Is it rude to tell somebody else that they're being rude?
By Boingboing
@boiboing (13153)
Northampton, England
January 13, 2016 1:55am CST
This must be the question that Jennifer Lawrence is asking herself after she's been getting a lot of trouble over pulling up a reporter for asking her questions whilst playing with his phone at the Golden Globes.
Half the world (at least those who have any opinion) are like me - cheering her on and shouting "You go girl" at the screen when we watch the clip in which she points out to an interviewer that he should stop playing with his phone and start paying attention.
The other half are saying he had a 'foreign accent' (come on, a large proportion of Americans have 'foreign' accents these days) and they claim that she bullied or ridiculed him. Mind you, I suspect those same people just resent Jennifer L's stunning success and are looking for something to pick her up on. I doubt they have the slightest idea who the journalist even was.
In my book the guy was rude. He should have given a multiple award winning actress the effort and respect of looking at her when he spoke to her instead of playing with his phone. Heck, he should have given any person - famous or not, male or female - that respect. Did he have the question written on his phone? I don't care! No excuse! It's simple manners. You want rudeness at the Golden Globes? That's what Ricky Gervais is there for and getting paid to deliver.
So now it seems that a lot of people think it's OK for the journalist to be rude but not for Jennifer Lawrence to point it out. I hope those same people don't have kids in school who cheek their teachers because I believe their role is to tell people that they're out of line. Jennifer Lawrence - like her or not and I love her - is a role model to young women around the world. She's telling them they're worth more than a guy who won't look at them because he's fiddling with his phone.
If as people say the guy had to read his question, I have to ask whether someone without the language skills to ASK a question had the skills to understand the answer and should have even held a press pass.
And some people think she was really rude
20 people like this
24 responses
@WorDazza (15830)
• Manchester, England
13 Jan 16
Your final paragraph is exactly what was going through my head when the suggestion was made that he may have been reading the question off his phone.
I think we all have a part to play in ridding the world of this rudeness. Just refuse to deal with anyone who isn't giving you their full attention. Shop-workers in particular have a huge amount of power here. If someone is on the phone just don't serve them until they've stopped. If employers backed up their employees in these situations then it would become socially unacceptable.
2 people like this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
13 Jan 16
No of course not. Oy! Are you listening to me? Put that phone down.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
13 Jan 16
@boiboing Ah catch 22! what if he is using his phone to respond? 
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
13 Jan 16
Our school band teacher hates bad concert etiquette. One time when she was introducing the next song the band would play, someone was wandering the aisles not really hurrying to their seat.. and she called them out and said "Take your time, we'll wait to get started" in a sort of snarky way. Then a bunch of the parents started saying things about her and how rude she was. Sometimes I worry about this world we live in where people think it's perfectly acceptable to stand in the aisles while a band concert is going on but it's not okay to tell that person to hurry up and find a seat!
1 person likes this
@HanVanMeegerin (1161)
• United States
13 Jan 16
@katsmeow1213 I'm glad you band teacher said something.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32748)
• Calgary, Alberta
13 Jan 16
People are so addicted to their phones that it is an automatic response for them to look at it every 30 minutes.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (342112)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jan 16
@CaptAlbertWhisker It's more like very 30 seconds.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (472084)
• Switzerland
13 Jan 16
The guy had to read the questions? This sounds so unprofessional, if he had to read the questions it seems that he was not even able to understand the answers. He has been rude and she was wright in pointing out. I hate people who play with their phones while they are talking to you.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32748)
• Calgary, Alberta
13 Jan 16
I think there is nice way to call out people on their bad behavior in a way you will still be seen as a nice person. It is up to how you will use words. I think I am a celebrity, I will try to avoid offending a media person even if they were rude but I will make sure their rudeness will shine through so people will see the subhuman that they are.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
13 Jan 16
I don't keep up with any kind of celebrity news. I think anyone, famous or not, who calls someone out on rude behavior? They should be applauded. I don't know whether the reporter had to look at q cards or what, but he should have been prepared. If he was struggling because of a language barrier? He shouldn't have been picked to do the interview.
@CookieMonster46 (13454)
• United States
13 Jan 16
There has been some take the reporter was getting the question translated for him, don't really know.
@CookieMonster46 (13454)
• United States
13 Jan 16
@boiboing I did, maybe not that bad, but maybe he needed help with questions , you just never know.
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
13 Jan 16
I think reminding people proper social etiquette is not rude, it's called being assertive.
What's rude is..say nothing to the person, but badmouthing it like mad behind the person. that's rude. And I hope that's not what our society is encouraging.
I'd hope assertiveness is supported, and backbiting is not.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
13 Jan 16
I had to do this one to a client. I was trying to talk to her and tell her what was wrong with her computer. She seemed to try and finish all my sentences and never stopped talking. she interrupted on everything I had to say. I very politely told her that I needed her to listen to me and let me finish talking. I also explained to her when I was raised I was taught to talk, listen, and not interrupt when another person talked. I needed to wait my turn. She was slightly embarrassed but she did say she knows she has this bad habit and thanked me for pointing it out to her. Wow I wondered how she had gotten along all those years being like that.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (342112)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jan 16
How anyone can think it is okay to play with a phone while interacting in any way with someone is beyond me.
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
13 Jan 16
Unless they are actually talking to the other person about something they've seen or showing them a photo or article then there's no reason for a phone to be in a conversation.
@HanVanMeegerin (1161)
• United States
13 Jan 16
@boiboing I didn't see this, but it does seem rude as you describe it so I guess Ms. Lawrence was right to point it out
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
13 Jan 16
Sorry - of course not everybody has seen it. I just added the link in case you want to. What's really noticeable to me is that the guy is laughing very warmly when she ticks him off. I don't have the impression he is offended but loads of other people are taking offence on his behalf - which is just annoying.
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
13 Jan 16
I would have challenged him over the phone so can't blame the actress for doing so either
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
13 Jan 16
if he wanted to ask her a question, then yeah, he needed to put down the cell, that was very rude.
@Marilynda1225 (83109)
• United States
13 Jan 16
Cell phones and rude behavior seem to go hand in hand these days
@TypicalRussian (747)
• Budennovsk, Russian Federation
13 Jan 16
sometimes it is really necessary to tell people about their rudeness and arrogance. the reporter should have prepared well
@paigea (36315)
• Canada
13 Jan 16
I just did an evaluation at a business where I had to ask the employee a list of questions to see if they responded correctly. I read them off a paper and as they were replying I was checking my written response to see if they were hitting their points. I am sure some people bring that list up on their phone or tablet when they do this job. So, IMHO using the phone in place of a paper in that way is acceptable. I have no real opinion on the incident you describe as I don't know if that is what he was doing.
@dibz123 (136)
• Ireland
14 Jan 16
Yes that is really rude. If you are With someone you should concentrate on them and not your phone
