The Daily BuzzBlogger Nikki Finke uses Mandela’s death to promote biopic, Twitter does not approve
Nikki Finke, entertainment journalist and founder (and recently ousted president) of Deadline, did what many high profile folks did last night: she tweeted about Nelson Mandela.
What made Finke's tweet stand out from the other moving tributes, however, was its unapologetic movie promotion:
R.I.P. Nelson Mandela, subject of Weinstein Co’s Idris Elba-starrer 'Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom' which opened Nov 29 and has awards buzz.
— Nikki Finke (@NikkiFinke) December 5, 2013
Immediate backlash ensued.
Instead of deleting the tweet or apologizing for any misjudgment, Finke defended her words — and even offered a quote from Harvey Weinstein about Mandela, making matters worse.
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Not long after Finke's tasteless tweet was posted, a #FinkeObits hashtag started trending.
RIP Frida Kahlo, whose biopic starring Salma Hayek was controversially overlooked for Best Picture at the 2003 Academy Awards. #FinkeObits — Anwen Hayward (@Kyatic) December 6, 2013
RIP Al Capone, without whom The Untouchables would never have been made #FinkeObits
— Doug Hovelson (@DougHovelson) December 6, 2013
RIP Johnny Cash, whose struggle with addiction and troubled family life brought the great Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar nod. #FinkeObits — Bill Sich (@bill_sich) December 5, 2013
RIP Princess Diana, whose death paved the way for Helen Mirren's Oscar but also inspired a mediocre Naomi Watts vehicle. #FinkeObits
— Mary Beth Williams (@embeedub) December 6, 2013
Read them all here.
Of course, some of the #FinkeObits tweets were directed at the woman who inspired the hashtag in the first place.
RIP Nikki Finke's time at Deadline, which almost was the subject of an HBO show starring Diane Keaton. #finkeobits — Terri Schwartz (@Terri_Schwartz) December 5, 2013
RIP Nikki Finke, who drowned in a flood of negative tweets for promoting Weinstein Company's Mandela biopic the day Mandela died #FinkeObits
— Omar Ponce (@TheOmarPonce) December 5, 2013
RIP Nikki Finke's credibility. #FinkeObits — AnnieWeismanMacomber (@mrsanniemac) December 5, 2013
Celebrating a man's life and promoting a movie are not — and should not ever be — the same thing. Make that mistake, and the Twitter-folk won't let you live it down.
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