Jonah Hill’s Gay Slur Has Shocking Parallels In 22 Jump Street

It’s fairly safe to say that Jonah Hill is not having a particularly good week. After being hounded by paparazzi to the point where he retaliated by shortsightedly spouting off a rather hateful gay slur, he’s been forced to pull double duty of sorts, as his (already pre-scheduled) press tour for the upcoming 22 Jump Street movie became Jonah Hill’s road to repentance. Though, not to take anything away from his public apologies, which have been some of the most heartfelt, intelligent, genuinely remorseful statements you’re ever likely to hear.

However, in an even curiouser twist to the story, attendees at the premiere of 22 Jump Street have noted a startling similarity between Hill’s situation and a scene – and associated running motif – within the film itself.
Consider the following to be mild spoilers.
Variety reports that the film contains more or less the same situation that Hill is facing.
Midway through the film, the undercover cop characters played by Hill and his co-star Channing Tatum are in a university library, trying to eavesdrop on a gang of drug dealers. When it looks like their cover is about to be revealed, Hill shoves Tatum to his knees, suggesting a sexual act. A drug dealer spots them in the stacks, and believes they really are a gay couple, at which point he utters the same slur that Hill was heard saying on the tape.

But instead of ignoring him, Tatum’s character loses his temper.

“In 2014, you can’t say the word ‘faggot,’” Tatum’s character says in a lengthy diatribe. As a result of the outburst, the drug dealers realize that Hill and Tatum are undercover cops, and a violent chase ensues. The heroes of the film don’t seem to mind. “22 Jump Street” argues, as Hill did on TV, that gay slurs must be eliminated from our daily vernacular.”


An extraordinary coincidence, absolutely.
But, if there’s any good at all to come out of this, it’s that Jonah’s apology on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon was not your standard “I’m sorry because you felt offended” hollow, forced pieces of public relations.
At times emotional, and clearly disgusted with himself, Hill seems to fully possess the self-awareness to know that it’s the words themselves that have great weight, and that using them in such a manner in 2014 is inexcusable.
Now all we need is for Hollywood films to stop exploiting that awareness for cheap laughs. One day…
Photo: Frederic J. Brown via Getty Images.

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