Media Gets Hung Up on Thomas Jane Quote
On Sunday, LA Times freelance contributor Irene Lacher shared a provocative Q&A transcript interview with Hung star Thomas Jane. At one point, he said this:
“You know, when I was a kid out here in LA, I was homeless, I didn’t have any money and I was living in my car. I was 18. I wasn’t averse to going down to Santa Monica Boulevard and letting a guy buy me a sandwich. Know what I mean?”
The operative words here are, “Know what I mean?” Although the actor went on to most definitely confirm some early same-sex experimentation, he at no point spelled out that his struggles involved the actual exchange of cash dollars and-or standing on a Santa Monica Blvd. corner. But that didn’t stop US magazine from headlining Jane as a “hooker,” a direction echoed by other outlets such as New York magazine, MSNBC, Zap2It and ABC News. Until Jane or the writer expounds upon this aspect of the story, it’s nothing more than careless conjecturing; not the biggest journalistic error in the world, but still a symptom of how showbiz news is leapfrogged along.
This daisy chain is also a depressing reminder that when a TV show star refreshingly opens up about a serious topic, it is salaciously re-purposed rather than anchored to some serious debate. Kudos to Jane–and Lacher–for covering something more meaningful than the actor’s favorite snack at the Hung craft service table.
[Photo: Helga Esteb/Shutterstock.com]
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