Okay, it’s official: the trend of women on TV being “cheerfully dumb” has got to stop. Sherri “the world is flat” Shepherd (pictured, right), did you actually declare on The View earlier this week that Christianity predated everything–including Greek civilization? Kellie Pickler (pictured, left), did you actually say on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? that you thought Europe was a country and you’d never heard of Hungary? And are you both as pleased with the attention as you seem?
In a world where so many trailblazing, intelligent women—Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Katie Couric, take your pick—try to make the world a better place with brainpower, you’ve got to ask yourself: Do Sherri and Kellie have any humiliation threshold? Do they even realize how vacant they sound? While neither may be a natural-born genius, why is anyone who uses her time in the spotlight to be so unrelentingly dim rewarded with more spotlight? Shouldn’t any nitwit who comes off as 100 percent allergic to reading (books, news, maps, anything) be mocked all the way to the unemployment line? Or at least the remedial classroom where she belongs?
For the record, EW readers who point out that only one woman cracked the Top 10 on our own Hollywood’s Smartest People list make a valid observation, if you ask me; the rankings, hotly debated and meticulously researched right here inside EW headquarters, rate “impact” on our culture—and it’s worth debating why there aren’t more so-called "influential" women to highlight. But don’t kid yourself that Fifth Grader host Jeff Foxworthy’s condescending banter (Jeff: “Kellie, focus.” Kellie: “I’m listening to what you’re saying, but I only hear what I want to.” Jeff: “That’s just called being a woman.”) during the pitiful Pickler performance was merely harmless filler. Misogyny is a bitch, people, and it pops up wherever it’s welcome!
I’d love to hear other reactions to the celebration of the “cheerfully dumb.” Who thinks Sherri Shepherd and Kellie Pickler milk the dimwit persona for the attention? And while we’re at it, what can be done to stop them?
Pickler is mostly playing dumb – Sherri clearly is that, uh, unintelligent let’s call it.
Sherri is not playing. She’s dumb. And from a yesterday’s show homophobic.
What can we do to stop them? Stop watching the shows, buying the mags, giving them attention they don’t deserve.
I don’t know about Sherri, but I think Kellie is playing dumb, and I agree she should stop. Look at Jessica Simpson. She played dumb to keep herself famous, and now (1) everyone (including me) believes she really is dumb, and (2) no one takes her attempts at music or movies seriously or wants to spend money on them.
Playing dumb eventually comes back to bite you. As it should.
hey, it worked for paris, didn’t it?
I have no idea who Pickler is, but Sherri is clearly an honest-to-goodness idiot.
Let’s not forget Jessica Simpson, who has turned being the “dumb blonde” into a multi-million dollar industry (shoes, perfume, movies, etc). It’s all a bit pathetic and entirely predictable to me.
I am totally disgusted with Barbara Walters for hiring Sherri Shepherd. Who cares what her views are. It’s apparently that she is dim, cause who would want to intentionally sound so foolish? Sherri is an embarassment.
I was willing to give her a pass the transgendered kid stiff because no matter what I think, she’s entitled to her opinion. And I gave her the benefit of the doubt about the whole “world is flat” nonsense, just because I thought maybe she didn’t mean it the way she sounded. But this? Jesus came before the greeks? Christianity was around before all civilization? I can no longer deny it, Sheri Shepard is dumb as a box of rocks.
Pickler’s stupidity is cute and playful. Shepard’s is genuine ignorance and it’s disgusting she makes six-figures being a complete moron on national television.
If it’s an act, I like it. A little refreshing because too many smart women in a room is very “dull”.
Smart kids are funnier. See Alex and Jared from Kid Nation (below). “Pelvis has left the building!”
I’m not very familiar with either of these women, but I AM familiar with the “look at me, I’m so dumb and helpless” routine and it makes me want to puke. I believe that there are celebrities (and regular people) who mask their intelligence (however much they possess) because they think it makes them appealing to men. These women need to be enlightened! As for those women who really are completely clueless, we shouldn’t let them spout their opinions on television.
I agree with these comments. Kelly Pickler is not book smart, and may come off as flighty…but she is very young.
Shari is not just stupid but also ignorant….she is entitlted to her own opinion (and can raise her kids the way she sees fit i.e.transgendered) but she gives Christians a bad name.
I’m sorry, but EW celebrates the Reality Television genre that has infected our culture, and this is the result. Everyone who is complaining about these women playing dumb AND watches I Love Mew York, Bachelor, or any of that garbage, don’t complain now. This is what you deserve, and it’s not going to stop until you stop watching all of that nonsense.
I was so fired up, I misspelled New York. Lol!