Of course Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner support Black Lives Matter
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By PJ Grisar June 29, 2020
Anti-racism isn’t just a young person’s game.
In a photo that appears to have been taken during Mel Brooks’ 94th birthday celebration on June 28, the director and his lifelong friend, collaborator and dinner companion Carl Reiner and Reiner’s daughter Annie were seen sporting Black Lives Matter t-shirts.
MY HEROS CARL REINER ANNIE REINER & MEL BROOKS pic.twitter.com/yimJbwoqCU
— George Shapiro (@georgeshapiro) June 28, 2020
It’s not all that surprising that Brooks, who directed the anti-racist romp “Blazing Saddles” would support the BLM movement. The voice of the “2,000 Year Old Man,” and his interviewer, Reiner, have been around long enough to know that systemic racism hurts everyone — but particularly people of color.
The real mystery comes with the second picture, which shows Brooks’ manager George Shapiro, Brooks, Reiner and Annie Reiner toasting to another year of Mel.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL BROOKS, 94 & LOVING LIFE pic.twitter.com/jOBLDBC61k
— George Shapiro (@georgeshapiro) June 28, 2020
What exactly were these folks noshing on for the festivities, which appear to have occurred at Brooks’ home. We only see them sitting down for soup. Thanks to Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” we know that Reiner is partial to tongue while Brooks likes to get a Chicken in a Pot.
Here’s to 2,000 more years with these two.
PJ Grisar is the Forward’s culture fellow. He can be reached at [email protected].
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
