Re: James Douglas Muir Leno

Dear America,

Some of you have finally witnessed that Jay Leno is an insensitive, patronizing buffoon.

While interviewing Ryan Phillippe, over his first role as a gay teen on daytime television, Jay repeatedly teased his guest with requests like: “Can you give me your ‘gayest look?’.” Critics are now voicing their concern, most notably Jeff Whitty, who later blogged: “Would you ask a guest to make their ‘blackest face?’ Their ‘Jewiest face?’ Why not?”.

To tell you the truth, America, you could have asked us. We’re the French expatriates, whom years ago knew the embarrassment that is James Douglas Muir Leno!

While you were all dancing the French Bashing boogaloo, who among you noticed Jay resorting to the worst kind of stereotyping, revisionism and downright xenophobia about France and it’s people. Anybody…Bueller…Anyone…?

You were blinded by guffaws of contrived laughter, as it was the air of the day to bash all that was Gallic.

Leno called the French dirty, smelly *, complicit with the enemy **, cowards *** and mocked the most painful era of our history, the German occupation and surrender of 1941 that enslaved our country and led to the death of half a million citizens.

Yet, you did nothing but laugh along, change French Fries to “Freedom Fries”, boycott perfume, pour French wine down sewers and put many French restaurants and their (American citizen) employees under financial strain or ruin.

Jay Leno pushed the French Bashing envelope even further when he was interviewed by Nikki Finke for L.A. Weekly. Leno resorted to blatant historical revisionism: “Well, there’s nothing funnier to me than the French. The French Resistance is probably the biggest mythical joke that ever existed. There were four guys in the French Resistance. They couldn’t hand over the Jewish people fast enough.” Still, you did nothing…

Jay and “his people” refused to meet us in July of 2006 when we drove cross-country to speak to him about his French Bashing and to offer literature on that dark period of our history. Leno – to this date – has also refused to meet France’s Consul General Philippe Larrieu for lunch despite an open invitation from France’s top diplomat in Southern California.

Now that Leno openly mocks sexual orientation, has his mask finally fallen?

Need more proof of Leno’s hatred towards the French? Read on…

* In France, they’re having trouble translating a lot of Internet terms into French. In France the law is you have to use French words. For example, there are no French words for surfing the Web, there aren’t any French words for chat session, and there aren’t any French words for hacker. Of course, a lot of other words don’t translate to French either: military victory, deodorant…

** It is so cold the French now have another reason to be in bed with the Iraqis…

*** I’m watching the sports news and they had this psychologist on and he said that this strange behavior means that deep down, Mike (Tyson) is afraid to fight. I had no idea he was French, did you?…