Anyone who's worked in a restaurant will know how intense it can be, especially in the kitchen. Itβs hot, the cooks are stressed, someoneβs always yelling about something and dishes, well, sometimes they end up broken. In upscale restaurants the pressure is even higher, so when this chef began to explain how he turned his kitchen around to be more harmonious and less chaotic, I stopped to listen.
In this short two-minute video, Chef Eric Ripert, who was trained in France, explains the toxic and abusive training he received that molded the way he worked. When he was in charge of his current restaurant, he simply repeated the abusive pattern. He tells Entrepreneur that he had been yelled at, had dishes thrown to the floor and was even punched in the shoulder. While Ripert says he has never physically assaulted his staff, he did admit to being verbally abusive and throwing dishes. He also noted that not only was his staff miserable but he was as well, and something had to change.
Coming to the realization that misery indeed enjoyed company, he decided to turn things around. No more yelling and certainly no more throwing dishes in the kitchen that he ran. Ripert leaned into kindness and patience to reach a place of mutual respect with the other staff. The new system isnβt perfect because people are human, and in a high stress environment, tempers can flare. But Ripert has a solution for those human moments: apologies.
We could all learn a thing or two from this chefβs transformation and surely his kitchen staff is thankful for the shift in environment.
Nearly 50 years after Sacheen Littlefeather endured boos and abusive jokes at the Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is issuing a formal apology. In 1973, Littlefeather refused Marlon Brando's Best Actor Oscar on his behalf for his iconic role in βThe Godfatherβ at the ceremony to protest the film industryβs treatment of Native Americans.
She explained that Brando "very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award, the reasons for this being β¦ the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee."
Littlefeather is a Native American civil rights activist who was born to a Native American (Apache and Yaqui) father and a European American mother.
The unexpected surprise was greeted with a mixture of applause and boos from the audience and would be the butt of jokes told by presenters, including Clint Eastwood. Littlefeather later said that John Wayne attempted to assault her backstage.
"A lot of people were making money off of that racism of the Hollywood Indian," Littlefeather told KQED. "Of course, theyβre going to boo. They don't want their evening interrupted."
The Academy is apologizing for what she endured with βan evening of conversation, reflection, healing, and celebration with Littlefeatherβ on September 17, 2022, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, it announced on its blog.
"The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified," former Academy president David Rubin wrote in a letter to Littlefeather, CNN reports. "The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration."
Littlefeather said in a statement that the event is "a dream come true" and joked that βwe Indians are very patient peopleβit's only been 50 years! We need to keep our sense of humor about this at all times. It's our method of survival."
Itβs sure to be a cathartic evening for Littlefeather.
"People don't realize what my experience was. They had absolutely no ideaβnoneβof what my experience was, what I went through," Littlefeather told the Academy. "And now, I'm here to tell my story the way that it was from my point of view, from my experience."
\u201cAcademy apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather over 1973 Marlon Brando Oscar controversy https://t.co/rwR0MTLO0F\u201d
βIt feels like the sacred circle is completing itself before I go in this life,β Littlefeather, 75, added. βIt feels like a big cleanse, if you will, of mind, body, and spirit, and of heart. It feels that the truth will be known. And it feels like the creator is being good to me.β
Brando passed away in 2014 but would probably be excited for Littlefeatherβs long overdue apology. Three months after she refused the award on his behalf, he explained his rationale for rejecting the Oscar on βThe Dick Cavett Show.β The interview was historic because Brando was known for avoiding the media, it was also far ahead of its time given the climate in Hollywood surrounding people of color in 1973.
"I felt that there was an opportunity," Brando calmly told Cavett about the awards ceremony. "Since the American Indian hasn't been able to have his voice heard anywhere in the history of the United States, I felt that it was a marvelous opportunity for an Indian to be able to voice his opinion to 85 million people, I guess that was the number. I felt that he had a right to, in view of what Hollywood has done to him."
βThe Godfatherβ star then expanded his thoughts on representation to include all people of color.
βI don't think people realize what the motion picture industry has done to the American Indian, and as a matter of fact, all ethnic groups. All minorities. All non-whites,β he said. βSo when someone makes a protest of some kind and says, 'No, please don't present the Chinese this way.' ... On this network, you can see silly renditions of human behavior. The leering Filipino houseboy, the wily Japanese or the kook or the gook. The idiot Black man, the stupid Indian. It goes on and on and on, and people actually don't realize how deeply these people are injured by seeing themselves representedβnot the adults, who are already inured to that kind of pain and pressure, but the children. Indian children, seeing Indians represented as savage, as ugly, as nasty, vicious, treacherous, drunkenβthey grow up only with a negative image of themselves, and it lasts a lifetime.β
Hollywood is still far from ideal when it comes to being truly representative of America at large. But it is miles ahead of where it was in 1973 when the film industry, including some of its biggest stars, was outwardly hostile toward the idea of representation.
The Academyβs public apology should give some closure to Littlefeather and provide hope to countless others. Because when an industry honestly confronts its past mistakes, it makes a promise that itβll be less likely to commit them in the future.
Sometimes we just want a bit of laughter in our lives and this clip from "Celebrity Family Feud" where Kristin Chenoweth goes head to head with Kathy Najimy hits the spot.
The two women were competing against each other for their respective charities and the stage was set for some wholesome fun. But the round started off with an extremely awkward bit of hilarity when Chenoweth gave her first answer on "After the lips, what's your favorite part of a man to kiss?"
"Rhymes with heinous," Chenoweth said to a stunned reaction from the contestants. It even momentarily left host Steve Harvey speechless and the show bleeped out her answer. Because, as the name clearly implies, this is a family show!
In fairness, Chenoweth's answer wasn't nearly as racy as it sounded. Harvey and Najimy's faces displayed what everyone was thinking before the other contestants weighed in. Of course, the whole episode wasn't about Chenoweth, it was full of chuckle-worthy moments as Harvey asked each contestant the same question. When Mona Najimy answered the question with "chest," Harvey quipped back, "That'll get you a new car Ms. Mona." The fun didn't stop there.
Watch the clip below:
While Chenoweth was the first to toss out an inappropriate answer for the host, Najimy did the same, leaving the host dumbfounded. But it's all in good fun for a good cause. Najimy's team won the round and thanks to the two actors, the internet won this hilarious gem.
A video of a man introducing his new puppy to the neighborhood cat is a wonderful piece of optimism. Why? Because the man shows he believes that if we make an effort, even natureβs fiercest enemiesβdogs and catsβcan get along.
Heck, itβs the type of thinking that could solve a lot of problems between humans as well. Maybe if we took some time to understand one another and get past negative stereotypes we could coexist without any trouble.
A TikTok user named Cheyenne caught the βpure momentβ on video and says she hasnβt βstopped smiling since,β she captioned the video. After she posted the video it received more than 7.7 million views and 1.4 million likes.
It even caught the attention of the dogβs owner who commented on the video as Tedβs Dad.
βI should point out that I had petted the cat first and assessed how this might turn out. Ted is 4 months old and has been introduced to cats before,β he commented.
βHope you enjoyed the video! Sorry if itβs intrusive but the moment was too sweet not to record! Glad it found its way to you! Ted is lovely,β Cheyenne responded.
According to Ted's Dad, his dog is a woodle, which, according to Wag Walking, is βa hybrid designer dog that is created by mixing the Welsh Terrier with the Poodle.β Woodles are known for being βloving,β βcaringβ dogs who are exceptionally calm. Given the dogβs temperament, itβs no wonder Tedβs Dad thought itβd be OK to introduce him to the cat.
