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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Berlusconi Thinks 30% of Italian Women Want His Body [Jokes]

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