Media Can’t Spin Away Hollywood’s New Blacklist
A microscopic detail from the “Star Wars” saga sent entertainment scribes scurrying this week.
Actor Mark Hamill revealed via Twitter what that blue, milky substance from the “Star Wars” and “The Last Jedi” shoots actually tasted like.
“Note to self: Remember you’re on-camera & Disney signs your paychecks.”
(Honestly though: the warm, oily, sickly-sweet milk dyed blue from the movie was gag-inducing 🤮-while this frosty non-dairy drink tasted like a yummy fruit smoothie. 😋 #GotBlueMilk? https://t.co/C4Qx1iFfMq— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) August 28, 2019
The revelation got picked up by The Hollywood Reporter, Gizmodo, ComicBook.com, Screen Rant and Cinema Blend.
The next day a prominent sitcom star expressed a sentiment echoing one of Hollywood’s darkest chapters. “Will & Grace” star Eric McCormack shared a Hollywood Reporter story about a Trump fundraiser slated for Beverly Hills.
He added the following sentence to the report:
Hey, @THR, kindly report on everyone attending this event, so the rest of us can be clear about who we don’t wanna work with. Thx.
The Tweet drew swift social media condemnation, mostly from the Right but a smattering of liberals objected, too.
Why? McCormack’s threat hearkens back to the Hollywood Blacklist, when the industry cracked down on talent rumored to support Communist and/or subversive views. Screenwriters like Dalton Trumbo epitomized the era, one reason Hollywood created both a documentary and feature film about the celebrated screenwriter.
Bryan Cranston’s take on Trumbo earned him an Oscar nomination.
It gets worse.
Hollywood already mistreats conservatives, something even mainstream media outlets occasionally admit. Conservative talent, from actors to crew members, routinely hide their political affiliations for fear of professional reprisals. For years conservatives met in secret around Hollywood under the Friends of Abe moniker. The group allowed for a sense of camaraderie in a town which refused to accept their right to be themselves.
Meanwhile, liberal stars share their views wherever they please, which is how it ought to be.
McCormack’s Tweet stabbed a nerve, but he wasn’t alone. His “Will & Grace” co-starred Debra 
Messing seconded his comments.
“Please print a list of all attendees. The public has a right to know,” Messing wrote. Her comments connected with more than the old Blacklist era. It reminded many of what Rep. Joaquin Castro did last month.
The brother of Democratic presidential hopeful Julian Castro outed Americans who donated to President Donald Trump. That doxxing effort drew attacks from both sides of the aisle for obvious reasons.
Right-leaning news outlets pounced on McCormack’s statement. Fox News, Page Six, Breitbart News, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller and Hot Air commented on the situation.
Yet The Hollywood Reporter, which quickly shared Hamill’s blue milk revelation, has yet to cover the news. Nor has TheWrap.com or Variety.com.
RELATED: Russell Crowe Confirms Liberal Media Bias … Next to Stephen Colbert!
Punch the proper keywords in Google News and you’ll see a near-total blackout on the story from mainstream media outlets. ET Canada shared a piece on it. So did Yahoo Finance, republishing a Fox News item.
The Tweet in question hit the web Aug. 29. It’s now Sept. 1, a virtual lifetime in digital news terms.
This reporter shared the McCormack story on Twitter and “mentioned” THR, Variety, TheWrap.com and Deadline.com. Only Deadline.com has reported on the story – albeit late.
How many media outlets are covering this?
What say you, @Variety @deadline @TheWrap @THR
Debra Messing joins ‘Will & Grace’ co-star, calls for Trump supporters in Hollywood to be outed https://t.co/uWQvv7TVNO #FoxNews
— Christian Toto (@HollywoodInToto) August 31, 2019
The UK Independent got around to the story, too, but only by framing it as an attack on President Trump.
So why the near media blackout? It’s simple. The media act like the PR arm of the Hollywood Resistance. If a star or starlet marches against Trump, it’s news. If that same star does something horribly embarrassing, it’s covered up with a digital blanket.
It’s why news outlets ignored actress Ellen Barkin wishing for Trump’s death and director Joss Whedon predicting Trump would start rounding up, and killing, gay Americans.
The media is quick to express its outrage … on its terms. Consider all the recent think pieces attacking comics Dave Chappelle and Sebastian Maniscalco for piercing woke culture.
Has any outlet similarly attacked McCormack’s McCarthy-esque statement? No.
Hollywood is still obsessed with the original Hollywood blacklist. We’re about to see a new documentary on Roy Cohn, “Where’s My Roy Cohn?,” focusing on a key player in the infamous McCarthy hearings.
The industry can’t seem to learn the lessons it taught us, though.
A quick note: Trump’s Tweet mentioning the “Will & Grace” connection may force some reporters to finally cover this.
UPDATE: Right on cue, the media is waking up to this story thanks to the Trump factor. Here’s how TheHill.com is framing it … anyone shocked?
JUST IN: Trump targets Debra Messing after actress calls for exposing Hollywood donors https://t.co/xrvAy6o2ft pic.twitter.com/EhdJhUg4US
— The Hill (@thehill) September 1, 2019
There’s zero mention of the Blacklist angle here. None.
Yahoo News is covering the Messing/Trump kerfuffle by ignoring her blacklist -style comments, too. It does suggest Trump cares more about Messing than Hurricane Dorian, another liberal narrative.