People Are Saying Ace Ventura Pet Detective Is ‘Transphobic’
There could be trouble on the horizon for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective as viewers have branded the 1994 movie transphobic. The once beloved comedy stars Jim Carrey as the haphazard pet detective who is dragged into a tale of mammals and murder.
Also including the likes of Courteney Cox and NFL star Dan Marino, Ace Ventura became a cult classic and spawned 1995’s Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. However, its Sean Young’s part as Lt. Lois Einhorn/Roy Finkle that has raised a few eyebrows.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Joe Rogan claims that Ace Ventura is “super transphobic”. Discussing the movie with New York Times writer Bari Weiss, Rogan said he’d make the “mistake” of watching Ace Ventura with his 8-year-old and 10-year-old kids. He explained, “I didn’t realise how transphobic that f**king movie is”.
For those who haven’t watched Ace Ventura, the movie’s big twist exposes Young’s Einhorn as a transgender woman and vengeful murderer. When Einhorn revealed as the scorned Roy Finkle, there’s a scene of several police officers vomiting in their precinct. Rogan continued, “All the cops are throwing up… It’s off the charts. Everyone is freaking out. It is so insanely transphobic”.
Weiss added, “When I saw that movie, I was 10. Transphobia was not a thing. Now it is a thing. That’s good. That’s good news”.
Just like Friends, some people are accusing Ace Ventura of not aging particularly well. Kathleen Turner famously called out NBC’s hit comedy for her role as Charles Bing. Appearing in a handful of episodes as Chandler’s estranged father, Turner blasted the show’s attitude to transgender culture.
Although you might not agree with Rogan and Wiess, plenty of viewers took to Twitter to express their own thoughts on Ace Ventura‘s controversial ending. Some applauded the pair for discussing the issue, while others disagreed that Einhorn was even a transgender character.
At the very least it’s homophobic. Ventura re-enacts the shower scene from The Crying Game — a film about a transwoman — as a response to having kissed a man he thought was a woman. And it’s played for laughs. Grim.
— BitchesAgainstBrexit (@BitchesvBrexit) March 7, 2019
Have you ever rewatched a movie from your childhood and realized shit is not only unfunny but hella offensive? Wtf? Why was I allowed to watch Ace Ventura?
— Steph ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ (@saystomabel) March 11, 2018
Blazing Saddles was deliberately lampooning the concept of racism. The racism was deliberate shock humour to subvert your own expectations.
Ace Ventura is “OMG LAUGH AT THE TRANS PERSON LOL HOW GROSS”
— Ben Smooker (@DragonNexus) March 8, 2019
@joerogan I read an article about Ace Ventura today in which you were unhappy about the movie and so called transphobia in it. The character played by Sean Young was not trans. He was man hiding as a woman to exact his revenge. Lighten up it wasn’t about gender discrimination.
— Paul Methven (@ktowndaddyo) March 4, 2019
Seen something about people rewatching Ace Ventura and getting offended over the trans part of it
This has to stop, its getting pathetic now, it’s almost like these groups are watching things hoping to be offended and then gobbing off
It’s getting rammed down our throats ?
— Scouse Colossus (@ScouseColossus) March 8, 2019
Watching both Ace Ventura movies back, it’s easy to see why they haven’t aged as well as Warner Bros. might’ve hoped. As well as slapstick toilet humour, some of the scenes can be a little uncomfortable to watch. Unlike When Nature Calls‘ rhino birth scene, openly mocking a transgender woman isn’t quite as funny.
[Featured Image: Warner Bros.]
