Getting Your Name Out There

Television actor Jason Wahler is the latest TV idiot to hurl racial and anti-gay epitaphs in a news worthy manner. Wahler was arrested in Seattle after a scuffle with a hotel security guard and an altercation with police that led him to use the n and the f words. This is the third such encounter for the 20 year old Wahler since September. Check out the police report at TMZ. What a loser. I can't believe this is someone that anyone, let alone our children, would be aspiring to emulate. This punk, who is apparently of Generation I (I for Idiot), should be the beaming example of the next generation's inclusivity and tolerance.

Instead, Wahler, who was to begin a 60 day jail sentence in May for punching a tow truck driver in L.A., has himself chosen to emulate the great Mel Gibson in his use of racial and anti-gay slurs. I wonder if he will blame it on alcoholism like Mel, or claim that he has a real "problem" like Isaiah Washington when he hurled the f word at fellow Grey's Anatomy co-star T.R. Knight. I guess Wahler will have to wait and see which avenue his publicist is going to take. Look really sad, Wahler. Get a tear in your eye if you can. That's what we really like in an apology.

With an-ever growing line of straight, male actors who are using racial and anti-gay epitaphs, I can't help but wonder if this isn't just a way to get your name out there. Maybe when you are getting on in years (Mel), competing with a cast more talented that yourself (Isaiah), or clinging to some TV series that won't be around in two years (Wahler), making the news by merely calling someone a f-- or a n----- just makes good sense. It is like free publicity, right?

Well, yes, but consider for a moment the consequences that come along with this kind of publicity. I, for one, will never again pay to see a Mel Gibson movie. In fact, if I could find a way to flood the market with pirated Gibson movies without going to jail, I would. Of course jail would be a remote possibly because Mel's movies generally suck and wouldn't sell very well. Back to my point though, getting publicity by being an ass does not have the same value as getting publicity by not being an ass. Mel has polarized the media and to some extent society in general. He will never again enjoy the success of Passion because he has lost a significant portion of his audience. Grey's Anatomy has enough compelling talent on the show to keep it going strong despite Isaiah Washington, but that leaves Wahler in the predicament of not have a significant following and not being on any show with compelling talent to take up the slack for his repulsive behavior. In Wahler's case, this kind of publicity could be a kiss of death.

We all like bad boys, so long as it is controlled bad boy fun. We like tattoos, motorcycles, and even the occasional scowl. What we don't like is when bad boy fun stops being fun. We don't like when telephones are thrown at hotel staff (Russell Crowe), camera men are insulted (Elton John), or when minors are killed needlessly in Beverly Hills car wrecks (Lance Garrison). Wahler's name calling, while not lethal, strays down the path of not-so-fun bad boy behavior. He's dispelled the myth and revealed himself to be ugly and stupid. Its hard to love ugly and stupid.

So for those aspiring actors trying to get your name out there, don't follow the example of Jason Wahler or the other Hollywood types that think any publicity is good publicity. The fact is, racial slurs and anti-gay name calling has gone the way of wearing stretch pants, sporting bandannas, and trashing your hotel room. If you want to be a great actor, concentrate on being a great actor.