, according to the poll report. "It's serious."

The mention of a "reality show" immediately calls to mind Donald Trump, the potential 2012 candidate/reality star/businessman who recently led the charge to pressure Obama to release his long-form certificate, though Obama did not mention him by name.

Obama suggested that the country's politics needs to be reformed, casting the stress of the recession as partially responsible for polarizing Americans.

"And I think the hope that I have that we would start coming together in a serious way and have a serious debate about how we move the country forward has been resisted," Obama said, according to the White House pool report. "I won't say that the Democrats have never been at fault in that, but I will say that my administration and I think Democrats in Congress are serious about trying to solve these problems and not simply to score political points.A? And I think it can be done."

(Photo of Obama: Charles Dharapak/AP)

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Georgea Kovanis: 'Bridesmaids' stuffs fat jokes into a dress

Being a bridesmaid can be a lovely experience -- a chance to share a happy moment in a close friend's life.

It can also be disastrous -- friends turn into self-centered brides, their mothers into dictatorial monsters and other bridesmaids into simpering servants. In the meantime, you've spent several hundred dollars on a dress that makes your butt look bigger and dyed-to-match shoes that are going to kill your feet when you're forced to dance with one of the groomsmen.

It's with that jumble of emotions that I've been awaiting the May 13 release of the new movie "Bridesmaids."

It's the work of producer Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin") and director Paul Feig, who managed to get the humor and heartache of being a teen just right when they collaborated on one of my favorite television shows of all time, "Freaks and Geeks." And it's being billed as a female version of "The Hangover," a movie I genuinely enjoyed.

So I scoured the Internet for early reviews.

I watched the trailer multiple times.

And I started feeling uncomfortable.

There's a fat bridesmaid.

Of course, she's a buffoon who tucks her napkin into her collar and emits a cacophony of bodily noises.

And apparently we're supposed to find all that gross and funny because fat people are gross and funny, right?

Every so often someone declares that we, as a society, have reached a state of fat acceptance.

They may point to the fact that designers such as Calvin Klein and Michael Kors make clothing for plus-size women.

Or that Crystal Renn, the sometimes plus-size model, has appeared in German Vogue and is the new face of Jimmy Choo.

Or that "Mike & Molly," a CBS sitcom about a fat couple who fall in love after meeting at Overeaters Anonymous, is doing well in the ratings.

And all that sounds great -- until you remember that the average American woman wears a size 14. And in the world of fashion, plus-size models can be as small as a size 10. And Renn has lost weight and, according to her agency's model card, wears a size 6 dress. And even in the modeling world, that's not exactly plus size.

Or you see a replay of an interview with 19-year-old Ashley Kauffman of Riverside, Calif., who said she wasn't allowed to sit in the front row at "American Idol" because a show worker said she was too fat.

Or you remember that when it comes to "Mike & Molly," Maura Kelly, a blogger for the fashion magazine Marie Claire, said: "I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything."

None of us want to be fat, but -- because of bad choices or genetic predispositions -- it happens.

Overweight men often get a pass when it comes to their size -- they're called husky or stout, or someone says they're built like a football tackle.

Overweight women typically do not.

We may talk about how far women have come since our mothers and grandmothers. How these days we take care of our children and households while maintaining careers as elected officials and corporate executives and whatever else we might want, or so the modern success story goes.

But you'll have a much easier time living that wonderful life if you're thin.

Our western standards of beauty reinforce that.

So we make fat jokes. We starve ourselves. We sign up for weight loss surgery.

I guess it's easier to do that than to make the skinny bridesmaid the gassy one.

Contact Georgea Kovanis: 313-222-6842 or gkovanis@freepress.com

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