Wow. Seriously…just wow.
I’ve been railing against the media for four years on this blog. You’d think in those four years, things would get better. You’d think the media would realize that celiac disease is serious shit and gluten-free is nothing to make fun of. You’d think the people writing these crappy scripts would understand that making fun of a “disease treatment” is simply not funny.
You’d think wrong. Completely effin’ wrong.
This week alone, we have had four separate media attacks on gluten-free. Let me rephrase that. We had 3 attacks and one “not sure what that was.” I took video of each segment, which you can view below. Sorry for the crappy quality. It matches the crappy quality of the TV shows and commercials.
And for those of you who think I should “lighten up”, I don’t wanna hear it. I can’t tell you the number of emails I received recently about the below items. This matters to many in the community. Don’t agree with me? You advocate your way…and I’ll advocate mine.
Ok, here we go. I will list them in order of least to most “what the f*ck…really???”
Audi calls gluten-free a trend…just like kale
This is a recent Audi ad. It likens gluten-free to kale and selfie sticks. No seriously…it really does. Why? Because Audi considers them all trendy. I consider the Audi marketing team to be a bunch of cretins. Personally, I think kale is awesome and will be around for a long time. Selfie sticks? Meh. Gluten-free? Unless they find a cure for celiac disease (yeah right), gluten-free is here to stay. So why did Audi include it? You’ll have to ask them. But by all means, please ask them. (Can’t see the video? Click here.)
Let Audi know how you feel about their “trendy” ad.
The Mysteries of Laura says everything worth eating has gluten in it
After dragging myself through this one episode, the “mystery” to me is how this show made it on the air. Wow…that was dreadful. Anyway, Debra Messing plays Laura Diamond, some kind of police person who I think has a crush on another police person while also solving crimes. How original. In this special episode, Laura offers a hungry child a half-eaten granola bar, but the mom says he can’t eat it because he’s diabetic, so he’s sugar-free and gluten-free. Laura, being the witty cop that she is, says “I tried that for a day. It turns out everything worth eating is chock full of gluten.” Ha ha ha ha ha. Man…tv sucks. (Can’t see the video? Click here.)
Let Mysteries of Laura know how you feel about their show.
Blue Bloods mentions celiac disease??????
Yes, I used a lot of question marks. This one is just bizarre. They actually handled it…what’s the word…gently? Or perhaps begrudgingly? If you don’t know the back story, Jennifer Esposito, an actress and fellow celiac, had a large part on the show, but was kicked off in 2012. The reason? They wanted her to work more hours than her contract called for, and because she was quite ill due to her celiac disease, she couldn’t. So they fired her. You can read the whole disgusting story here and here. So I just found the idea that they would bring celiac disease into the script…peculiar. And again, they didn’t make fun of gluten-free so it’s not like I can slam the writers. Was it ignorance? An acknowledgment to Jennifer? A subtle dig??? I’m lost here. What do you think? (Can’t see the video? Click here.)
Do you think this was an odd choice or in poor taste? Let Blue Bloods know.
Grandfathered thinks poisoning people is funny
I saved the worst for the last. And this one is just nauseating. Yes, even more revolting than the show itself, if that’s possible. John Stamos, the ageless wonder, plays a restaurateur named Jimmy. In this HYSTERICAL scene, the chef comes over and asks Jimmy to try his new “gluten-free pappardelle”. Jimmy likes it and asks what’s in it. You know what the chef says? “GLUTEN. TONS OF GLUTEN. IT’S BASICALLY NOTHING BUT GLUTEN.” I have no words for this one. What the hell is funny about this? How this makes it from script to production without one person realizing how damaging this can be to our community is beyond me. Since I don’t have any words..perhaps you can be my voice. Your thoughts? (Can’t see the video? Click here.)
Let Grandfathered know what a bunch of a**holes they are.
So there you have it. What a week. What a disaster. What a huge step backwards for celiac awareness.
Maybe the writers don’t know that untreated celiac disease can be life threatening; that celiacs are more likely to be afflicted with problems relating to malabsorption, including osteoporosis, tooth enamel defects, central and peripheral nervous system disease, pancreatic disease, internal hemorrhaging, organ disorders (gall bladder, liver, and spleen), and gynecological disorders; that untreated celiac disease has also been linked an increased risk of certain types of cancer, especially intestinal lymphoma. (source: Center for Celiac Research)
Maybe they don’t know that undiagnosed celiac disease can quadruple the risk of death. (source: Mayo Clinic)
Or maybe they know…and they don’t care.
I guess the joke is on us.
P.S. I received the following email last night. It hits home.
“Thanks for yelling at the media. As one of those who was bullied as a child, by the popular kids of course, it really sucks when your favorite television character gives a “gluten free punch line”. It’s not so much the lines themselves, but rather the vast amounts of them. Everywhere. Like all those innocent comments, that teachers didn’t think mattered. But each time you feel like you matter a little bit less. Are a little less human than they are. In other words, I have this not-so-strange fear that society is teaching children that it’s okay to bully children who are gf. As well as teaching gf children that they’ll have to quietly accept it. We all deserve better than that.”
I came here after seeing the Audi commercial tonight. Who knew that our illness was such fodder for all these struggling shows?
It helps if you do something positive to combat this TV negativity.
I spent my lunch hour today at an information table for our campus “Gluten Free Awareness League” helping people new to campus learn the ropes of gluten free eating. We were giving away some wonderful gluten free crackers and I encouraged everyone, whether a celiac or not, to try them.
It helps our cause if you show that gluten free can mean “TASTES GREAT!” today.
Positive energy is a good thing…
Man, am I glad I hardly ever watch TV anymore. I don’t think I’d even heard of any of these shows/ads except Bluebloods (which I only knew of because of the JE debacle and I didn’t even know it was still on now). I wrote a comment to this blog in response to a similar post in Feb 2014. This is part of what I said at the time and it still applies:
<<<>>>
Yep, our disease is still Hollywood shorthand some 20 months later.
The Bluebloods one does seem a little bit… I don’t know. I’d probably have to watch more of what came before and maybe also after to get its full context, but from this small snippet the GF angle seems kind of forced into the script, shoehorned in rather clumsily, even the way celiac is mentioned. If someone is GF they usually don’t wait until they’re sitting at the table with the food in front of them to start asking questions, although I guess it wasn’t out of medical necessity in her case.
I wouldn’t read it as a slam at GF or anything to be offended by; it just comes off to me as clumsy dialogue, as far as script writing goes.
The last one is just dreadful. Not that this matters much but is the person eating supposed to be a GF character?
OMG, I was just hunting around on IMDB… what is this? Maybe an aborted pilot that was scrapped before it made it to air?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4526802/
There’s a 4-min preview of it on youtube but I’m not giving the link.
Oops, the quote I enclosed in the arrow signs got cut out somehow (was it read in as html comment or something?)! Let me try that again. The quote from my old Feb 2014 post that was referenced above was as follows:
“… our disease, as if we didn’t already know, is Hollywood shorthand for flakiness, petty nonconformism and overall nuisance-making in general. “
Yep…that’s me. Just a nuisance-maker.
That clip from “Grandfathered” is bizarre. I was wondering if the character serving the “gluten free” dish that is “basically nothing but gluten” was supposed to be a sociopath. That’s how it struck me. What type of person tells someone something is gluten free and asks them to tasted it, only to reveal that they’ve been tricked into eating “tons of gluten”? A sociopath, I think.
Yep. Or a psychopath. I would stay with the person until I threw up and then I would puke on them.
It is interesting that TV shows that don’t totally suck don’t do this kind of shit. I’ve seen the Audi ad over and over, really offensive–can’t understand why advertisers think hating on peoples needs and tastes is helpful to an ad campaign; if the purpose is humor, they’ve failed at that too.
“can’t understand why advertisers think hating on peoples needs and tastes is helpful to an ad campaign.”
And yet we see it over and over again.
Ugh, I saw that Audi commercial for the first time last night and yelled at the tv like my team was losing the Super Bowl. That is just ignorant and rude.
I didn’t bother watching the Mysteries of Laura clip because I’ve seen episodes before of that show and didn’t want to subject myself to that again. I also haven’t watched the Grandfathered one yet either but when I feel like getting myself fired up, I’ll come back to it.
Blue Bloods I’m on the fence about. I’m a big fan of the show, but also a huge fan of Jennifer’s and respect her and her struggles and all she’s done for us in the celiac world (I showed up at Jennifer’s Way last year with her book tucked in my bag hoping she would be there to sign it. She wasn’t, but I enjoyed everything I got there and can’t wait to return). Knowing their plot lines and the character that has the celiac friend, it seems very in character with her part to try something because of her friend having the disease and wanting to commiserate. Could they have just not done this? Sure. Do they even have Jennifer on their mind? Maybe, maybe not. I’m torn. And speaking my thoughts out loud and probably not making sense. 🙂
On the fence about BB also. Again…just an odd choice, unless they plan on building it into the character a bit.
I like the BB clip. If it makes people understand that some people do have a a legitimate reason for going GF then yay for them for putting it out there.
My husband and I watched the BB episode (as we normally do) on Friday, and caught the segment in question. (I don’t care for Jennifer’s replacement in the slightest, but that’s not what this is about.)
As the Regan family sat at the dinner table, as they normally do, they briefly discussed a “sensitive issue” as they often do. The “issue” this time happened to be Celiac’s.
My husband and I kind of chuckled about it. My husband doesn’t have CD, but has grown increasingly aware of the fodder, facts, and suffering since my diagnosis almost 9 years ago.
The mention of CD was just sort of there, like Jon Stewart’s son and wife being diagnosed with Celiac’s. (Still not sure how he has missed being a target, unlike JE or Elizabeth Hasselbeck, perhaps because it’s not actually him that has this disease.)
While this segment didn’t provide a lot of info about CD, we didn’t find it offensive, unlike the Audi commercial.
I thought it was kind of a nod to JE. Like a big fat, oops, our bad!
It also had me wondering which actor, writer, director, producer, or crew member just got a diagnosis, or had a family member get diagnosed.
It looked to me as if the writers were probably just trying to set up the “Who’s the guy?” joke sequence. I don’t watch the program, is that character (the one going gluten free) typically a little faddish or ditzy?
ugh! This really upsets me…I have a little girl who has celiac and this drives me crazy. Its going to be hard enough for her having to eat a certain way and then you have people like this who think its a joke. I will continue to advocate for her and luckily I have met a lot of people who take the time to get to know the facts!
She’s in good hands 🙂
I am a regular viewer of Mysteries of Laura and Blue Bloods. I saw the incidents as they unfolded on TV. I have also seen the Audi commercial. I had not seen Grandfathered.
I was very offended by Mysteries of Laura. Her character is a bit brash on the show so saying this wasn’t out of the realm, but I just wondered why they even went there in the first place. Knowing the boy was gf became a clue to his rescue later in the show however the writers could have handled the whole thing differently.
I was offended by the Audi commercial and the clip from Grandfathered.
I am aware of what happened to Jennifer Esposito on Blue Bloods and was very disappointed by the decision to let her go. I see reruns of earlier seasons of the show and enjoy watching her. Given what happened to her there, I get the awkwardness of mentioning it, but I wasn’t offended by it. I was glad they mentioned that it was related to a condition and actually named Celiac. I hope the writers learned something from what happened with Jennifer.
When I come across mentions of gluten free on TV and other media, I definitely listen and try to evaluate the spirit in which it is mentioned. It’s definitely not mentioned positively enough.
I was watching Blue Bloods last Friday and I thought my eyes would actually snap and roll all the way into the back of my head when Nicky says, “Is there wheat in the mash potatoes?” I let out large “Ya gotta be kiddin,” because I like Blue Bloods and they don’t normally do stupid stuff like that. Then it became kind of OK because she was doing it for a friend who has celiac but when it was over I was left with a “What the hell was that?” It made no sense in the plot of the show and it felt like someone just stuck it in at the last minute to fill 20 seconds. I’m familiar with Jennifer Esposito’s story so the producers putting it in was really strange and it was just weird for the whole tone of the show. I’m an old dude from any Irish family. I think I’m required by law to like Blue Bloods but that just so bizarre…
As a mother of a 9 yr old with Type1 Diabetes AND Celiac, that Mysteries of Laura clip was a double whammy for me. 🙁
Dude
Once again, thanks for your advocacy and unending efforts to educate regarding Celiac Disease and NCGS, which are obviously still necessary.
Since gluten has personally imposed upon me 3 different types of cancer, a walnut sized mass under my tongue, passing out from excruciating pain while driving down a long bridge, my 4th retina surgery (1st in left eye) on 9/1 and my 5th (4th in right eye) this past Monday (9/28), I’m once again sitting here dictating thoughts for a few minutes while keeping my nose pointed ONLY at the ground for the last 82 hours with ONLY a minimum of 143 more hours to go and hoping all my vision returns – not easily accomplished. I can personally testify that watching a surgeon pull off loose pieces of your retina from inside your eyeball with tweezers with 2 other tubes stuck in your eyeball while sucking out the vitreous contents of your eye is not an experience I want to repeat again anytime soon. I’ve lost count of the number of my Mom’s CT Scans to make sure her lymphoma is still, thankfully, being held at bay since stopping eating gluten in Nov 2013. After going through the whole CD/Cancer/No Gluten Spiel (including how I first discovered the gluten link from JE on a tv news show) for the 1,600th time at 7 am before my last surgery this past Monday before I ingested the required meds, I MIGHT BE FORCED TO MOMENTARILY CONSIDER THE BENEFITS OF A TEMPORARY INSANITY / SELF DEFENSE PLEA IF THE CHEF IN “Grandfathered” (more nauseating drivel I never watch anyway) TOLD ME IN REAL LIFE THAT HE INTENTIONALLY FILLED MY FOOD WITH GLUTEN … the scene might neither be funny nor pretty.
It’s time for the media and advertising to move on from “gluten” regardless of whether they’re poking fun at trends/trendy or not in order to cease from causing unnecessary physical and mental harm to those less fortunate around us. On the other hand, the more the ignorant keep intentionally inflicting unnecessary gluten filled harm on us, the more sound a possible “temporary insanity / self defense” defense will become for those less disciplined among us … there’s always a silver lining!
Apropos quotes from 2 gentle persons who greatly suffered from ignorance around them:
“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.” — Maya Angelou
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
I must go back to sleep now. Please tell FB Shawna that I personally don’t “see” the humor in these videos – now that’s funny right there.
Dude, please keep on educating the needlessly ignorant, my friend!
Well, kale and selfie sticks are annoying trends. GF is too. And people are kinda bored with their humdrum lives. If Audi drivers don’t think of themselves as trend followers I guess they won’t be eating those cupcakes for no good reason. Because leasing a grey Audi isn’t following a fad, not at all.
I sent an email to the higher level execs at Audi about a week ago after seeing this commercial. Here is the response I received from Audi:
This response was received on 9/28/15:
“Dear Mrs. Duncan,
Thank you for reaching out to Audi of America. Your September 21 letter to Loren Angelo, Scott Keogh and Brad Stertz has been read and forwarded to me in order to provide a reply. Please accept this response on their behalf.
We understand your concerns, and take your feedback very seriously. The commercial you saw was not meant to undermine the seriousness of any disease, or those individuals affected. Rather, it was meant as a tongue-in-cheek depiction of popular trends such as kale, the proliferation of the selfie stick, and the prevalence of the gluten-free diet. Please know that your concerns have been heard, and are being addressed by the appropriate department.
Warmest regards,
Barbara A. Smitter
Region Case Expert, Audi CXC
extern.Barbara.Smitter@audi.com
Audi of America Inc.
Customer Experience
3800 Hamlin Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
United States of America
Tel. +1 248 754 3390
Fax. +1 248 754 6521
Toll Free +1 877 354 2834 ext. 43390
http://www.audiusa.com“
Thanks for the email address. Think I will write her … maybe we all should.
Great Idea!!
“Tongue in cheek”. (this sh!t isn’t funny nor is it amusing). “prevalence of the gluten free diet” (she still doesn’t understand, she’s wording it like it is a popular choice rather than a requirement to avoid illness). From her response, my viewpoint is that she was given the task of trying to spin what they actually meant, into something less threatening to the person who has written to her. I also suspect that now she will send out the same response to anyone who writes in about it.
Thanks, GD. I’m so glad you continue to stick up for all of us. This kind of stuff, I totally agree, tells people that it’s OK to bully others. And I’ll be glad when the GF-is-great-for-everything trend is over, as I think it does our community as much harm as it does good. (Or maybe more.) Something I experienced a few months ago had a fairly deep effect on me; more than I would’ve thought, since I’m usually pretty tough. But I was with a professional choir of which I’m a member, and we were just about to go onstage. Someone mentioned that one of the snacks brought for our reception afterwards was GF. (Of course, I immediately started thinking how I could find out who had brought it so that I could ask my Questions, and find out if I could eat it.) Someone else said, “So-and-so brought them”. Someone else else then said, “Oh….is she gluten free?” And then our Assistant Director, whom I’d really enjoyed and tried to support in any way I could, said, “Of course she is. It’s Connecticut: everybody’s gluten free.” Ha ha. I felt so hurt, so disappointed in him. The following program was going to be directed by him, and I decided to opt out of that program because I just didn’t want to work with him right away.
So, yes, I agree that we need to realize that these kinds of bully-humor ARE NOT funny, they hurt some of us, they’re not good for building any kind of community, and we as a community need to have as much cohesiveness as possible while the storms are blowing. (But just remember: soon the GF fad will go the way of pet rocks and mood rings and we may just regain some of our dignity.)
Also of note: last night there was a gluten-free joke on Black-ish. Yawn.
Pretty sure Grandfathered is removing all of the negative notes because not a single negative thing is on their site, sigh! I planned on leaving them a note, but what’s the point if they just delete it. BAD SOCIAL MEDIA PROTOCOL
When Cheerios created something to helped us Celiac, you threw pitchfork at it instead of acknowledging and encouraging the effort that may help them create better products for us. I laughed all of these off because commercials and TV sitcoms are just that… commercials and TV sitcoms! My diagnosis is pretty new so I was trying to find a GF-community that’s informative and supportive however, I have realized over the past 2-3 months, that there are a lot of angry GF people. In my humble opinion, I think we (Celiacs, GF) should start painting ourselves as compassionate people and not some kind of always-complaining/hating, like the world owe us better food/treatment, etc…. Then maybe we, just maybe, people will start to treat us more seriously.
We are a real compassionate bunch. And a real passionate bunch who are tired of being a punchline. Think community first and yourself second and it won’t seem so funny all of a sudden.
I believe in “Sticks and stones will break my bones. But words will never harm me.” hence these commercials and jokes do not affect me at all. As I have said, I am newly diagnosed and I am trying to find a caring GF community and yes, I do care about Celiacs (and GFs) but I think I came in a wrong time as there seems to be a lot of hate in the social media. Hate begets hate so this is where I’m struggling.
Monica, if I may, words will result in harm to you when words instill wrongful thoughts and ideas which culminate in harmful actions. GDude’s point, with which I agree, is that these commercials and jokes confuse the less intelligent among us which often results in harm to the Celiac community when the need for very strict adherence to no gluten in our diets is not taken seriously. I was intentionally “glutened” by a stupid employee at a restaurant I trust 2 yrs ago. The Chef, who I trust completely, fired the employee (not at my request). My favorite local restaurants know me as the “gluten free cancer guy” and they diligently strive to keep me safe so I can enjoy eating out some with them, which I greatly appreciate. Since you are newly diagnosed, you will most likely have some experiences of your own in future years.
This is a compassionate and passionate Celiac/NCGS community, in which you are most welcome. As you know, there is hate everywhere in society these days but our requesting media/advertisers to be more responsible to the less fortunate among us is not expressing hate. If anything, these advertisers and tv shows express their contempt and disregard for those unfortunate among us who are damaged physically and mentally by their insensitive “jokes” and childish attempts at humor when food is not served free from gluten contamination as a result of such misinformation and lack of understanding.
Many in this community are intelligent and informed enough to ignore such stupidity and silliness; however, we are concerned for the children and uninformed who needlessly suffer from gluten ingestion and are not able to protect themselves. Dismissing such “words” you find as “harmless” is naive over the long term so I encourage you to reconsider your position. I’m not saying you should act irresponsibly, with hate or without common sense but that you may reconsider harm caused to those less fortunate than you. I understand your struggles with all the hate surrounding us. No doubt that love and compassion for our fellow humans are more scarce these days.
GDude most certainly never threw a pitchfork at Cheerios or GM but has honestly informed people like me who cannot safely ingest Cheerios.
Thank you so much. That is very well said and will take your words into heart.
Thanks Hap.
Oh and I did NOT throw a pitchfork at Cheerios. I questioned their testing based on the experts.
Perhaps when you have been battling the GF battle for a long time, you may come to understand the frustration that fuels us. No one is spewing hatred. We get frustrated that the world does not take our disease seriously. No one expects anything from the world except truth and dignity, if it can be had. As people with a disease, we just ask that others consider our trials before making what saved our lives out to be a joke, or something that the rest of the world considers to be a royal pain in the pa-tooty for them.
I don’t comment on blogs very often because my perspective is often the opposite of the majority of celiacs, but I wanted to say that I understand how you feel, Monica. I know a lot of angry gluten-free folks who feel victimized myself. However, “painting” ourselves as compassionate isn’t any more real than the way celiac was portrayed in the video clips above. We are who we are.
I’m not a newbie. I’ve been gluten-free for 6-1/2 years now. Hubby has been gluten free for about 5. I can’t eat oats, even gluten-free oats, but the hubby can, so keeping up on what the Cheerios people are doing is important to us. One of the most confusing things about what’s going on with General Mills is that for years now, celiacs have been taught that anything “touching” our food, anything that comes into contact with it in any way, can set off an autoimmune reaction. But now? Now, we’re being told that wheat and barley grains “touching” the oats is okay because the manufacturer sifted the kernels out before grinding the oats into flour, and the resulting flour is falling within the FDA’s definition of gluten free.
For me, that’s unacceptable. However, I’m super sensitive to gluten residue and get sick on Chex. I can’t eat at residue levels that some others can. For those who are suffering with gluten reactions, but haven’t been able to pin down where it’s coming from, this type of information can be invaluable as well.
As for the video clips, I don’t watch a lot of television, so this was the first time I’ve seen them. Personally, I didn’t have any reaction to them one way or the other. Most of the people in my environment behave the same way. I’ve just gotten used to it over the years because that’s just how they are. They don’t understand what it’s like and don’t want to, so I live a pretty secluded lifestyle. We hardly ever go out to eat because I don’t trust restaurants to know what they’re doing, nor do I expect them to.
Personally, I don’t think the world will ever take us seriously, no matter what we do, as most people can’t break out of their “everything is all about me” perspective. Money speaks louder than compassion. That’s just fact. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do whatever we can to raise awareness or assist others in knowing that they are not alone in what’s happening to them. While constant complaining can get tiring after awhile, there’s a fine line between fact and complaint. Often that line gets blurred in the passion of the moment.
The world is what the people living in it allow. Some fight for changes because they would be of benefit for most, if not all, people, others fight for changes which would benefit a group of people. These people are called advocates. Then there those people sit back and think they can’t change anything anyway so why bother trying because trying means work. Trying to change what is difficult to change is not easy and sometimes requires personal sacrifice. Those people are sometimes referred to as sheeple. I, for one, honor the advocates, because without them, women would not be able to vote, and persons of color would not be eating in certain restaurants, and people who are in love would not be able to marry. The world needs more advocates, in my view, and a lot less sheeple. This blog is written by an advocate. I thank him for his battling to make life better for those of us with this disease, and applaud his refusal to accept status quo as being “just how it is”.
Thanks Deb. I needed that.
De nada
Thanks Deb. I appreciate your perspective. Lots of food for thought there.
I have vertigo and neurological damage (probably to undiagnosed celiac for decades), so I don’t always express myself well. As to why I said what I did, I was referring to Monica’s comment about how being compassionate for those who make fun of celiac disease instead of complaining about them would make people take us more seriously. I don’t think so.
I think that trying to do everything we can to raise celiac awareness is the best way to go. And that Gluten Dude is doing exactly that.
Thanks Gluten Dude. I appreciate all that you do.
To get technical, “In this special episode, Laura offers a hungry child a half-eaten granola bar, but the mom says he can’t eat it because he’s diabetic, so he’s sugar-free and gluten-free” diabetics should be offended as well. As a parent of a diabetic, this is the most common thing we have to fight, even more than me being GF, is thinking just because you’re diabetic means you can’t have sugar. Type 1 Diabetics, an autoimmune disease, can have what ever the heck they want, they just need to take insulin for the carbs/sugars in order to consume it. Type 2 Diabetes, lifestyle related, needs to watch their sugar intake.
The Diabetes gene and Celiac gene live on the same island, that’s why a lot of Type 1’s have celiac as well.
I get so angry when people are just so stupid and think poking fun at a disease, any disease, is funny. Let ’em walk a mile in our shoes!
Just search the Crossfit debacle, our outcrys won’t help.
Dude, I love what You do and admire but trust me popularity comes with the price. This is business. You know how much the great companies loose on the gluten-free. You think they will leave it this way? In my opinion they only help, they make it more popular nothing else. The worst thing against gf in my opinion and in my experience is the celiac and non celiac sensitivity people who doesn’t care the diet and they always say they still alive and fine. And they tell me I am overreacting and crazy about the gluten free diet. I thing they make the worst work against the gluten free diet. They say this shit in restaurants and in public. This makes me the most upset. Sorry for my English. Best regards:)
GD – so, here’s the thing (and I love what you do and how you advocate). No one gives a shit about Celiac disease, or even knows what it is – except those of us who have it, or have loved ones that have it. Prior to my diagnosis, I had no idea what it was. I played the Audi commercial for my wife and son the other night, and they thought it was no big deal – as in, “don’t be so sensitive” (BTW – an Audi will never grace my driveway). It is truly the Hollywood/celeb douches who do CD the most harm, and that is where the ridicule is directed – although I don’t appreciate it.
I’m newly GF, just 7 months. I am hoping to avoid abdominal surgery so I am extremely dilligent. I am thanful for all those people who have tried GF thinking it would be a nutrionally improved diet! The increased interest and demand for GF products is pushing food suppliers to create more products, many of which are very good. I really don’t care if someone eats GF just because they think it is healthier any more than it bothers me if someone is vegetarian because they think that is healthier. I can’t imagine anyone maintaining a GF diet for long to be in on a fad. I would never spend the time, the energy, the money, and make the sacrifices in giving up foods I loved unless when doing so I got well. I don’t have anything to prove and I feel so much better I can’t be bothered with the naysayers. And to those who it bothers, please let it go. Stress isn’t good for you either. Some don’t believe in allergies and doubt people who survived cancer were ever sick. You can’t try to correct other people’s beliefs, just live healthy and happy.
Bad commercials and sitcoms are little digs, what terrifies me are all the articles that are cropping up that are written by “researchers” who are backed by big food companies. They down play and minimize the growing occurrence and awareness of the gluten intolerant spectrum. Oh, yeah, 1% of you have celiac but the rest of you are FINE, just fine…keep eating out GMO, chemical laiden crap. When it’s made to look like it’s coming from a reputable new source, I lose it.
4 years of whining? Really? Yes, our disease is serious but when you stop being able to laugh at yourself, you’re the one being ridiculous. Can you not see how funny it is to watch us order food at a restaurant for example?
Keep on worrying JUST about yourself Craig. And 4 years of “whining”? Seriously…f**k you.
“I called a guy who called a guy who called his friends … he never bothered her again” — Edward Cole, Bucket List.
As the father of a daughter, now that was funny … but never thought of trying to discreetly order physically safe food in a restaurant as funny or that the process should be … except maybe ordering a cup of Kopi Luwak.
Hm, things like this make me glad I really don’t watch too much of these tacky shows. I’d never heard of the three mentioned here much less watched any of them. Now I am glad I hadn’t heard of them. As for Audi, they have always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason I could not place; No love lost with them, I’d decided long ago they will never see a dime of my money. So they can take their trendy asses somewhere and have a seat. I guess the commercial was supposed to proclaim they are not a trend? Please- any car is a trend, either it is popular or it’s just a car, and slamming others’ preferences for things not even car related won’t change that.
I’m so upset! I want that Audi commercial removed!!! People will see this commercial repeatedly on near every channel! It’s heartbreaking. I want to start a petition but have no idea who to direct it to. Any ideas?
See my comment below. They are going to redo the commercial and leave GF out of it.
Maybe they don’t know that every time someone in the media makes fun of the gf diet, that it makes it more acceptable for children to make fun of their peers who have Celiac. When my children were younger, their classmates were completely accepting of their special diets. However, as they grow older, their peers are now more in tune with headlines, comedians, and other sources of gf-bashing. The eye rolls, comments, and teasing my kids now endure have gotten progressively worse.
We watched the Blue Bloods episode last night on the DVR, and I wasn’t offended.
I think we have to recognize that the fad status of GF has left an impression in many minds that the whole thing is silly. Blue Bloods, on the other hand, actually recognized that there is a real disease related to this. Good for them – it may have caused a few people to realize that there is more too it than food faddism.
The people doing these commercials are not making fun of us. They are making fun of food faddists,. While it is annoying, the main danger is that it may increase the perception that GF is “just” a fad. Since too many people already believe this, my response is simple: I don’t pick a fight. I just tell servers that I have a gluten “allergy” (they are afraid of food allergies) and to be careful. If anyone is actually curious, I tell them about Celiac.
I just posted this on the Audi page. We just returned our leased manual transmission Audi last week, a month after it accidentally rolled away from our house, across some yards and almost into a ravine. $11K in repairs and Audi’s problem now!
“Your new Audi Q5 ad on TV is PATHETIC. I have been an Audi A4 owner since the 1990s and just turned in an Audi S4 last week…just in time to see your ad. As someone with severe gluten intolerance and associated diseases, I am disgusted by the joke you made of the gluten free “trend,” likening it to kale and cupcakes. As if your company wasn’t in enough hot water, now you want to piss off some of your loyal customers??! I’m SO GLAD I TRADED MY AUDI S4 IN FOR A TESLA MODEL S!! No cheating on car emissions there, or making fun of gluten free diets! Goodbye Audi!!
I contacted these producers and have gotten one reply from Audi:
We understand your concerns, and take your feedback very seriously. The commercial you saw was not meant to undermine the seriousness of any disease or those individuals affected. Rather, it was meant as a tongue-in-cheek depiction of popular trends such as kale, the proliferation of the selfie stick, and the prevalence of the gluten-free diet. Please know that your concerns have been heard and are being addressed by the appropriate department. A new version of the commercial removing the gluten-free reference is scheduled to being airing mid-October.
Though I truly regret the circumstances that have prompted your contact, I am grateful that you have given me an opportunity to reply. If you should have any additional questions, comments or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me directly using the information below.
Kindest regards,
Barbara A. Smitter
Region Case Expert, Audi CXC
Although they still don’t get the “trend” part at least they are going to change it!
Why don’t they make fun of the Paleo Christian Scientist? Oh… Cause it IS Hollywood 😉
I’ve been gluten free for 15 years after being diagnosed with celiac diseas. I was the wonderful age of 16 when diagnosed, the year 2000, when no one knew what the hell gluten free even meant. ( Try explaining that to a bunch of teenagers in the high school cafeteria 15 yrs ago.) But anyway… Am I the only one that isn’t offended at all? I really couldn’t care less. I personally see the humor In it…. But then again it could just be because I somehow got glutened last week and my brain still hasn’t snapped out of it… I think ppl should lighten up, take it as a bad joke and get over it. I am made fun of a lot for being gluten free because people that don’t Have celiac just don’t get it, and I don’t really care. 🙂 awesome website btw. Im a new follower for sure!!!
It’s not about “lightening up” Jenna. I am all about laughing at myself. But I personally would never poke fun at another person’s infliction. I think that’s just a shitty thing to do.
Glad you found me 🙂