Is Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ‘Don Jon’ Racist Towards Italians and Jews?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut, ‘Don Jon’, has opened internationally to mostly rave reviews… but is the dark comedy followed a ‘Jersey Shore’ type sex addict actually promoting racist stereotypes?

The Italian American One Voice Coalition is accusing ‘Don Jon’ of “stereotyping and denigrating” both Italian Americans and Jews. In a press release issued on Monday, the organization’s founder, Emanuele Alfano, points out that Gordon-Levitt’s parents founded a Jewish national social justice organization, insinuating that Gordon-Levitt should be more sensitive to his film’s content.

"Here we go again with the same shop-worn, racist stereotypes of Italian Americans in movies," said Alfano.

"It never ends. Levitt, himself the son of proud parents who once founded the Jewish Progressive Alliance and fought for social justice causes, should be ashamed of himself for the negative portrayal of Italians and Jews in his movie."

"Levitt, much like his pornography-addicted character, needs an intervention and should go into serious therapy for his ethnic denigration of Italian Americans," Alfano continued.

"Levitt ought to quit now, take this trite garbage out of movie theaters and donate his profits to charity."

Alfano does not reference specific scenes or quotes from the film, instead claiming that the characters themselves are offensive. Gordon-Levitt’s Jon comes from an Italian-American family and is portrayed as a ‘Jersey Shore’ type womanizer who only cares about his family, going to the gym, and porn, while Scarlett Johansson plays Barbara Sugarman, his big-haired Jewish girlfriend who encourages Jon to pursue further education, get a new career, and hire a maid instead of cleaning his apartment himself.

Gordon-Levitt has not responded to the accusations at the time of publication.