I saw this last week and I sort of expected it to go away, but… well, I was way off base.

Mr. T was recently in a Snickers commercial in the UK where he basically fires Snickers bars at a male speed walker, telling him to “run like a man.” When I first heard the news story, they mentioned it was being pulled because “Get Some Nuts” as a slogan wasn’t going over too well with Brits. I could see that – it’s way edgy for the US and certainly cheeky in UK terms – but what followed the viewing “world wide” was a bit shocking…

Mr. T was being criticized for being homophobic because of the commercial…

What the bloody fuck is wrong with this picture?

The commercial in question can be seen here on YouTube.

Now, based off that, I don’t get it. Is the walker gay? Maybe. Who can say? He’s not holding a woman or man’s hand and he’s certainly not doing anything sexual. So why assume the walker is gay? Feminine? Possibly, but again: the only certain way to know if a man is gay is if he’s having sex with men – that’s not happening here, so why assume it? On top of that, when you pop over to YouTube, there’s a bunch of other Snickers commercials that have similar bits, including one with a soccer player.

So I’m not buying it.

That said, Mr. T was on the O’Reilly Factor about this “uproar from the gay community” and gay rights activists… that’s also on YouTube but the transcript is just as good as the video:

“To Whom it May Concern: Let my record speak for me. I am not homophobic. I am not a gay basher. I didn’t say anything that was negative nor derogatory nor disrespectful nor malicious and I would never do a commercial if I thought it was offensive to anyone. Bill, speed walking is an Olympic sport and that’s the way speed walkers walk. And the phrase ‘Gets Some Nuts’ refers to Snickers candy bars having more peanuts.”

And to that I say, something that I’d never thought I’d have to say in the 1990’s much less the 2000’s: props to Mr. T.

Thanks for reminding this nation just how far we’ve come in supporting “offensiveness” and “political correctness” – and how hard we’ve worked to lose our fucking sense of humor.

Just because you’re offended by something, it doesn’t mean that you can expect me to change my behavior to accommodate your feelings.