Author of “The Help” accused of racism; sued

As we’ve all heard countless times, the opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings. This certainly applies to America’s latest soap opera, The Help, which is nothing more than a heaping helping of warmed-over Civil Rights Movement (CRM) leftovers served up by the the usual suspects in Hollywood.

In case you’ve been in a coma for the past several months, The Help (twice reviewed in TOO, here and, by yours truly, here) is a fictional, anti-White story about black maids in the South during the CRM, before the blessed triumph of liberalism when “the walls came a’tumblin down.”

The movie is based on a novel by the same name written by a White Jackson, Mississippi woman named Kathryn Stockett, who supposedly used her insider information to blow the lid off of the hidden record of atrocities visited upon the humble but lovable (but surprisingly spunky and resourceful) Black maids that once upon a time served as maids for haughty white socialites like herself and her family.

Kathryn portrays herself as the White heroine of the piece (no surprise there), Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a character with a dash of Gloria Steinem and Harriet Beecher Stowe thrown in for good measure. The principal Black heroine of the film/novel is Kathryn’s former family maid Ablene Cooper, portrayed as all things wise and wonderful, just like most Black people are in real life!

The film’s primary villains, of course, are Kathryn’s fellow Junior Leaguers with appropriately preppy names like “Hilly,” portrayed with a nuance and sensitivity that makes Cruella De Ville look like Mother Theresa.

Quite unexpectedly, someone took offense to these over-the-top portrayals and has sued poor little Skeeter – I mean Kathryn Stockett, who as we all know was just trying to strike a blow for equality and justice in this “selfless” endeavor.

Now just who would complain about being collateral damage in such a worthy enterprise? One of those snarky Junior Leaguers, no doubt, who harbors some unreconstructed lack of repentance for her horrid “racist” behavior so fittingly portrayed in the movie?

No, the potential litigant threatening suit is none other than sweet Miss Ablene herself! She accuses our little Skeeter – I mean Kathryn – of the foulest sin of all – RACISM!!! (Kathryn needs to read my book!)

Ablene charges, “I think she’s just a racist. She claims she respects black people but she ran all over me.” Somebody find the smelling salts because Skeeter done fainted!

While The Help is reviving Kathryn Stockett’s career, it is apparent to this observer that Ablene’s charge of being “run all over” comes down to cold hard cash. How dare the honkified Stockett write about her without giving her the lion’s share of the money from the enterprise?

A lawsuit against Kathryn Stockett, the author of best-selling novel “The Help,” has divided brother and sister in a dispute about the real-life identity of one of her fictional characters.

Ablene Cooper, the longtime nanny for Stockett’s brother, has filed a $75,000 lawsuit against the author, claiming she was upset by the book that characterizes black maids working for white families in the family’s hometown of Jackson, Miss., during the 1960s.

Cooper also once babysat for Stockett’s daughter, according to the Jackson Clarion Ledger, and the lawsuit alleges that she had been assured by Stockett, 42, that her likeness would not be used in the book.

The 2009 novel was an instant favorite among book clubs, written in the voice of black “help” by a woman raised by maids herself and who is white.

Cooper, 60, maintains that the book’s fictional character — Aibileen Clark — is her. She says the alleged unauthorized appropriation of her name and image is emotionally upsetting, and her employers, Carol and Robert Stockett III agree.

(Snip)

Cooper has said the portrayal of Aibileen — an almost saintly figure who is subjected to the racial prejudices of the period — is “embarrassing.”

Like a pirate crew, the real fighting usually erupts when it comes down to divvying up the swag. Kathryn apparently hasn’t given up her exploitative ways of dealing with The Help after all, at least in the eyes of sweet Ablene. Look for the other maids to dive onto the scrum in short order, seeking reparations.

Forget about The Help, I want the film rights to The Help afterparty! Call Jerry Springer and set it up!

Reposted with permission from The Political Cesspool.