> From AVN.com: Kim Hicks of adult production company Inner City Squad has launched a petition against Kick Ass Pictures' upcoming release Nappy-Headed Ho's, accusing Kick Ass president Mark Kulkis of racism.
"As an African-American woman and business owner, I find it completely
offensive, racist and totally exploitive that Kick Ass Pictures has
released a DVD entitled Nappy Headed Ho's," Hicks said.
"This sends a message loud and clear to African-Americans that racism is alive and kicking and Mark Kulkis has the audacity to gain profit from this
outright racism."
Hicks is calling for members of the African-American adult community
to boycott Kick Ass Pictures by refusing to provide the company with
production services or talent until the movie is removed from the
marketplace.
Kulkis set off the controversy when he announced earlier this week
that Kick Ass Pictures planned to donate a portion of the Nappy
profits to radio personality Don Imus, who was fired by CBS radio
April 12 for referring to the Rutgers University women's basketball
team as "nappy headed ho's."
"We see this as a free speech issue," Kulkis said. "As an adult media
company, we're especially defensive of free speech. Don Imus is a
loudmouth and perhaps a bigot. However, CBS Radio was hypocritical in
hiring Imus to be blunt and outspoken, then firing him for the same
reason. Fellow broadcast personalities Ann Coulter and Pat Robertson
spew anti-gay slurs, yet they are not fired by their networks."
Hicks told AVN.com that she has collected 40 signatures since posting
her anti-Nappy petition online this morning at www.petitiononline.com/nappydvd.
"I would like Mark to pull this release from the marketplace," Hicks
said. "I think he knows better. This really crosses the line; I hope
he will see that it's not agreeable to the African-American community,
and it's not fair to the very people that work for him."
Kulkis told AVN.com that he would not cease distribution and promotion
of the DVD.
"The overwhelming response I've gotten from everyone is that this is
funny as hell, and that's the spirit in which it was intended," he
said. "I have no intentrion of pulling it. I'd also point out that in
Imus' case he was using the term 'nappy-headed' toward a girls'
basketball team. But the girls in this video actually are ho's - they
have sex for money on camera, which is the dictionary definition of
'ho,' and they all have the definition of nappy hair. There's no
derogatory intent with this movie."
Kick Ass Pictures' press release for the movie has received
considerable media attention, and Kulkis has posted links to the
articles at www.kickass.com/news.
"I was on a Chicago radio show yesterday called the "Stan and Terry
Show on WCKG FM; it's a CBS radio station, which is ironic given that
CBS fired Imus," Kulkis said. "Both the hosts are black, and they have
no problem with it at all. They realized that basically this was a fun
publicity campaign; the overall intent is to poke a hole in the
stuffiness of political correctness, because the fact of the matter is
that over the years Imus has insulted many and various groups of
people of different ethnicities and lifestyles, and this is the one he
got fired for. Why is insulting one group worse than insulting
another?"
Hicks insists that the movie "is merely a stunt to gain financially at
the expense of African-Americans."
"I am appalled and surprised that Mark Kulkis would step so low to
make money," Hicks said.
Kulkis responded, "As for it being a stunt, I'm not going to hide
that- it's intended to be a humorous publicity stunt. As for it being
at the expense of African-Americans, I don't know what reasoning is
behind that idea; anyone in the movie got paid for time and services,
and I don't think it's encouraging any kind of negative stereotypes.
Look at all the movies the industry releases every year with words
like 'ho's' and 'bitches' – putting 'nappy-headed' in front of the
title makes mine worse, even though these girls have the hairstyle?
"It's easy to twist this stuff around," Kulkis said. "People need to
lighten up and take it in the spirit in which it's intended."
