In an odd attempt to claim that White men are the true victims of all society's ills, instead of the people who hold the most power in much of the world, Terry Gilliam decided to claim that he is a "Black Lesbian In Transition."
The 79-year-old Monty Python and the Holy Grail director made his claim during an interview with The Independent while he was supposed to be promoting his new film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.
Instead of promoting his film, Gilliam went on a bizarre rant about how White men are the real victims.
To take his pity party one step further, he said some of Harvey Weinstein's victims were "adults who made choices."
"There are many victims in Harvey's life, and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices."
He also called #MeToo a "witch hunt."
"Yeah, I said #MeToo is a witch hunt. I really feel there were a lot of people, decent people, or mildly irritating people, who were getting hammered. That's wrong. I don't like mob mentality. These were ambitious adults."
Gilliam demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of power dynamics and systemic oppression with his" not all men"-esque complaint that "I didn't do it!"
"I understand that men have had more power longer, but I'm tired, as a White male, of being blamed for everything that is wrong with the world. I didn't do it!"
Alexandra Pollard, the interviewer for The Independent, attempted to explain the concept of privilege to Gilliam, but he interrupted to complain about being called out for claiming to be a Black lesbian.
Apparently Gilliam does not at all understand why that obviously false statement might be wildly offensive to most people.
"It's been so simplified is what I don't like. When I announce that I'm a Black lesbian in transition, people take offense at that. Why?"
He backpedalled and claimed that he could be "half Black" when the interviewer contested his claim, despite the fact that he had just referred to himself as a White man.
"OK, here it is. Go on Google. Type in the name Gilliam. Watch what comes up. The majority are Black people. So maybe I'm half Black. I just don't look it."
Gilliam went on to complain about how he doesn't like the terms Black and White.
"I don't like the term Black or White. I'm now referring to myself as a melanin-light male."
Twitter users were not particularly sympathetic to Gilliam's worldview or his rant.
The interview ended with a bizarre and troubling comment from Gilliam, after his publicist returned to tell them that time was up.
"I don't know how you got stuck with me in this mood, I just love arguing. And if you've got a point, you should be able to argue your thing. But I'm not going to hit you."
For those struggling with the concept of power dynamics and systemic, institutional biases, the book White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism is available here.
Maybe someone can send Gilliam a copy.
