The Family

Dear Paula Patton and Robin Thicke, parents of a 3-year-old son, and Gloria Loring, grand/mother:

Here’s the chase:

The sun set on my anger Sunday, August 25, but days later I woke up in a clear contemplative mood. After careful review of comments made by all of you in myriad media outlets over the Thicke/Cyrus MTV-Video Music Awards performance on that Sunday, I am ready to read more of the signs from that night, and, if I may, I begin with a statement:

It is about time all of you admit Robin’s complicity in this mess, not to mention Paula’s prior knowledge of the risqué nature of the show. It is about time. Yes, it is.

Paula, if the reports from sources on tmz.com are true on your response to your husband’s performance at the MTV VMA with Cyrus, and I quote, “we’re told Paula knew the performance wasn’t gonna be G-Rated because there were ‘tons of rehearsals’ before the show”, then you cannot wash your hands of the responsibility for that visual debacle.

Robin, if the reports from sources on perezhilton.com as to your response to your ‘duet’ with Miley Cyrus are true, and I quote, “Robin thought it would be fun to include Miley, but he didn’t realize how much she would overshadow him”, then you are more than responsible; you are the culprit.

During ‘tons and tons of rehearsals’, you let Miley Cyrus, a 20-year-year-old lick and bump and grind YOU, a 36-year-old husband and father, tons of times as you sang, “you know I want it! so c-c-c-come on!” from your newest release Blurred Lines. And, more glaring, in the end, your only worries are that you did not win Video of the Year and were upstaged by Miley both on and offstage.

In your appointed ’15-minutes’ onstage, you expected to (re)introduce your hot new single as a young hot(?) ‘kitten’ purred to your blurred lines, but you failed to anticipate a backlash from the public or that we would even care or notice. We did, though! The backlash, Miley Cyrus, along with the performance, and the blogs and scholarship on same, will attend your newest hit–always! There’s the gotcha!

To Robin’s mother, Ms. Loring, in your exclusive interviews with Yahoo! and OMG!, you lamented,

I just keep thinking of her mother and father watching this. Oh, Lord, have mercy. … I was not expecting her to be putting her butt that close to my son. The problem is now I can never ‘unsee’ it. Him? Loved it. I love that suit, the black and white suit. I don’t understand what Miley Cyrus is trying to do. I just don’t understand. I think she’s misbegotten in this attempt of hers. And I think it was not beneficial.’

Ms. Loring, recognize your son’s collaboration in that performance, then maybe some understanding of a grown man taking advantage of a young woman’s sexuality to advance his own artistic endeavor will come to you. THAT is misbegotten.

As for Paula and Robin, you are hereby added to the list of guilty parties for the infamous Thicke/Cyrus spectacle. As you are more than aware by now, the public noticed:

Paula Patton, actress; Robin Thicke, entertainer; Jesse Ignjatovic, Executive Producer; Amy Doyle, Garrett English and Dave Sirulnick, Executive Producers. Joanna Bomberg, Jen Jones and Lee Lodge, co-Executive Producers. Hamish Hamilton, Director.

There.

Watch for in-depth Film • Television • & More reviews & commentary.

In the meantime, Catch a film … Share the Popcorn … Feed Your Soul!