Fans are Disappointed in Tina Fey’s Depiction of Minorities From ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Mean Girls’ to ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’
Tina Fey is one of the most celebrated stars ever to reach fame on Saturday Night Live. The writer, comedian, and director rose to popularity on the sketch comedy show and has gone on to become a movie star in her own right, appearing in films like Date Night and Baby Mama.
From hosting the Oscars to writing popular plays, it seems as though Fey does it all. However, in light of recent world events, fans and critics alike are reviewing Fey’s problematic past, including the way that she has depicted minorities in some of her work.
What is Tina Fey best known for?
Tina Fey was born in Pennsylvania in 1970. She became interested in comedy at an early age and dabbled in writing during high school. She also studied acting and drama, getting a well-rounded education.
After graduating from the University of Virginia, Fey moved to Chicago, where she worked odd jobs during the day and studied comedy at night.
By the late nineties, Fey began her legendary association with Saturday Night Live. She began as a writer, submitting story sketches and impressing showrunners with her deft comic timing.
A few years after she started as a writer, she began appearing in sketches. Her impersonations became hugely popular, including her long-running Sarah Palin bit.
After finding success on Saturday Night Live, Fey began working on her very own TV show, 30 Rock. Fey was honored multiple times for her work on 30 Rock, and to date, it is one of her most popular projects. Fey is also the brainchild behind the cult classic film Mean Girls and has authored several other successful scripts.
Critics are slamming Tina Fey’s track record
Although Fey has earned many fans over the years and has claimed a place for herself in television history, some critics are looking at her past work in a new light. A recent article reviewed Fey’s history with race and the way that she has often used racial tropes in her writing. In particular, the article pointed out the use of blackface in her show 30 Rock, and the way that Fey has apparently “ignored” criticisms of her work.
The article states that the show is “rife with racial tropes and, yes, no fewer than four episodes that include the use of blackface.” Although the article claims that most streaming platforms have removed the episodes containing blackface, it also slammed Fey for not taking more responsibility for her part in allowing the episodes to play with racial tropes so freely.
Fans are disappointed in Tina Fey
As it turns out, critics and reporters are not the only ones to take issue with the way that Fey’s projects have depicted minorities over the years. Some recent Twitter posts reveal that Fey is to blame for several highly offensive racial tropes. As one poster noted: “Tina fey has rly outed herself as a gross person over the years… There’s so much redface on 30 rock too, literally every episode. Mean girls obv has a lot of issues. She just puts a bunch of stereotypes in a blender and calls it comedy.”
Other fans called out her use of Native American stereotypes, stating that “the Native American plotline on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt remains one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen on a show I otherwise liked,” and that Fey’s “ironic racism” should no longer be ignored. Ultimately, it seems as though scores of fans are ready to speak out, and are no longer allowing Fey to get away with things that she might have been able to years ago.
