*The temporary blackballing of stage and screen siren Eartha Kitt began on this day in 1968, when she reportedly made Lady Bird Johnson burst into tears at a White House luncheon, and incurred the retaliatory wrath of her husband’s administration.
Long before she uttered “Marrrrrrrcusssssss” in Eddie Murphy’s 1992 film “Boomerang” and became a GenX “darrrrling”…
Eartha Mae Keith of North, South Carolina was just 16 when she joined the famed Katherine Dunham Company of dancers during the mid-40s. she made her Broadway debut in the 1945 musical “Carib Song,” followed by her film debut in the 1948 film “Casbah” as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company. Watch below:
Her iconic recordings of “C’est si bon” and “Santa Baby” came along in 1953, each showcasing the distinctive vocal styling that made her a crossover sensation, and along with Lena Horne, a crossover sex symbol.
OTHER NEWS ON EURWEB: Civil Rights Leader Ben Jealous is on a Mission to Heal America with New Book
Kitt had banked six top 30 hits by the late ’60s, including “Uska Dara,” “I Want to Be Evil,””Under the Bridges of Paris,” and “Just an Old Fashioned Girl.” In 1966-67, she purred and prowled her way into American living rooms as Catwoman in the third and final season of the TV series “Batman.”
The triple threat dancer-singer-actress was a force of nature and bona fide star by the time she was invited to the fateful January 18, 1968 White House event that would derail her career.
The “Women Doers Luncheon,” hosted by First Lady Claudia (Lady Bird) Johnson, was intended to find solutions for “crime and delinquency on the streets.” The luncheon took place as the Vietnam War was in its 13th year, and Kitt had reportedly been working with youth organizations that had put her on Lady Bird’s radar of informed voices to have at the luncheon. When Mrs. Johnson finally called on her (toward the end) to weigh in during the luncheon’s Q&A session, Kitt did not hold back.
“You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. They rebel in the streets. They will take pot, and they will get high,” Kitt said. “They don’t want to go to school, ’cause they’re going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in Vietnam.” Kitt continued: “The children of America are not rebelling for no reason. They are not hippies for no reason at all. We don’t have what we have on Sunset Blvd. for no reason. They are rebelling against something. There are so many things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. They feel they are going to raise sons – and I know what it’s like, and you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson – we raise children and send them to war.”
Kitt’s response to Lady Bird was not captured on film, but Scott Calonico, director of the documentary short “Catwoman vs. the White House,” found firsthand audio recordings of the luncheon, and combined it with footage from the LBJ Presidential Library and the recorded account from Lady Bird’s audio diary to reconstruct the encounter in the clip below (beginning at the 4:24 mark). The clip also includes a moment from the luncheon that was caught on film – when Kitt confronted President Lyndon B. Johnson after he popped into the gathering to say a few words about the power of women, and how the place to start combatting crime is in the home. As he turned to leave, Kitt stood and asked him what should be done about parents “who have to go to work, for instance, who can’t spend the time with their children that they should?” (This is at the 2:06 mark.)
It took zero seconds for the blackballing of Kitt to begin following the luncheon.
The New Yorker mentions in the video below that immediately after Kitt made her remarks, she “found herself shunned by Mrs. Johnson and the other guests” at the luncheon. Also, “the White House car that was supposed to take her back to her hotel disappeared as well,” and “her singing engagements in the United States dried up.” The New Yorker notes that in 1975, journalist Seymour Hersh reported that in 1968, the CIA had “started a file on her activities.” The dossier reportedly contained comments about Kitt’s sex life and family history, along with negative opinions of her that were held by former colleagues.
In the days after news broke of Kitt’s remarks at the luncheon, a reporter asked her if she had any “regrets” about “embarrassing” the first lady. Kitt basically said the first lady’s embarrassment is not her problem.
Kitt eventually held a press conference to give her side of what happened at the luncheon, and to put her remarks about the Vietnam war and child delinquency in context. She also doubled down on her comments, stating, “I gave my opinions, after I raised my hand. I was on duty as an American citizen, as I feel I am always on duty as an American citizen. And if I am asked if I have an opinion about what I have been involved with, then I feel I have the right to cast those opinions. And therefore I ask you, do you think I was rude?”
Kitt also mentioned that she’s received loads of support from people who said they “would’ve done the same thing” had they had the opportunity to speak truthfully about society’s ills to the president and first lady. Watch below, beginning at the 3:36 mark.
Kitt was exiled in Europe and Asia for nearly a decade, appearing on BBC variety shows and in West End theatre before being invited back to the White House in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter. The same year, she earned her first Tony nomination for Timbuktu, an all-black remake of Kismet. Below, Kitt performs her signature number “Rahadlakum” from the musical during a 1978 TV appearance.
Kitt had been asked to recount her White House moment many times in the subsequent years, and she maintained consistency in conveying her unapologetic sentiment about holding leaders accountable – no matter the political party.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
