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Yasmina's Racist Comment "Controversy"
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Kyle123
09-04-2009
I dont think she meant it in a racist context, and I think the Iranian comment was more her trying to spare Noorul's feelings because Phillip is obviously more attractive than her. I actually think she had a decent point mind, because as bad as it sounds, having one black and one white person would make the product more appealing to a wider market. I think she just phrased it all wrongly, and as a result looked a wee bit stupid. Oh and Debra didnt help - she was totally jumping on the PC bridgade to look good for the cameras.
Rooftopcowboy
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by HeidiB:
“When you are advertising something you want to appeal to as many people as possible. It follows that a mix of ages, sexes and ethnicity is the best option.”

exactly, she was merely trying to make the marketing appeal to as many as possible
Kyle123
09-04-2009
And also I totally dont agree with the whole "Mona wasnt bothered, so its ok" argument. I believe it was Paula who was the third person there at the time, and perhaps she was offended by it? I think its a bad misconception that only minorities can be insulted by racism. Oh, and of course Mona doesnt speak for all black people.
tv_child
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by Kyle123:
“And also I totally dont agree with the whole "Mona wasnt bothered, so its ok" argument. I believe it was Paula who was the third person there at the time, and perhaps she was offended by it? I think its a bad misconception that only minorities can be insulted by racism. Oh, and of course Mona doesnt speak for all black people. ”

Agreed, in any case I doubt she'd be 'fine' with it if she was the one being cut and the only reason she was given was 'because we can't have another black one'. The whole 'ethnic minority seal of approval' rubbish was probably the most offensive part of it.
hannahb39
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by tonyslim:
“This was all about Debra wanting to look PC. Yasmina diidn't want to say Nooral was not a good looking as Philip so just said about having a white person. Although as others have said as a marketing philosophy it was the correct decision as it would look to be aimed at a wider section of society.

Debra should be ashamed.”

Yeah I think Yasmina was just trying to make an excuse to cover up the fact she wanted Philip in it because in her opinion Philip is better looking. Worse cover up ever but I don't think it was racist!
Irishguy123
09-04-2009
I think Yasmina was correct!! I just think that Deborah reacted because she felt someone had to.
Makosi's pants
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by doingthedirty:
“In conclusion -

Yasmina - had a reasonably fair point about Philip maybe being a better option over Noorul due to Philip's perceived better looks. But when that point was dismissed (by Philip himself) she could only turn to race to push her agenda. While I'll give Yasmina the benefit of the doubt and say that I don't think she is racist, she was pretty ignorant and bringing race into the issue was incredibly thick of her. Her being Iranian makes no difference. That would be like spitting at every Chinese person just for being Chinese and then saying "I'm Chinese, so I can spit at them". Well if the only reason for spitting at them was just because of their race, this, by definition, makes you a racist.

Mona - did not do anyone any favours by condoning what was said.

Debra - was absolutely right, but unfortunately if people of Trevor Nelson are to be believed, then we are living in a sad world.”

I agreed with every word of your post, but only the conclusion really matters

Anyone remember the scene from the office where a white lady called out David Brent over his use of a "Jim Davidson" type joke? Brent couldn't believe that a white person was offended even though a black guy had heard the joke and was okay about it. As if to garner support from the black guy Brent said "he's not bothered and he's black" the guy then says "well mixed race" Brent "that's my favourite"


But to be fair, Yasmina's response was even funnier. Maybe it would have been okay if she and not the coalition had invaded Iraq, seeing as she's Iranian....
Makosi's pants
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by Kyle123:
“And also I totally dont agree with the whole "Mona wasnt bothered, so its ok" argument. I believe it was Paula who was the third person there at the time, and perhaps she was offended by it? I think its a bad misconception that only minorities can be insulted by racism. Oh, and of course Mona doesnt speak for all black people. ”

If Mona was around me she wouldn't be speaking at all. Her lips would be far too busy doing something else. And next week: soap!
Dix
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by robbies_gal:
“i dont think it was racist to say it at all debra made something out of nothing to try and look good”

What Debra said showed she didn't believe in racism, also she as Team Leader had a right to voice her disapproval of what Jasmina wanted.

The other thng it was Mona who raised the race thing in the first place, and Jasmina grabbed hold of it with both feet in mouth. Just because she said she was Iranian doesn't mean that she can't be racist, as that's rubbish and anyone of any race can be.

The fact that it was Jasmina who carried on from what Mona said, means or suggests that Jasmina has issues.


This was only a poxy task and people wear shoes, so why make the "ethnic minorities" comment in the first place! Jasmina should have known better, but she wasn't that concerned what others thought, which she should.
floopy123
09-04-2009
It was a total non-story, folks! Had Debra not made a fuss out of it no-one would have cared. Yasmina didn't make any racist comments, it was Debra 'f'ing away' (I mean swearing, not er having sex lol) in the car that came off worse. Anyone upset with Yasmina's comments must have a very fragile personality.

By the way, her name is Yasmina, not Jasmina! Dix is getting names confused!
doingthedirty
09-04-2009
This post might seem a bit long, but please read it as it is a totally fair assessment and to get to the bottom of this issue may take a couple of minutes. Also, I apologise if you've read this before, but I needed to link to this from a different thread so to make it easier to find, I've put it at the top of a new thread.

Anyway....

The whole argument shows how THICK Yasmina is and I will demonstrate how she has caused this whole ruckus due to her brainlessness. Just for the record, I have Pakistani parents and consider myself part-Pakistani and part-English, but not wholly one or the other.

Yasmina originally stated that she'd prefer Philip over Noorul as he was more attractive and said as much to Mona and Paula who agreed. At this point, no-one can accuse anyone of being racist. Okay, Noorul may be a bit gutted but hey, there's always someone better looking, whoever you are. It was nothing to do with race at all. When Yasmina tells her thoughts to the rest of the team, she is told that her argument is invalid as Noorul is good-looking enough to be in the poster.

But then...

All of a sudden, Yasmina brings race into the equation to strengthen her case by saying, "We've got to have a white person in there as well."

Now, this IS racism. She is saying that because Noorul is Asian, he can't be in the poster with Mona as she is black. This is your classic quota system. No-one would care if BOTH people in the poster were white nor call it racist, but if the person in charge was to say, "Well, we have to have two white people in it", then this is nothing but racism.

There is no reason why there has to be limits on a particular skin colour, unless the poster is for something which can only be truly portrayed by having only white people, or only black people, only oriental people, etc. (for example, you would want people of South-Asian descent to advertise something like "authentic Indian food" as the public would wonder why "authentic Indian food" is being cooked by people who aren't (or don't look) Indian. And by the same token, I, being part-Pakistani would not expect to get the role of someone called David Chang, as that simply would not suit. In these cases, anyone who cries 'Racism' is ridiculously out of touch with reality and deserves a beating).

Back to Yasmina - by saying, "We've got to have a white person in there as well", she has suggested that race is paramount. It would have been equally racist if she had said, "we've got to have a black person in there as well" or "we've got to have an Asian person in there as well" because there was no other reason for having a particular race other than race itself. If there was a business reason, as the panel on You're Fired claimed, then why didn't she say so over the phone (and even then you'd handle it in a sensitive manner - not saying, "they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club", which I genuinely feel is something Nick Griffin would say).

She exacerbates the problem by saying, "Well, I'm Iranian, so I can say it." Okay, so by being Iranian, she's not a "standard" racist (ie, one colour against another), but now reverse discriminating, which is still racism. And on top of this, Mona comes to Yasmina's 'rescue' by being "okay with it" as if it is fine for a person to be dropped due to the colour of their skin, as long as an 'ethinic minority' approves. The only reason Mona was fine with it was because of the real reason her and Yasmina wanted Philip (i.e. they thought he was better looking than Noorul) - which is absolutely okay and not racist. But I doubt Mona would be singing the same song if she was in the car with Debra and all she heard was "they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club". What I found amusing was that Mona's approval was all that anyone needed to comfort themselves. Anyone can be a victim or a culprit of racism regardless of race.

Debra was absolutely right to pull them up on this and unlike the panel on You're Fired, was not out to "prove something". Trevor Nelson claimed that they made a business decision - what business decision? What business decision was Debra told of? That "they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club"?
If that is what any sane person heard over the phone, they would have reacted in the same way.

In conclusion -

Yasmina - had a reasonably fair point about Philip maybe being a better option over Noorul due to Philip's perceived better looks. But when that point was dismissed (by Philip himself) she could only turn to race to push her agenda. While I'll give Yasmina the benefit of the doubt and say that I don't think she is racist, she was pretty ignorant and bringing race into the issue was incredibly thick of her. Her being Iranian makes no difference. That would be like spitting at every Chinese person just for being Chinese and then saying "I'm Chinese, so I can spit at them". Well if the only reason for spitting at them was just because of their race, this, by definition, makes you a racist.

Mona - did not do anyone any favours by condoning what was said.

Debra - was absolutely right, but unfortunately if people of Trevor Nelson are to be believed, then we are living in a sad world.
floopy123
09-04-2009
Interesting view point but I don't think it was a big deal. Yasmina wasn't being racist, she wanted the poster to be representative of people of both whiter and darker skin hence why she wanted Philip over Noorul. Debra overreacted or misinterpreted what Yasmina suggested. Debra was the only one to take offence which suggests the other Apprentice candidates were more tolerant and didn't think Yasmina's suggestion was wrong. Given a choice, a poster with a white man with a darker skinned woman is more representative and inclusive than two white skin people or two darker skin people. If Britain is multi-cultural - which it is - what Yasmina suggested wasn't racist or that stupid. Mona, from Tanzania, a woman of African ethnicity, didn't have any problem with the decision.
boxx
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by doingthedirty:
“Was it racist?”

No.
*
Dix
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by floopy123:
“It was a total non-story, folks! Had Debra not made a fuss out of it no-one would have cared. Yasmina didn't make any racist comments, it was Debra 'f'ing away' (I mean swearing, not er having sex lol) in the car that came off worse. Anyone upset with Yasmina's comments must have a very fragile personality.

By the way, her name is Yasmina, not Jasmina! Dix is getting names confused! ”

Originally Posted by floopy123:
“It was a total non-story, folks! Had Debra not made a fuss out of it no-one would have cared. Yasmina didn't make any racist comments, it was Debra 'f'ing away' (I mean swearing, not er having sex lol) in the car that came off worse. Anyone upset with Yasmina's comments must have a very fragile personality.

By the way, her name is Yasmina, not Jasmina! Dix is getting names confused! ”

Yeah, you're right there Yasmina...but I'll tell you this, when I heard what she said I thought not again, BB all over! Then I watched how she behaved, and she was horrible. She showed racism when there was no need for it at all, but she couldn't help herself from saying it, and as she turned, Mona then said to her" you looked really scared after that!" Yasmina then replied" I was just trying to give her an opportuntity to clarify herself and she threw it back at my face and didn't even give us a( what sounds like job)" then she swore. They went off, and Mona told the camera ok in a resigned voice.

Yasmina didn't give Debra any opportunity, as she cut her off as she started to say how it would be if she had a child who was told they can't go for an ad campaign because they are black...the cam flitted to Yasmina then with her mobile.

Yasmina stalked off after an ok. The issue was made by Mona, taken up by Yasmina who has no social graces at all, and thinks she can say anything to anyone and never use her brain to think of the consequences. She has to engage her brain when she speaks, and it's easy to do that if she tries hard enough.

If others here didn't mind what she said, I did mind as there was no need for her to say it.

cheers
floopy123
09-04-2009
I dunno, seems to be a storm in a tea cup! All a lot of fuss over nothing. Let's all chill out...

After me.. a one, a two.... and a three..

Chilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll out.

See, that's better!
benenam
09-04-2009
I honestly think you have blown it out of proportion OP, and fail to see how mentioning your own race comes into this.

Philip, would have been a hugely better choice for the poster. He looks in better shape than Nooral, and is more universally attractive, regardless of your political correctiveness of "perceived attractiveness".

I feel Yasmina actually had a point that a white person should have been included. In marketing its important that a target audience can identify with the people in these kinds of posters.

Debra to me acted like she was throwing her toys out of her pram. She should have seen past the race argument as it was and put Philip in the poster, but I think by that point she was already envious of how much influence Philip had on the project and likely didn't want him claiming anymore credit. At the end of the day, in that situation of trying to sell health products, Philip would have been undoubtably the better choice over Nooral. Hurt feelings aside, this is business and Debra should have had the strength to make that decision.
floopy123
09-04-2009
Also, it was a business decision done on the spur of the moment. Yasmina tends to think on her feet, she's one of the most confident, forward thinking candidates so she's trying to make the best decision at the time, what's right for the product. Had she made some racist comment the way the late Jade Goody did in CBB then it would be worth debating it but Yasmina made a decision or suggestion, Debra got a bit huffy over it but it didn't seem to have any bearing on the rest of the challenge. Did we even see the final poster? I think it was shown for a second but I can't remember it. I doubt the poster had any bearing on the orders. Debra and her team won because the product was commercially viable, not because of the poster, and not due to the colour of the skin of the people on the poster. The poster was almost irrelevant.
Dix
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by floopy123:
“I dunno, seems to be a storm in a tea cup! All a lot of fuss over nothing. Let's all chill out...

After me.. a one, a two.... and a three..

Chilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll out.

See, that's better! ”

Only way it could ever be better if it was stamped out, which isn't going to happen if the TV lets it happen. Hope she never says it to SA......but she could, just a matter of time. -nod-

Deal or no Deal is a happier place.
Aenaryn
09-04-2009
Their original reason for the change - Philip being a better poster boy than hapless Noorul - was clearly not racist, and there was no malicious intent behind what she went on to say about there being a need to switch in a white person.

It's some kind of bizarre tokenism, and it doesn't make a jolt of sense because she was clutching at straws. Debra overreacted, but was right to say that it wasn't acceptable to start switching people out (or in) based on the colour of their skin.

End of file.
tv_child
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by benenam:
“ I feel Yasmina actually had a point that a white person should have been included. In marketing its important that a target audience can identify with the people in these kinds of posters.”

You're missing the point though; the task wasn't about the poster it was about selling the product to the buyers - all that is pretty irrelevant. But I guess it's easy to see how people in the heat of the moment get totally side-tracked.
Ethereal
09-04-2009
I'm doing a TV production course at university and sad as it is, we have been told most TV producers are told to include a wide variety of ethnic groups to represent everyone regardless of the person. The Apprentice does that very thing and Yasmina had a point IMO.
SSCruel
09-04-2009
I didn't think the comment was racist. Clearly, for Yasmina, race wasn't an issue at all. It was all about looks, or Noorul's lack of them, and she used his race as a back up plan to get him kicked out of the photo shoot (when I write it like that it looks worse). The photoshoot wasn't that important, and as someone else mentioned, Yasmina didn't give any points as to why having a white person and an 'ethnic minority' would boost sales.

I don't think Debra over reacted at all. I was a bit shocked at what Yas was saying (I hadn't read anything about it, so was hearing it for the first time like Debra was). Both girls are pretty blunt and tactless and I think Yasmina's comment, whilst not intending to be racist, certainly sounded quite offensive. If Debra was offended by it she was right to say that she was. If I was with a group of friends and someone told a racist joke, would I not be allowed to be offended because I'm white? Or would would it only people of that specific race allowed to be offended? What about if it was a racist joke about Chinese people, but my African mate wasn't offended, is it therefore not offensive?

I'm not actually saying that Yasmina's comment was racist or that she intended to offend, but it was tactless and in this case did offend Debra (and possibly Noorul, Lorraine, Phillip and Paula as none of them commented on it). Debra shouldn't be the guilty party in this, admittedly over-dramatised, fiasco.
benenam
09-04-2009
Originally Posted by tv_child:
“You're missing the point though; the task wasn't about the poster it was about selling the product to the buyers - all that is pretty irrelevant. But I guess it's easy to see how people in the heat of the moment get totally side-tracked.”

How is that possibly missing the point? The task was about securing sales and orders. The poster was there to advertise the product to the potential retailers, who would in turn put the product out to their target market. The person sitting in the room has to see the appeal of buying the product, and if they don't want it how can they expect their customers to want it?

I'd say it was even more important that the poster had a good deal of thought put into it to show that the team knew firmly what market the product was aimed towards and that the product could identify with that market. In fitness, people will always identify with attractive fit people advertising fitness equipment.
doingthedirty
09-04-2009
Most of the above replies are all referring to the fact that Philip over Noorul was a better choice due to his perceived better looks and so on.

If you have actually read what I have said then you will see that, I COMPLETELY AGREE!!!!

Picking Philip over Noorul for this reason is absolutely NOT RACIST and it was also the real reason why Mona and Yasmina wanted Philip over Noorul.

Let us draw a line under that, PLEASE.

What IS racist and foolish was the way Yasmina reacted to her idea being initially rejected. (You might have to watch this part again).

When Yasmina told the group in the car about Philip being better looking then Noorul, the group in the car (chiefly Philip) said that Noorul was good-looking enough (and that they weren't changing it),

Now, please read the next bit carefully.

Yasmina then said that Noorul was a bad idea because you'd have two ethnic minority people in the poster and that "they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club" AND also "We've got to have a white person in there as well."

Everyone agrees that the ONLY reason that Yasmina and Mona wanted Philip was that he was better looking and not because he was white. I agree with that too.

So why, when this idea was rejected, did Yasmina use race to back up her argument?? How thick can you get?

Some of the posters also say, "she wanted the poster to be representative of people of both whiter and darker skin".

No she bl***y didn't. The point about having a white person and a black person in the ad is fair and I agree with that also, but:

1 - If she did want Philip for that reason, why wasn't this mentioned before? We've just said that Yasmina and Mona ONLY wanted him because they thought he was better looking. Race was not even mentioned in the discussion before the phone call. The fact that it was made a reason during the phone call was that they were willing to say anything to get Philip to be in the ad.

2 - Even if I'm wrong and having a white and a black person WAS discussed as the main reason (off screen, but I doubt that) - surely you'd put your point across better than

"they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club"?

I'm usually one for giving people the benefit of the doubt but what a stupid thing to say. This one line and how it was said was not the cleverest thing to say, whatever your reasons.
Jamiewills
09-04-2009
I think that Yasmina did have a valid point to make. However the way she worded it was terrible.

She was basically saying that Noorul couldnt be in the ad because of the colour of his skin which was quite a bold thing to say, especially in such a blunt way as she did. This is certainly quite an offensive thing to say to someone. And although I dont think she should be crucified for saying it, I was surprised they made such light of it on the Your Fired show.

I think she could have got her point across in a better way, but Yasmina seems to lack any kind of tact or subtlety. She comes off as ignorant rather than racist.
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