Image Credit: Alexander Tamargo/Getty ImagesJim Carrey is a movie star who is used to changing his image. His face is stretchy and chameleonic — a tablet screen made of Silly Putty. And ever since The Truman Show, he has slipped back and forth between goofy and serious roles with a remarkable, nothin’-to-it facility. Last Friday, though, Carrey may have altered his image a bit too inadvertently when he went all thumb-happy and now lookee here! gossipy opinionated on his Twitter page. For Carrey, trying to muster up some sympathy for the beleaguered Tiger Woods (“Tiger Woods owes nothing 2 anyone but himself”) wasn’t necessarily a mistake. After all, a lot of the golfer’s fans are eager to see Woods put his transgressions behind him. But when Carrey wrote what could be construed as a critical statement about Woods’ wife, Elin (“No wife is blind enough to miss that much infidelity…Elin had 2 b a willing participant on the ride 4 whatever reason”), it felt like he’d stepped over a line of propriety. He had no excuse, really, except maybe this one: Twitter made me do it!
Twitter, of course, is now being embraced by more and more celebrities as a new-style self-marketing tool, a way of dispensing an image and controlling it at the same time. For some, like Ashton Kutcher, it’s practically an art form. But Jim Carrey was trying to send a red-hot message through an ice-cold medium, which is why it didn’t work. Twitter doesn’t transmit earnestness very well, and Carrey’s comments about Tiger Woods, in their conjectural and slightly intrusive way, came from the My name is Jim, and I’m in a lot of pain! side of Carrey that has always fudged up his star image. This wasn’t Carrey the loose-cannon cutup, who can be bitingly honest and hilarious at the same time. It was Carrey the devoted therapy-head, the man of fractured identity who wears his insecurities on his sleeve. Carrey, of course, may well have been in high therapeutic mode following the breakup of his five-year relationship with Jenny McCarthy. But that intensely publicized split didn’t necessarily make him the ideal candidate to be handing out freelance marital advice.
A day later, trying to soften his comments, Carrey tweeted once again, making it clear that he in no way condoned Tiger Woods’ infidelity. (When you have to clarify that, you’re trying to spin yourself out of a muddy ditch.) And then, to lighten the mood, he added: “So, you guys probably don’t feel like talkin’ about Sandra Bullock, right? I’M KIDDING! JEEEZE! I’m a little on edge. Cut me some slack!” Which would probably have been flat-out funny if you saw Carrey say it in person on a talk show. But over-the-type sarcastic hyperbole has a way of not translating quite so perfectly into electronic tweets. I read that comment and thought: Whoa, he really does sound a little on edge. When you think about it, Jim Carrey may be the last celebrity on earth who should become a Twitter addict. His personality is too large to be accommodated by tweets. A tweet gives you the words, and with Carrey you want to hear the music, see the face, watch the comments unfold on that Silly Putty tablet screen. For the right celebrity, Twitter can be liberating. For the wrong one, it’s like seeing someone get trapped in the telegram they just sent.
So what did you think of Jim Carrey’s comments? And do you now want to hear celebrities tweet their every thought…or not?
He did kinda have a point though….no woman whose husband philanders that much over a period of YEARS can be completely clueless; she had to suspect something. I think he was wrong to say she was a willing participant for the ride or whatever, but Elin at some point one more than one occasion HAD to suspect Tiger was stepping out on her. The amount of women may have come as a total shock, but she had to have at least suspected he was or had cheated on her
I hate Twitter. Bunch of goddamn narcissists.
Agreed.
Well, now Carey has a bunch of people, mainly women, thinking he’s a jerk. Even if what he said is true, he didn’t expound enough on what he might have meant by it all. Or maybe he did. Anyways, big mistake.
I am a woman and I don`t think Jim is a jerk. He is right. To many women for someone not to know something. Some people can`t take the truth. Jim Carey don`t stop telling it the way it really is. I Love It….
I agree with Jim. How can a woman not know that her husband is a philanderer to the extent that Tiger was/is? I think what people got the most bent out of shape about what Jim’s comment about women not staying at home. I think people read way too much into that one line. Jim didn’t elaborate on it, and it can be taken in many ways.
Jim Carrey is a hypocritical tool. I would tweet this but I don’t have one of those twitter boxes.
This is fine, but let’s not spend too much of our energy worrying about nonsense sentences uttered by celebrities using numbers for words. Really, who gives a ….
Good one. Did you actually count out the number of characters, because that was pretty funny.
Of course she was suspicious. That’s why she was checking out his cell phone and caught him, hence the chasing with the golf club, or whatever caused his accident that started this whole thing. Unlike Sandra, Elin knew before we did. But suspecting infidelity is very different than being a willing participant. Clearly once she knew for sure, she was no longer along for the ride.
Absolutely Teresa, you’re right. Elin was a “willing participant” simply because Cary THINKS she should have realized SOMETHING? Come on. It’s not for us to judge whether she ‘should’ have realized ‘something’ earlier or not. She trusted her husband, and her husband must have been away on extended trips on awful lot too – a man who is living away from home as much as he is probably wouldn’t find it too hard to cheat on his wife without her finding out.
I don’t know why he’s getting so much crap for his comment. I completely agree with him. Either Elin is the world’s dumbest person or she turned a blind eye to Tiger’s cheating because she likes her lifestyle too much. After all, how could any person with any sort of dignity remain with such a scumbag. It’s not like there was one incident. Tiger cheated with numerous skanky women. Have some pride, Elin, and move on with your life (see also Sandra Bullock).
Also, Tiger is not attractive, he has zero personality, and he plays golf, which is the world’s lamest “sport” if you can even call it that. You can do better, Elin. Get out while you’re still young and get some self-esteem.
I so totally agree with JPX- on all counts. Jim Carrey just voiced his honest opinion- sorry if some women got offended. And Tiger is unattractive- especially in character. He’s a foul-mouthed, narcissist who thinks the world revolves around him.
Totally agree
I agree with JPX too. I think if you get to marry a billionaire and all the good that comes with that, you are selling your soul a bit for these kinds of things. You accept and turn a blind eye so that you can fly in a private jet, live in an amazing house, get spa days and personal trainers, and buy anything you could ever want. But you get an absentee, cheating husband. I’m not saying EVERYONE is like that, I’m saying you have to expect it because it probably will be. And I also agree w/ Tiger’s unattractiveness…he’s so asexual to me that only w/ his money and fame could he get so much tail (of course, it really wasn’t tail worth having).
Well, they aren’t famous because they’re smart.
Kevin Smith comes to mind here, big time. His recent twitter tantrum over all the bad reviews he recieved for COP OUT has damaged him terribly. And it’s funny but he too tried to issue a couple mea culpa’s through twitter a few days later after the press cruxified him (and rightly so) for his blistering attacks. First he tried to play it off as some joke, then he kinda apologized about in on his blog. In either case, Kevin Smith comes off as creepy as he ever was and no thanks to twitter. toxic stuff if you’re a celebrity.
I agree with Jim Carrey. And for the record, I dont think Ms. Bullock was in the dark either.
Carrey’s comments were insensible and unnecessary. Either he was seducing us — successfully — into his own unique way of provisional publicity stunt, or on his own he simply got too much of free time. To me, it wouldn’t be of any service either were he to do it all in person instead of twittering it – either way it looks uncivil still, as in my book.
Who cares? Really.
I’ve always liked Jim Carrey, but it is a comedown when folks that you like turn out to be jerks. “Tiger Woods owes nothing 2 anyone but himself”. Really? The man is married and has a child. Of course he owes something to those two. Whether Elin had any idea or not, it is irrelevant. Tiger is the sleazy one; the serial adulterer. I really get tired of people that blame the victim.
Amen. Thanks, FooBotz. It’s not for us to speculate whether we think Elin ‘should’ have realized – and it’s irrelevant whether she realized earlier or not, he was still cheating on her.
I thought Jim Carrey had more class than that.
So did I. (I also thought the commenters on EW had more class than to jump on the ‘blame the victim, what did she expect with a celebrity husband?’ bandwagon).
if Elin was a “willing participant” she wouldn’t have gone after him with a golf club in the middle of the night, he’s a pro athlete who does endorsements, he’s gone a lot and has a lot of opportunity to cheat without her knowing about it, she may have suspected he was cheating for awhile, but to say she approved is absurd and a little sexist
Totally agree. Who’s to say Elin didn’t suspect? Was she supposed to immediately run to the press and say “I think my husband is cheating on me”? She probably hoped she was wrong & when she got the proof, took action.
Maybe, but getting pissed when you get confirmation is a natural reaction. But she hasn’t divorced him for it, no real action has been taken. What, “separating” so he can go to rehad for his “sex addiction”…all a publicity stunt. They are both getting coached big time. It’s one thing to cheat, and all a whole other thing to do what Tiger was doing. If she stays, she’s a definite willing participant.
Ruby: Choosing to stay & put up with it (the possibility of him cheating again in the future) doesn’t make Elin a ‘willing participant.’ She hardly WANTS him to cheat. Calling her a ‘willing participant’ excuses Woods from all guilt if/when he does cheat again.
Wbere is our society going when we cannot have free speech.. Jim or anybody else can say whatever they want. But I happen to agree with what he says, because as a married woman who’s poor(imagine my resources if I money) I would at least have to acknowledge that something is wrong..also same with Sandra but it’s not my business but I can say whatever I want and I hate twitter just another way to get or know someone’s else’s business. Let’s remember, would we like it if someone knew our business and decided to twitter about it. Fess up I know I wouldn’t but I cannot deny you the right to say it! Jim go back Jenny you never would say anything too foolish with her.. hey that’s just my opinion.
Dont care about Tiger, dont care about Carreys opinion of Tiger. I’m still mad over you giving the same grade to Transformers 2 as you did to Goodfellas and Shutter Island!
lmao, Butters, that is great!