Quote:The 85-year-old veteran comedian and telethon organizer and took a moment from promoting his upcoming documentary to bash reality TV, suggesting contestants are not worthy of the medium.

“The kids who’re on American Idol, they’re all McDonalds wipe outs,” Lewis told TV critics at their summer press tour in Beverly Hills. “They all worked there and now they’re doing [reality TV].” Lewis then shifted focus to weight loss shows like The Biggest Loser, noting networks are showing “the fat lady” dropping weight from more than 300 pounds to 240 pounds. “Who gives a s—?” he asked. “The industry has destroyed itself.”

Lewis is the subject of a new Encore documentary, The Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis, and noted that he deeply respects TV in general. “I don’t allow people in my family to use the term ‘TV.’ It’s ‘television,’ it’s a miracle, and deserves respect.”

The comic recalled people rushing home to watch Milton Berle. “Nobody wants to run home and see anything, they run home and hope they see something.”

Lewis also didn’t much appreciate the trend of putting content on mobile devices. “They put all of their product on the stupid phone,” he said. “You’re gonna put Lawrence of Arabia on that stupid son of a bitch?”

When a critic asked about people spending time on Twitter and Facebook, the room braced for a rant, but Lewis was more circumspect: “I think it’s wonderful for people who enjoy using it,” Lewis said. “When they find out they’re getting their life cluttered, they’ll make those decisions themselves. They don’t need to be told by a celebrity that it’s a load of crap.”

Quote:Comedy legend Jerry Lewis, 85, has completed his run as the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s national chairman, according to a release from the MDA. Lewis, who had still been slated to appear at this September’s event and sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” for the last time.

Last week at the TCA Press Tour, Lewis was cryptic about his future involvement with the telethon, telling reporters, “It’s none of your business.” During that discussion, he also slammed reality TV shows like American Idol and The Biggest Loser. Oddly enough: American Idol producer Nigel Lythoe and Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney were slated to cohost this year’s telethon.

(08-04-2011, 12:37 AM)Miguel Wrote: Blowback?