At risk of offending the "good Christian" Republicans among us:
Candidate's past bubbles up again
Racy 1983 video starring
Schwarzenegger may be rereleased
John Wildermuth, Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writers
Saturday, September 6, 2003
Santa Monica -- Women's groups carrying signs
saying "No groper for governor" clashed Friday with
supporters of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger
over his attitudes toward women -- even as his
campaign faced new questions about his past with
the wide Internet play of a racy 1983 video starring
the former bodybuilder.
Playboy Entertainment, based in Chicago, said
Friday that the attention on Schwarzenegger's
candidacy for California governor -- and the Internet
buzz -- might spur it to rerelease the 1983
entertainment video called "Carnival in Rio," which
shows the actor-turned-candidate cavorting with
topless samba dancers on a tour of Brazilian hot
spots.
"It's kind of 'Wild on Carnival' with Arnold," said Frank
Marchesini, spokesman for Playboy Entertainment
Group, which distributed and marketed the video.
"There's a lot of frolicking during carnival . . . it's very
flirty and suggestive," said Marchesini, who jokingly
called it "a cheesy version" of the racy "Girls Gone
Wild!" videos.
"We are considering putting it out again," he said
Friday. "It's so timely."
The video surfaced a week after Schwarzenegger
faced questions about a 1977 magazine interview in
which he talked about drug use and described
participating in group sex.
The interview with Oui magazine -- and other
publications alleging the actor behaved
inappropriately toward women -- spurred about 75
protesters from women's groups to picket
Schwarzenegger's Santa Monica campaign
headquarters.
One protester, Virginia Hagen of Fullerton, said that
as a mother of two daughters, "I don't like to think of
someone like Schwarzenegger in a position of power.
He boasts about his prowess with women, and he
recanted," she said. "That means he's lying about
something."
Rob Stutzman, spokesman for Schwarzenegger's
campaign, dismissed the video as "PG-13 material"
and called the protesters "left-wing political activists
slinging the most salacious charges . . . parading on
the sidewalk with obscene handmade signs."
"Many things that happened, and many things that
didn't happen, are part of the lore of bodybuilding in
the '70s," Stutzman said. "Arnold has said he didn't
live his life to be a politician . . . voters understand
the difference between what he did as a young man
and the way he's acting now as a candidate for
governor. They trust the record of someone who is
devoted to his wife and family."
Schwarzenegger, 56, came to prominence in the
1970s as a Mr. Olympia bodybuilder. He parlayed his
fame in a 1977 documentary on bodybuilding,
"Pumping Iron," into a Hollywood career as an action
movie hero.
Schwarzenegger bristled when asked by reporters
Friday to address the issue of his past and his
attitude toward women.
"I think you should just go and talk to the women I
worked with, either on movies or in business and
charitable organizations," he said. "Talk to them, and
you'll find I have the utmost respect for women."
But after his campaign was dogged for a week
regarding his past actions with women, the candidate
is facing questions over "Carnival in Rio," a video
available on Internet shopping sites. The cover blurb
boasts: "Step into the heat of the action with star
Arnold Schwarzenegger as he parties nonstop
through the streets, beaches and nightclubs of
fabulous Rio de Janeiro. Follow him to the wildest,
no-holds-barred parties in town."
Schwarzenegger, in the video, tours Brazilian nightlife
-- including the famous topless samba club, Oba
Oba, where he joins gyrating dancers on stage and
delivers his assessment of the talent.
"Yeah, Americans like breasts. No, no," he says.
"After watching mulattas shake it, I can totally
understand why Brazil is devoted to my favorite body
part -- the ass."
"I'd say it's more embarrassing rather than horribly
offensive. He's kind of like the gringo from hell," says
Chris McGowan, a writer who specializes in Brazilian
culture and reviewed the video for CulturePlanet.com.
"It's a frat- boy attitude . . . that focuses on the T&A
aspects of Carnival."
At one point, Schwarzenegger teaches one female
dancer how to eat a carrot and boasts he has
memorized the Portuguese word for buttocks: "I
learned one word yesterday -- bunda -- that's good,
huh?"
Though hardly more revealing than other "wild" videos
available through cable TV, the Playboy video is
another distraction to a campaign trying to establish
its credentials with Republican conservative voters
who have been the most supportive of the recall effort
to oust Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
Conservative activists have expressed concerns
about Schwarzenegger's views in support of abortion
rights and gun control. After the Oui magazine
interview was publicized, the Traditional Values
Coalition's Rev. Lou Sheldon warned Republican
legislators to hold off on endorsements, asking, "Is
Arnold a Republican version of Bill Clinton?"
Karen Pomer, an activist with CODEPINK -- a
women's peace group that coordinated the Santa
Monica protest -- said allegations about
Schwarzenegger's behavior toward women cannot be
dismissed as a partisan attack.
"I'm an independent, and I'm not voting for Gray
Davis. I never have," she said. "This isn't about
partisan politics. It's about being offensive to women.
"You can't walk up to a woman and pull her breast
out in public . . . (that's) sexual harassment, which is
illegal," said Pomer, referring to allegations detailed
in Premiere magazine in 2001. "It's outrageous, and
he's been protected in Hollywood . . . but that kind of
behavior doesn't belong in Sacramento."
Pomer and other critics say Schwarzenegger hasn't
done himself favors by appearing to waffle on his
explanations.
Schwarzenegger, the GOP front-runner in the
replacement part of the recall election, has offered
three different explanations for the interview. First, he
said he didn't remember it, then explained it as part
of his "crazy" past life, then, on Thursday, said he
made up statements to promote "Pumping Iron."
"I was trying to get attention for weightlifting -- I say
things that are exaggerated or untrue to get
attention," Schwarzenegger told reporters Thursday.
"It's not what was said in 1977 by me that's ruined
the economy of California."
Female supporters defended Schwarzenegger on
Friday, saying he has a long record of concern for
women and children's organizations.
"This is some left-wing organization that is clearly
slandering Arnold for political gains," said
Atherton-based literary agent Jillian Manus-Salzman,
a moderate, pro-choice GOP activist who is
co-chairing Schwarzenegger's outreach effort to
women. "He's provided opportunities for inner-city
kids. He's encouraged kids to stay in school. The
guy is like Governor Hope."
LMAO.
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