Interview Showdown: Ted Turner 1, Publicist 0

Nobody tells Ted Turner to shush, and that goes double for his publicist. While being interviewed by Wil Hylton for GQ's 50th anniversary issue, the mouthy media billionaire had the following choice words for his flack after being reminded of his time constraints:

PUBLICIST: We have eight minutes left.

TURNER: ALL RIGHT! SHUT UP!

PUBLICIST: So move on to other topics.

TURNER: I DON'T NEED YOU FOR THAT! YOU'RE JUST AN OLD PUSSY! YOU'RE JUST AN OLD PUSSY! YOU'RE JUST A LITTLE MOTHER HEN. [in falsetto] "WE'VE GOTTA DO THIS! WE'VE GOTTA DO THAT!" [back to regular voice] THIS IS IMPORTANT! THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT!

Clearly not one to be muzzled, Turner also flouted his publicist's request not to be asked about anything "negative" -- i.e. Bush, the Iraq war ("This is Rupert's war") -- and extended the interview three times to sound off on a number of different issues, including:

Iran:

The Iranians don't intimidate! They're like the Vietnamese and the Iraqis. You want to start a war with them? They'll still be fighting in fifty years! They believe if they die in warfare, they get forty virgins in heaven. The Christians don't get that! We have more incentive to live, because we don't know what we're getting, you know? Our idea of heaven is lots of hymns, and theirs is lots of sex! The risk-reward thing is skewed the wrong way.

His wealth:

I lost 80 percent of my wealth and then gave away over half of the rest. So I'm a man of modest means now. But if you budget carefully and watch your expenditures, you can get by on a couple billion dollars. You know, you don't have to have twenty billion. You can squeeze by with a couple billion.

And of course, animals:

The sad thing about destroying the environment is that we're going to take the rest of life with us. The bluebirds will be gone, and the elephants will be gone, and the tigers will be gone, and the pandas will be gone. I don't like the idea of losing pandas or crocodiles or alligators. I just...you know, I think they're cool. I like snakes. I like hummingbirds. There's nothing on earth I don't like. Frogs. Salamanders. The bunnies, the giraffes, the hippopotamuses.

Comments

[Snakeback]

Ted doesn't know anything about Iraqis or Muslims. His comments are inflammatory. He is obviously prejudiced and isn't even aware of it.

Or as Dilbert lamented: "When did ignorance become a point of view?"

It must be tough getting by on just a couple of billion. I thought that was him I saw on the bus headed for the soup line...

His statement on the environment sounds like he thinks he's helpless to do anything about it, like "I'm sorry we're killing everything, but oh, well..."

At least he's proving you don't have to be smart to be rich.

[meandmagoo]

It would be really nice if Ted would come back in meaningful way and soon.

[cynicalintell]

Ted, COME BACK!!! PLEEEAAASSSEEE!!! We miss you, and, as an article goes, very enjoyable. I think your spot-on in your assessments, so why, again, did you leave us?

[Plowboy]

Ted is an ass. But as asses go, he's not such a bad ass.
He doesn't know a lot about Islam so his comments regarding muslim are BS. His values, his respect for the human rights of others and his honesty are things this country needs great doses of.
Overall, Ted is a good ass.
Would that he were still the mnedia influence he once was. Adventavit asinus pulcher et fortissimus. We miss you, Ted.

[OtayPanky]

dryfactoid­obotanoid: the Buddha claimed that an expansive mindset of generosity is the karmic cause of wealth.

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Buddha also taught that it was an exercise in futility for unenlightened beings (like you and me) to draw direct lines of karmic cause and effect.

Interestingly, Jesus taught the exact same thing.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

that's true, but only in specifics, not in general

for example: patience is the karmic cause of beauty, generosity the karmic cause of wealth, fairness the karmic cause of power and influence, studying the karmic cause of intelligence.

but karma is extremely complex in its specific workings. the Buddha did warn against investigating it too much, that way leads to madness.

[OtayPanky]

dryfactoid­obotanoid: but karma is extremely complex in its specific workings. the Buddha did warn against investigating it too much, that way leads to madness.

===

Exactly so.

Moreover, there are plenty of wealthy and powerful people who got their wealth and power the old-fashioned way: by stomping on others.

Then, with their blood money, they become philanthropists.

So any discussion that attempts to apply karmic causality to a specific individual is hubristic from the getgo.

As with so many topics that are currently obscure, we'll be able to have a good and useful discussion about this AFTER we're Buddhas.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

"I lost 80 percent of my wealth and then gave away over half of the rest. So I'm a man of modest means now. But if you budget carefully and watch your expenditures, you can get by on a couple billion dollars. You know, you don't have to have twenty billion. You can squeeze by with a couple billion."

sounds like a good attitude for a billionaire.

the Buddha claimed that an expansive mindset of generosity is the karmic cause of wealth.