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The Superficial's moronically hateful coverage of Tila Tequila's conversion to Judaism

Reality TV star Tila Tequila, real name Tila Nguyen, is converting to Judaism.
Courtesy of Glenn Francis/www.PacificProDigital.com.

Let’s get the meat of the gossip out of the way: Reality show star Tila Tequila (real name: Tila Nguyen) is converting to Judaism. Celeb site TMZ reported it last weekend, quoting Nguyen as saying, “As time passed, I started to become more and more fascinated with Kabbalah, the culture, and the way of life of the reform [sic] Judaism religion … I just feel like the Jewish people have such a beautiful way about them, and I can't wait to officially be Jewish! Shabbat Shalom.”

As always, Internet news attracts Internet trolls, and this time is no exception. Though Nguyen had, until now, been out of the spotlight for a bit, gossip rags and nasty commenters have been quick to capitalize on the new headline as an opportunity to slam Nguyen for everything from her sexuality (she is a lesbian) to her career choices (she has run an adult website, filmed a sex tape, released a single called “I F**ed the DJ” – the list goes on). They’ve also come up with plenty of Jewish “jokes” that touch on every Jewish stereotype in the book: “Somebody should tell her that a pastrami sandwich with a pickle is not a three-way,” one commenter wrote, which is possibly the only comment fit to repeat here. In fact, based on the comments I’ve read on Nguyen’s conversion plans, I may actually be the first to congratulate her on her decision to explore Judaism.

Gossip site The Superficial took its hate for Nguyen a step further than even the nastiest of Internet trolls, putting into print a “joke” so offensive it literally made my jaw drop. The site’s story on Nguyen’s reported decision to convert is called, of all things, “Tila Tequila: ‘I’ll Take It From Here, Nazis,’” insinuating that Nguyen’s conversion will somehow contribute to the downfall and even obliteration of the Jewish people. The piece then tops itself with the closing paragraph, “When reached for comment, every Jew alive responded by climbing into an oven then saying, ‘What? This thing only goes to 500 degrees? At least Hitler knew how to burn a tokhes. You should call your mother.’”

I’m a pretty opinionated, loud-mouthed lady, but this has rendered even me near speechless. It’s safe to say we all expect a certain level of classlessness from gossip rags, but this truly takes the cake. Did this post make it past the OK of an editor? Perhaps it was written by a Jewish staffer who thought it would be all right to make such a tasteless comment about his or her own people? I can come up with absolutely no explanation for why an anti-semitic comment like this made it into a published post from an established website – even if the site’s tagline is “The Superficial – Because you’re ugly.” I’m not expecting refinement or elegance, but I’m certainly not expecting anti-semitism, either.

The Superficial’s “About” page reads: “This is a satirical site. Nothing we say, should be construed as factual reporting or anything more than irreverent commentary and satire and you should not take a single word we say here seriously. Do not say that we did not warn you.” Nothing like an irreverent joke about the gas chamber deaths of millions of Jews, right?

If you’re as appalled as I am by The Superficial’s disgusting “joke” (to say nothing of the Stars of David TMZ Photoshopped onto Nguyen’s nipples in its post), I encourage you to tell them so by commenting on the original post, writing on their Facebook wall, tweeting at @Celebuzz, or emailing the site at producer@thesuperficial.com.

Celebrity gossip is one thing – tasteless Holocaust jokes are absolutely another.

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How to cite this page

Bigam, Kate. "The Superficial's moronically hateful coverage of Tila Tequila's conversion to Judaism." 14 January 2012. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on October 16, 2024) <https://jwa.org/blog/superficials-moronically-hateful-coverage-of-tila-tequilas-conversion-to-judaism>.