# Did Benedict Cumberbatch just dis Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518 "2018-12-03T19:34:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/1 "2018-12-03T19:34:29Z")
On NBC’s Sunday morning show they aired [an interview with Willie Geist and Benedict Cumberbatch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XZdJgMlF7s).It came towards the end of the segment but if you don’t feel like watching it, WG asked him about playing the Grinch and he said something to the effect of “if there’s a grinch in your life or world - he doesn’t have to be green, he could be . . .orange . . .” Either it’s totally obvious that it was meant as a sly dig or I’m looking for something that isn’t there (Either way I feel like a doofus not knowing which it is). ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/2 "2018-12-03T19:40:49Z")
Yes. Blatantly obviously. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/3 "2018-12-03T19:44:38Z")
I’m just going to chock it up to his excellent acting skills and not my dim bulb :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/4 "2018-12-03T21:31:37Z")
OK, so tell me this - does the host get it, or is it just a whoosh? I can’t tell. j ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/5 "2018-12-03T23:21:30Z")
I’ve always liked Benedict. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/6 "2018-12-04T12:58:49Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > OK, so tell me this - does the host get it, or is it just a whoosh? > > I can’t tell. > > j That’s part of what threw me off. There’s no trace of a knowing smirk or any sign of acknowledgement on Willie Geist’s part. I know it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment or roll his eyes, but the way he completely fails to register the comment made me wonder if I was just imagining the slur. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/7 "2018-12-04T13:12:10Z")
I’m confused… We still say “dis”? 😕 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/8 "2018-12-04T13:35:57Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m confused… > > We still say “dis”? 😕 > > 😉 😛 I’m not sure that we do, now that you mention it. Hell, I wasn’t even sure how to spell it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/9 "2018-12-04T15:38:13Z")
_Dis_ and _diss_ are both correct, per the OED. _Dis_ is also an adjective for something that is broken or not working or (figuratively) someone who is weak in the head… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/10 "2018-12-04T15:46:15Z")
Well, you have an English flag as your profile pic, so I _guess_ you know what you’re talking about… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/11 "2018-12-04T16:23:05Z")
It’s extremely fashionable for celebrities to “diss” Trump, although it was subtle enough I doubt he’ll receive enough virtue signal points to earn him a standing ovation from his peers, like, let’s say, Robert De Niro’s “Fuck Trump!” ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/12 "2018-12-04T17:03:24Z")
good thing the MAGA bomber is locked up or he might have added Benedict to his list. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/13 "2018-12-04T17:17:17Z")
Yes, obviously a dig. As for the non-reaction by the host, I think it’s a case of a typical American entertainment reporter/host being typically smarmy and un-engaged and not _really_ listening. Plus a lot of Americans don’t really pick up on British humor in general. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/14 "2018-12-04T17:50:40Z")
Of course it was a dig at Trump, entirely in line with BC’s other comments on assorted political and social issues, e.g., he has referred to the > [@](#): > > fat-faced, flatulent Cameron effort at what Toryism – horribly – is now. and there’s this, among others: [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/30/benedict-cumberbatch-stuns-theatregoers-anti-government-speech-refugees](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/30/benedict-cumberbatch-stuns-theatregoers-anti-government-speech-refugees) Frankly, I’m surprised OP seems surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/15 "2018-12-04T18:17:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Well, you have an English flag as your profile pic, so I _guess_ you know what you’re talking about… 😉 Ahem! That’s the Union flag. The English flag is a red cross on a white background. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/16 "2018-12-04T18:22:07Z")
:eek: I stand corrected! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/17 "2018-12-04T19:09:48Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Of course it was a dig at Trump, entirely in line with BC’s other comments on assorted political and social issues, e.g., he has referred to the > > and there’s this, among others: > > [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/30/benedict-cumberbatch-stuns-theatregoers-anti-government-speech-refugees](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/30/benedict-cumberbatch-stuns-theatregoers-anti-government-speech-refugees) > Frankly, I’m surprised OP seems surprised. Not so much surprised, just wasn’t sure it I was reading it correctly. Not being a big fan of BC (though I like him a bit more now!) I had no idea about his political opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-cumberbatch-just-dis-trump/825518/18 "2018-12-04T19:48:37Z")
…yeah, BC is one of the good ones, who uses his privilege to try and “make the world a better place.” [For example, his stance on equal pay for his female co-stars.](https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-05-13/benedict-cumberbatch-equal-pay-women-female-co-star-patrick-melrose/)