There’s always been something a little too perfect and almost Stepford Wife-esq about veteran celebrity journalist Mary Hart. She was a staple in my house growing up as the host of Entertainment Tonight, with big blond beauty pageant hair – not a strand out of place, and those perfect white teeth. She seemed manufactured in a way, as did her personality.
Hart had a winning formula – to always exuded a plastic-face happiness as she engaged in sterile, monotone Q&A sessions that made her a non-threatening presence to celebrities looking to pitch their latest projects without invasion of their privacy.
Despite being as exciting as a jar of mayonnaise (and honey, not even Hellman’s, I’m talking bargain brand), Hart branded herself as the top of the food chain of celebrity journalists, without us knowing much about her personal life. It seems that’s all changed now though, after her guest appearance yesterday at Donald Trump’s cringe-worthy rally at Mt. Rushmore.
Most of us had no idea if Mary Hart was either a Republican or Democrat. Usually, people in media try to separate their personal positions from their professional lives. For Hart though, her appearance at Trump’s rally made it clear where she stands; a staunch Trump supporter. However, her speech set the internet ablaze after Twitter users began to ask had the talk show veteran gone even further, and flashed the “White Power” hand gesture to Trump’s 99% white audience.
I first saw this story earlier today, shared by celebrity gossip columnist Rob Shuter who posted a screenshot of Hart at the rally podium. In the image, she is definitely making a distinctive gesture with both hands. However, the question is, was she making a double “OK” gesture, or a double “White Power” symbol?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCO7tPDD_qS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Many Twitter users called out the gesture as a blatant, covert symbol of hate. Others claim it’s just the “OK” symbol and that the ‘liberal left’ is looking for another excuse to attack Trump’s base, and criticize the infamous rally itself.
Twitter user Grace G shared a video of the moment in question, asking, “Did Mary Hart just do what I think she did?”
Did Mary Hart just do what I think she did?!? pic.twitter.com/VJfMJ4YRkf
— Grace G (@ggfromcal) July 4, 2020
For me to arrive at any conclusion, I sought out the actual video on Twitter. I wanted to see it in action because sometimes screenshots don’t tell the whole story and can be misleading. I have to say, after review, the gesture seemed deliberate and entirely out of context for the moment. It was bizarre, and she held the gesture for a few seconds as she praised the crowd, addressing them alertly as “YOU, THE INCREDIBLE. AUDIENCE!”
So look, I don’t know if Hart intentionally gave the white power symbol or not, but the mere fact that she was a guest of Trump’s at this rally, to begin with, is suspect.
It is clear at this stage that Donald Trump is a racist, white nationalist and based on his past words and actions, he is also a Nazi sympathizer. The KKK and David Duke have officially endorse him, and he just tweeted out a video last week of old white people in golf carts yelling “White Power!”
As for Hart, she has yet to address the brewing scandal. At the very least, even if she did not make that white power gesture intentionally, she still cannot separate herself from Trump’s racist ideology if she considers herself to be one of his supporters.
So what do you guys think? Is this much ado about nothing? Or should we take another look under the hood?
You can say you support Trump but not a racist all you want and, heck, maybe you’re net even a racist but there were Germans during Hitler’s day who didn’t necessarily hate the Jews but they stood by and said nothing, nor cared, as the Jews were led to the gas chambers. So, yeah, you can be a Trump supporter and say, and even believe, that you’re not a racist but considering where Trump stands with race relations, and the large following of racist supporters he does have, then the Mary Harts out there can say they’re not racists but they are no better for associating themselves with it.