In Defense of Courtney Love

On Friday, Page Six ran an item on our recent interview with Courtney Love and focused on her purported "anti-Semitic ravings." The evidence? A line half-way through the 5,550 word piece in which she states:

"Every time you buy a Nirvana record, part of that money is not going to Kurt’s child, or to me, it’s going to a handful of Jew loan officers, Jew private banks, it’s going to lawyers who are also bankers . . ."

Page Six, to its credit, makes mention of the fact that Ms. Love also explores her Jewish heritage in the interview–to be sure, these are not "anti-Semitic ravings" of the Mel Gibson variety. Unfortunately, it seemed not to matter too much to the editors of Page Six that the remarks made by this woman of Jewish background were being made in the context of a Jewish conversation in a Jewish magazine. Like it or not–and over the seven years we’ve been publishing Heeb we’ve found that many do not, but the simple fact remains:

This is how Jews talk to Jews.

I’m not naive. This is Page Six here. I don’t want to remove their item from its context the same way I’m complaining that they’re removing our feature from its context. Page Six is a place to revel in that exquisite mix of schadenfreude and the sensational–it is its bread and butter and its readers understand that. Hell, I’m a fan of Page Six and I don’t want it waxing on the construction of the contemporary rock icon and how femininity gets connected with sickness and hysteria as it enters the pop limelight.

But the fact remains, that since our Winter Issue hit newsstands last month, we’ve been told time and time again (not just by my parents) that our interview with Ms. Love was the most flattering portrait of her ever painted–that she never seemed so likeable, so sympathetic. That’s why it’s disturbing to see the interview being used to cast her yet again as a mad woman.

Maybe I’m wrong. Read the interview in its entirety and see if you hear the ravings of intolerance. Certainly, Ms. Love is opinionated, paradoxical, outspoken, candid, and even sometimes infuriating. But that’s why we love her.

What do you think?

About The Author

Josh became an editor-at-large after accruing exorbitant legal fees as the publisher of Heeb in his efforts to trademark the word "irreverent." Follow him on Twitter @joshuaneuman.

26 Responses

  1. trumptighttt

    I’m Jewish, and about a third of my friends are Jewish. Generally speaking, we do not talk to each other in that way. We occasionally crack an off-color joke where we’ll say “Wow, what a Jew” when a friend asks for loaned money to be returned, but I don’t

    Reply
  2. mrnhghts

    Regardless, it’s kind of a moot point, because Courtney Love is only 1/4 Jewish. Frankly, she doesn’t have the right to be in on the joke.

    No, your figures are way off. The cutoff on these issues strictly follows eligibility laws for Native Am

    Reply
  3. slambodia32

    who the shit cares how jewish she is? does it actually offend you? i mean really? i’m jewish and i laughed. c’mon guys, it’s courtney love. I’m surprised she can compose coherent sentences much less formulate a legitimately bigotted statement. Do you thin

    Reply
  4. hrhkat

    …I gotta say, thanks to Courtney Love, I discovered this site. She is such a wacked out mess, she is like the American Amy Whinehouse, without the successful dead husband. If you have ever read her blog posts, which via Perez Hilton, I have, she cant ba

    Reply
  5. Puck

    I think it’s more likely that she’s just a pathetically past her prime has been no-talent with a famous ex husband who’s too cracked out to go and sit on the warmer bench with Pamela Anderson and Suzanne Somers where she belongs.
    Poxy trollop :P

    Reply
  6. milosjeffersonIII

    I don’t know what Courtney’s complaining about, the ‘Jew’ that helped create Nirvana never received a penny… Quid Pro Quo?

    Reply
  7. DJStahl

    The use of “Jew” as an adjective is generally antisemitic. The belief that Jews control fields like law and banking is classic antisemitism. (There actually are a lot of WASPs in those fields. And note it was the Jewish firms, Bear Sterns and Lehman, that

    Reply
  8. mrnhghts


    I recall in “Spinal Tap” the manager talks about “the Jews” in a similar way.

    No, he talked about “The local Hebrews.”

    There actually are a lot of WASPs in those fields. And note it was the Jewish firms, Bear Sterns and Lehman, that

    Reply
  9. candy.c

    Courtney Love may or may not be heavy Jewish but she sure acted like one when she latched her filthy hands on that sweet man-Kurt Cobain-and sought to siphon all his money and keep him plied with heroin. When he was sick of it all and wanted out-he wanted

    Reply
  10. iconic

    Check out the context “. .. Jew loan officers,” “Jew private banks…”
    Then
    “I asked my shrink about this.”
    Why would Ms. Love discuss this in her therepy session?? ( It’s not intolerance.)
    An introspective, intelligent yet vulnerable woman, i

    Reply
  11. Puck

    As Candy C’s (is that your porn name?) contribution to Vapid Ho week proves, any level of vile anti-semitism can be masqueraded as ‘tongue in cheek’ if one claims a Jewish ancestor.
    This situation reminds me of the furore (in the US) over the Obama “terr

    Reply
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  14. Music Review: Hole: Nobody’s Daughter | Neon Monster Blog

    […] While Courtney’s face has evolved, her music hasn’t. As a result, Nobody’s Daughter sounds dated upon its first listen. People are going to fault Courtney Love for lacking growth (guilty) and simultaneously failing to replicate the sound that made us fans in the first place (guilty). It seems doubly difficult for the female refugees of the grunge era to remain relevant. (After all, riot grrrls eventually become riot women.) Maybe Courtney ought to take a cue from her one-time rival Kathleen Hanna, who traded her Bikini Kill angst for a keytar and is still an indie darling as Le Tigre. Although, only one of the  (sorta) shiksas remains a media darling just for being herself. […]

    Reply
  15. Music Review: Hole: Nobody’s Daughter | | Jeremyriad | Jeremyriad

    […] While Courtney’s face has evolved, her music hasn’t. As a result, Nobody’s Daughter sounds dated upon its first listen. People are going to fault Courtney Love for lacking growth (guilty) and simultaneously failing to replicate the sound that made us fans in the first place (guilty). It seems doubly difficult for the female refugees of the grunge era to remain relevant. (After all, riot grrrls eventually become riot women.) Maybe Courtney ought to take a cue from her one-time rival Kathleen Hanna, who traded her Bikini Kill angst for a keytar and is still an indie darling as Le Tigre. Although, only one of the  (sorta) shiksas remains a media darling just for being herself. […]

    Reply
  16. Music Review: Hole: Nobody’s Daughter | Jeremyriad | Jeremyriad

    […] While Courtney’s face has evolved, her music hasn’t. As a result, Nobody’s Daughter sounds dated upon its first listen. People are going to fault Courtney Love for lacking growth (guilty) and simultaneously failing to replicate the sound that made us fans in the first place (guilty). It seems doubly difficult for the female refugees of the grunge era to remain relevant. (After all, riot grrrls eventually become riot women.) Maybe Courtney ought to take a cue from her one-time rival Kathleen Hanna, who traded her Bikini Kill angst for a keytar and is still an indie darling as Le Tigre. Although, only one of the  (sorta) shiksas remains a media darling just for being herself. […]

    Reply

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