Robert Downey Jr. is a Black Man

first for the 10th time baybay!!!

PRETTY FUNNY

I thought it was a black man too before realizing who it was

that’s the best black face i’ve ever seen! dude looks like my uncle charles (shout out to charles, he’s doing a lil 5year bid upstate).

i’m so offended right now, but i cant stop laughing my ass off! (lmao) lmaooo

holy **** that looks NOTHING like downey jr

yeah..that picture totally got me too! It depends on what he is playing! If it is something to fight for some rights..then I am all for it! BUT I am wondering..why make him black..when there are so many black actors to choose from..out here..unless it is a comedy!

If it’s done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago,” Downey told Entertainment Weekly. “If you don’t do it right, we’re going to hell.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ya got that right.

15 i so agree…WTF

The movie is not about a black man…it’s a satire about actors. They’re making a war movie and the crew gets sick of them and abandons them. Robert Downey Jr. plays an actor who gets a role originally written for a black man and he’s such a dull-witted actor that he thinks it’s a profound choice to actually play it as a black man. The whole point is that it has to be a white man playing a black man. It’s about the insensitivity etc.

why is this offensive?

First of all that’s a pretty convincing black man there, I predict an OSCAR for the Make-up department. Secondly speaking as a black person I do not see anything wrong with this. That’s why it’s called ACTING as far as I’m concerned. So long as it’s not malicious and dissing black people.

For godssake we might as well stop actors wearing FAT SUITS, WIGS, AGING makeup, playing DISABLED PEOPLE, BLIND PEOPLE and so forth. Then what will we be left with? Actors might as well play themselves and their real lives!!!!!!

Wake up people, to hola ya’ll and me100, that’s like saying Jamie Foxx should not have played Ray Charles because he’s not blind!!! “Oh why don’t you find a blind actor to play that part because Ray was blind?” Com’on now be reasonable.

If black people also want to play white people in films I say go right ahead, I’m sure they can sort that out in makeup as they did in WHITE CHICKS!

Oh and please Jared can you block these people like #9 jyoueld with their fcuking stupid adverts:>( Thank you.

i think its pretty cool you really cant recognize him either

woow he really does look like an african american. good job make-up department

it’s offensive because of the derogative minstrel shows in which white men in black face portrayed blacks as lazy, stupid, shuckin’ and jivin’ happy negroes. the reference to the wayans playing white women is irrelevant because blacks donning white face does not have the same racial history that blackface does, whereby the images produced in minstrel shows were used to legitimize concepts of racial inferiority and black’s continued subordination in American society

i saw a quick shot of this while filipping through tv tonight. i think i stopped on access hollywood or one of those kinds of shows and i thought, oh, don cheadle. and then they played a guess who? type game and revealed it to be robert downey jr.

haha, totally shocked. and after i actually got more than a one second glimpse i realized it was pretty foolish to think that was don cheadle. haha.

whoa, at first glance i thought that was DON CHEADLE! HAHA

Trying to be male Angelina Jolie.. pulling blackface stunt. Creep!

You know, i can’t knock it! He really does look like a black man! But, it’s no different than when the Wayne brothers played white women! I think it’s cool because it’s not really “black face”.

Time marches on, people evolve. If we can’t have fun with it, what is the POINT of improving racial relations? So we can all sit around boring each other with how enlightened and tolerant we are? Do we really need to tip toe around every ethnic difference or can we all have a good time and poke fun at each other and ourselves?

Robert D is one of our best actors ever. This looks funny and I’ll see just about any movie he makes - super talent!

Robert Downey Jr is an amazing actor. He’ll do this right.

I don’t see how this is offensive. If a black man played a white man I wouldn’t care (I don’t think anyone else would either).

weird

As a black man I will give my voice here. That is the funniest single image I have seen in a long time. He looks like Ben Vereen! It’s kind of amazing. I love Robert Downey Jr, and I love when blackface is made fun of, as it rightly should. Tropic Thunder just made my list. So far, there’s nothing about this film I don’t like.

Honorable mention goes to Jack Black, who also looks damn funny.

Are people on the internet really this stupid?

All you who keep saying why not get a black guy to play a black guy, go back and READ the words next to the picture!! it’s not a movie about a black guy, it’s a movie about a white actor playing a black guy.

Damn. Either you are all illiterate, or just STUPID. Shouldn’t be allowed to own a computer, go out in public, drive, or vote. And I sure hope you’re practicing birth control — wish your parents had!

WHAT IS THIS STATING!

THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF ETHNIC ACTORS/ACTRESSES AS IT IS….FURTHERMORE THERE ARE A FEW AMAZING BLACK MALE ACTORS WHO POSSIBLY COULD HAVE PALYED THIS ROLE….

EQUAL OPPERTUNITIES YOU HOLLYWOOD FCUKERS!!!!!!

IT IS JUST SO FCUKING ANNOYING.

APOLOGIZE FOR THE DOUBLES….

*47

I AGREE WITH YOU ALTHOUGH THERE ARE CERTAIN RAMIFICATIONS WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN AS YOU CAN SEE…..

HOWEVER TRY SEE IT FROM A DIFFERENT VIEW….EVEN THOUGH THIS IS THE STORY LINE IS THIS THE LAST TIME THIS WILL HAPPEN AND TO WHAT I SAID PREVIOUSLY WILL THINGS IMPROVE…?? POLITICS.

Who cares if black peole find it offensive or not?

Aren´t they offended by everything?

I sure as hell wouldn´t care if a black guy or girl would play a whitey.

(White Chicks was really funny)

I don’t think it’s offensive at all, and i agree, when the wayans brothers did the white chicks no one was offended, so why would they find this offensive? maybe Robert Downey Jr. fits to play that part in the movie. so what if there are other black actors,i dont find it offensive in any way that they chose Robert to play that part.

And that doesn’t look like him at all. it’s a total different face. haha, amazing..

Well at least he does look like a black man. C. Thomas Howell in Soul Man is a whole other issue. That was the most offensive movie I’d seen in a long time as far as black characters are portrayed in film. Howell didn’t even look like a black man. He looked like a white man with brown shoe polish on his face an a jheri curl wig. Compared to that movie this one looks great.

Offensive and pathetic.

Everyone in the movie should be playing another race to make it funny and inoffensive.

I am offended that they did not get a black male man to play this role of a white man playing a black man.

The only way this would be ok would be if the character of question was a white man playing a black man playing a white man. The irony of that casting would make sense. In this case it is simply typical hollywood racismism.

Free James Brown!

Wow. Downey has really tapped into his African roots.

LOL, I love it! Give them the Oscar for makeup now! And RDJ makes a sexy black man. As a black female, I don’t think anyone should be offended. I mean, we haven’t even seen the movie! And from the description of the plot, it’s a parody of the ludicrousness of the Hollywood machine and it’s sometimes bizarre actors.

No it does not show or prove that there is a lack of talented black actors to play the part, (at least I don’t think so). As we all know there is enough white talented male actors and yet CATE BLANCHETT still got the part to play BOB DYLAN in I’M NOT THERE. She did a pretty good job of it and got herself an Oscar Nomination. Nobody and I mean nobody ever complained and said a white man should have played that part.

Also this reminds me very much of BOYS DON’T CRY, in which a WOMAN (HILARY SWANK) played a WOMAN PRETENDING TO BE A MAN. She got an Oscar for that and there were no complains that a man should have played that role. This is similar in that a WHITE MAN (RDJ) is playing a WHITE MAN PRETENDING TO BE A BLACK MAN.

Ofcourse this is a sensitive subject given it’s history as some have already mentioned. So it’s wise to wait for this movie and get the full context of which in this day and age I’m confident it will not be derogatory toward the black human race.

Give me a break, the Wayans Brothers did a film where they dressed up like white ditzy blondes and called it “White Chicks”, did anyone protest that?
It’s called ACTING. Did the Autsim Society protest “Rainman”, uh, no.

wow…you people finding this offensive are exactly what is wrong with America today. Talk about reverse-racism!!!!!!

Please. This is considered offensive? No more offensive than all the other black actors who play white characters in their movie. It’s okay for blacks to insult whites when they get in white make-up but as soon as there is someone doing the reverse everyone is up in arms. What about Eddie Murphy? What about the Wayans brothers? That’s okay because reverse racism is okay. People need to settle the heck down and grow up.

holy crap he looks like he is black. that movie looks like its going to be hilarious.

so people are offended because they’re wondering why a white actor was hired play a black man? read the plot synopsis of the movie and you’ll understand why…it’s to lampoon actors who take themselves too seriously. it’s supposed to be a joke. the point is that it’s a black guy playing a white guy. it’s not like the studio said “hmmm, well, everyone knows black people can’t act, it’s common knowledge. plus they all suck at comedy, so i guess we should get a white guy to do it.” seriously…were you all offended when the wayans brothers played white girls? were they making a statement that white women can’t act? lighten up for pete’s sake…

This is excellent.
Just like Eddy Murphy playing white and Jewish men.

Its all about good acting.
When you are an actor you want to be able to play people other than yourself. What if we were all limited to playing the people we actually are? No one would want to act anymore. Where would the fun be for the actor or the audience?

No doubt some PC acting police will scream racism but it’s actually completely the reverse of racism. It opens all the white parts up to black actors too. No doubt some idiots at some union will persist in trying to force everyone to do what they think is right and allocate all the acting jobs strictly according to race and age and anything else else they can try to control.

Congrats to downey for showing the RIGHT way to equal opportunity!
EVERYONE can play ANYONE.
.

Not bad o_O He kinda fooled me

If you fail to get the sarcasm and parody, you’re a goddamned idiot.

I think Downey’s got Huevos Rancheros!

I Highly APPLAUD this… People who are fairly STOOPID will be offended by it.

THIS IS NOT “BIRTH OF A NATION” - Idiots!

In DW Griffiths Piece of Crap “Birth of a KKKNation:” http://imdb.com/title/tt0004972 - We had Griffith SPREADING HATE via the brand new Medium of Film and then claiming “Oh, Duhh, I did not know I made an Offensive Moovie”

Seriously, Griffith claimed that he thought the KKK was the “Natural Order” of the US, and so we have this ridiculous film that tried to show the KKK as the saviors of the Fuggi-Nation!. Well, ignorance, if real, will barely excuse someone farting in an elevator, if at all that: So for this 1915 Hate-mongering, we do NOT excuse DW Griffith.

This is not 1915, a year where Racism was still the order of the day- I am white, I am offended by MOST black face stuff.. But I did like a few things that were actually funny… Like a couple of Harold Lloyd quips, and maybe Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.. But they were in fact doing Musical Comedy, and what they did was funny and not degrading. But on the other hand, I hated SHOWBOAT, all versions of that lame play… The actors are supposed to be Mulatto? Not only did Irene Dunne NOT look even close to negroid, she SANG too much like a White Opera Singer! I sat and watched a later version with my friend and we BOTH cringed at the horrible acting and story! Shudder!

But Birthdeath of a Nation is something else again! Birth of a Nation had a scene where a White guy in Black face, who is supposed to be a black man, approaches a white girl, who THROWS herself off a cliff in order to avoid being raped by the White Face Black Man. THAT scene, as well as being disgusting, was HIGHLY Offensive, to me: MOSTLY cos of its NON realism, but also cos the notion it gave white women that Black Men were some kind of non human monsters that would shrivel their womenhood if they were to be touched.

Now, this is 2008 and we are enlightened, are we not brother? I simply do not THINK of race at all- I think only of the differences in ability and character, and I treat all men and women I meet with the same courtesy.. I think Courtesy is the most important thing… To not be rude, to respect a person’s space, is the most important thing.

Ergo, Downey portraying a black man is just like any of Eddie Murphy’s 3000 various roles or Martin Laurence in Bog Momma’s House. Downey is not being discourteous, he is just pretending to be a black man, just like peter sellers playing a Chinese man… Just like Jerry Lewis, and his many faces, and I loved Jerry’s huge BUCK teeth.

So, I think Downey has got guts and balls, and is willing to play straight AND crooked- I’ve seen him play serious, and I’ve seen him play comedic… And so people ought not to fly off the handle about this.

Bette Davis, on her 70th Birthday, dressed up in all black and put on an afro wig and donned black face- And she had a black wreath on her door. This was neither a racial statement or a dramatic statement, just a statement about her 70th Birthday and how she felt about it.

Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Afro’s his hair and darkened his skin in one of the videos for RHCP… He looked magnificent!

It is almost 100 years since Birth of a Nation and the last 20 years of this 100 year period has all but dropped the last vestige of racism and hate: It is time to develop humour and lightness, I mean, it ain’t heavy no more, is it? We all live together, at least in my neighborhood, and we get along fine. Once in a while, I run into brat kids that are spoiled silly… But that is not a racial issue, it is an issue that the parents ought never to have had children.

I hope some of you folks who are heavily bummed about this, see through that it is nothing to get bent about… Just try to laugh at it:

And HEY: If I go see this flick with Downey in it… AND HE IS NOT FUNNY… I’ll KICK his **** PERSONALLY!

You’re kidding, right? Donwey is playing a white man who is playing a black man. How would you cast a black man in the role of a white man playing a black man, unless you put him in white face?

Now, how many movies has Eddie Murphy made in which he plays white men, Jewish men, etc.? He wasn’t playing a black man pretending to be white; he was playing a white man and doing so in “white face.” Weren’t there any good white actors available for those roles?

The question posed at the beginning of this thread is ignorant race baiting. “Jared” should be ashamed of himself.

I’M BLACK, and I’M TOTALLLY looking forward to this. I just started laughing at the picture, then the whole concept of it. It great and I definately look forward ti watching it.

Why’s everyone so sensitive. Get over yourselves

Hhaahaaha…. the make up is good man….
I’m actually glad its RDJ I can’t think of a better person to pull it off in all honesty =)

why cant some one black be offend , why could they just get a black man. but to tell the truth downey looks better black than white

well i think it’s neither actually…just kinda stupid…

They’re “stupid” or “idiots” because they don’t understand the nature of the role.

In the movie he plays as a WHITE ACTOR who plays as a BLACK ACTOR. The film is a movie being filmed within a movie, and Downey’s character is such an over-serious actor, when he finds out his role was originally written for a black man, he makes himself up to look like one.

I’m amazed by the idiocy of people who say ponder why they can’t just get a black guy to play a black guy.

If you actually read, you would realize the story of the character is that he is a white actor playing a role designed for a black guy, so he dyes his skin as a parody of a method actor.

It is entirely within the plot to have a white guy playing this role and would not make sense otherwise.

thats going to be a really funny movie

it is a movie if you get offended by everything from past history you will never get ahead in life. I dont think Ben stiller is a racist I think there is plenty of great black actors out there to do any movie but this is a movie that the actor has to be white to play a black guy that is what is going to make this movie funny. I also see a real black person in this film that is always calling out robert downey for acting black. We should never forget the past but we should never live in the past white black yellow or green..

i really don’t see how any black person could get upset.. Look at dave C. and his funny jokes of white people. . Umm.. I never had a problem with it or felt I should. I’m just sick of some black Americans! not able to understand that in the beginning of America over two thirds of the salves were white. and that Africa sold more blacks as slaves than were taken by pirates it’s really all just comes down to raciest people. Certain black Americans understand that Blacks just wanted there freedom! not that they were enslaved by whites.. Bt that they were enslaved by Blacks in Africa and whites. Just a little history for you. Where would you and I be today if your black family and my white family wasn’t enslaved by America?? It’s not common knowledge. if you ask a Japanese teenager what happened on aug. 6. 1945 to Hiroshima most wont have a clue!! Why talk about a defeat? Why would we talk about or put in the history books for are kids to read that two thirds of slaves were white? WHY?
I Like my Black & White AMERICAN BROTHERS

ok….soo…..perhaps everyone who comments should go see the movie first and THEN make a comment….and to Kelfin above, there is one HELL of a difference between an indentured servant (which is what those “enslaved whites” you mentioned served as) and a slave lol and yes they actually are mentioned in history books, not sure which ones you were or weren’t reading. I’m a history major by the way and I’m white if your interested. Anyhow as the question originally states, “is this offensive?”, I honestly don’t think it’s up to me to decide, as a white man, what a black man should or should not find offensive, regardless of what I think I may know, neither I nor any other person who is not black can completely identify with his experience, even though some of us would like to believe that we can, that is just not the case. Telling a black person to get over slavery is like telling a Jewish person to get over the holocaust, its ridiculous. However, as I have already stated, before we judge the context in which this character is portrayed, we should all FIRST actually watch the movie, let’s not put the cart before the horse people….

I had no idea the guy wasn’t black until I saw the actors’ names. Then, I did a web search to be sure. I have to agree that that is a FANTASTIC make-up job! I am black and can’t say right now whether I am offended. The picture itself doesn’t bother me. A person of one race playing someone of another race doesn’t bother me. Let’s see how I feel after seeing the movie…