“Dumb” Jessica Alba Sweden Neutral Controversy

January 27th, 2009 by Castina

Jessica Alba is mad as Hell and she’s not going to take it anymore!

After several media sources ridiculed the Love Guru actress for proclaiming that Sweden was a neutral country during the Second World War-which in fact it was-the star has taken to her MySpace Celebrity Blog to fire back at the attacks on her intelligence.

In a letter to her fans on Tuesday, Jessica writes:

“Hey Guys,

Jay_eh here. I wanted to share with everyone in the ibeatyou and MySpace communities my experiences at the inauguration last week, so I put together a little video.

Before I get to the video, I want to clear some things up that have been bothering me lately. I find it depressing that in the midst of perhaps the most salient time in our country’s history, individuals are taking it upon themselves to encourage negativity and stupidity. Last week, Mr. Bill O’Reilly and some really classy sites (i.e.TMZ) insinuated I was dumb by claiming Sweden was a neutral country. I appreciate the fact that he is a news anchor and that gossip sites are inundated with intelligent reporting, but seriously people…it’s so sad to me that you think the only neutral country during WWII was Switzerland. Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_during_World_War_II if you want to see what I was referring to. I appreciate the name calling and the accurate reporting. Keep it up!!

Now on to more important things…like our new President.

Click here to watch my inauguration video and read the rest of my blog.

Best,

JA”

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25 Comments, add yours

25 Responses to ““Dumb” Jessica Alba Sweden Neutral Controversy”

On January 27th 2009, Holly wrote:

You know, I can’t stand Jessica Alba, but after this whole thing, I actually have a little of respect for her. The barb about O’Reilly showed a depth of intelligence that I didn’t think she possessed. I still don’t like her all that much but I sure as don’t hate her now!
On January 27th 2009, Vermithrax wrote:

I would love to see her go all Dark Angel on his ass. Bill O’Reilly is an assclown.
On January 27th 2009, balls123 wrote:

Sweden was not , IN FACT, neutral. The country made an effort TO APPEAR neutral, but IN FACT catered to Hitler’s demands throughout the war. Switzerland is widely recognized as the model for neutrality. My guess is that it was, IN FACT, a slip of the tongue when she said Sweden instead of Switzerland.
What was she trying to say anyway?
Be neutral like Sweden! Don’t oppose that socialist dictator!
The irony is hard to ignore.
On January 28th 2009, Bertie wrote:

Learn to post without calling people obscene names, and people might actually respect what you write. In other words, grow up.
On January 28th 2009, US Expat in Sweden wrote:

As one of the earlier comments points out, Sweden proclaimed itself neutral during WWII, but its actions showed this claim to be rather disingenuous. This is discussed in great detail on the very Wikipedia page Ms. Alba cites, starting with the _third sentence_ and observing (near the bottom) that “Sweden’s neutrality has been criticized as ineffectual in reality, as steel and machined parts were supplied to Nazi Germany throughout the war.”

All of which suggests to me that Ms. Alba was pretending to be more informed than she really is. In reality, she’s out of her depth here.
On January 28th 2009, samantha wrote:

just stay in hollywood, will you?
On January 28th 2009, Calle from Sweden wrote:

I am from sweden and my country is neutral know och was neutral in world war 2
On January 28th 2009, Mr Correct wrote:

balls123.
Sweden was and is neutral in a political definition. (please look in the factbook at cia.gov)
Sweden has been involved in peacekeeping missions under UN authority. But that is not effecting the neutrality
Learn facts. And Hitler was no socialist dictator, there has never been a socialist dictator.
Kommunist dictators and fascist dictators however.
Hitler was a nazi (nationalsocialist) dictator. There is quite a difference…
But that is not the real issue here.
Saying that Sweden is neutral is not dumb. It’s a stated fact.
Less anger people, more knowledge.
On January 28th 2009, Wordsmith wrote:

She may be correct about Sweden, but she’s a bit lacking regarding the English language. She should’ve used the abbreviation ‘e.g.’ (for example) instead of ‘i.e’, which translates to “that is.”

So, she’s not a total smarty pants either.
On January 28th 2009, Miggs wrote:

Starring in The Love Guru makes you “stupid” immediately. She clearly meant to say “Switzerland” and is now trying to cover it up.
On January 28th 2009, mark hesling wrote:

sweden is the oldest neutral country in the world. Since 1814 never directly involved in military aggression, we have been neutral longer than switzerland. During WW2 sweden saved tens of thousands of jews from death due to their neutral position. Suck on that O Reilly! Sweden has been neutral longer than Switzerland!
On January 28th 2009, mumimor wrote:

Sweden is and was neutral. Maybe Alba even visited – who knows.
Without Sweden, the Danish Jews could not have been rescued. We Danes, Jewish or Gentile, are eternally grateful. My family was saved by Swedes. Its true that Sweden wasn’t perfect, and neither was Switzerland btw. But what Sweden helped achieve, happened no other place in Europe.
Alba didn’t make a mistake.
Today, Sweden still works for peace.
On January 28th 2009, Lev wrote:

I don’t think that she is a rocket scientist but Sweden IS neutral. The fact that this became a story speaks more to the the ignorance of some Americans, as well as self important dipshits like O’Reilly, than the intellectual shortcomings of Alba. Please do some basic research next time instead of spouting off like you know what the f you’re talking about.
On January 28th 2009, VJ wrote:

And what TMZ sais about Sweden having forces in Afganistan is the most stupid thing here since SWITZERLAND has UN forces aswell! Kosovo is one example on that…. But whats hilarious about this is that americans are known to mix up Switzerland for Sweden and not the other way around and NOW they are suddenly pretending to know they are two different countries!! I have personally, when I said I was from Sweden, had americans saying: “Oh, you meen Switzerland”….
On January 28th 2009, John Smith wrote:

For you Swedes. Neutrality during WWII is nothing to be proud of.
On January 29th 2009, OzSwede wrote:

John Smith “For you Swedes. Neutrality during WWII is nothing to be proud of.”

Tell that to all the allied troops that had to crash their bombers coming back from bomb runs over Berlin. Thanks to Sweden’s neutrality they were able to get both protection and medical care without worrying about being captured.

I bet if you checked (If you are British or American), you know of someone that got inadvertently affected by Sweden’s neutrality during WWII.

So I sure am proud of being Swedish AND neutral. We have had our share of war and violence. We do not want it back.
On January 29th 2009, Emma wrote:

John Smith: You should really do some more research before saying things like that! Sweden wasn’t perfect during the war but I think we did the right thing! If we hadn’t done what we did, even more people would have died!
And how is not peace something to be proud of?
On January 30th 2009, Cragrat wrote:

Although Sweden’s official position has always been; “Alliance free during peace and Neutral during war” it should be pointed out that Sweden in its technical definition was as much a neutral country during the war as Switzerland. There are incidents and actions that both Sweden and Switzerland regret today but fact remains that the official position during the war was to remain neutral in accordance with internal conventions. Whether or not Sweden is neutral today (by membership in the EU and active role in the UN) is a different question altogether and frankly irrelevant as Sweden is not a state of war today.
Alba was correct in her definition and O’Reilly showed his ignorance and arrogance in his remarks. But then again, O’Reilly was never a “fair” journalist and is known for his argumentum ad hominem when under pressure so I am not surprised when he “kills” a debate by bullying the opponent.
Kudos to Jessica.
On January 30th 2009, Rickard wrote:

I’ve never really liked Jessica Alba as an actress, although I can’t argue against her obvious beauty.

As a Swedish person, I have to respect her for the her comments and bash O’Reilly for once again showing his ignorance.

As some of you have pointed out, she’s indeed correct. Sweden were – and still is – a neutral nation. And those dumb remarks about “nothing to be proud of” are just ignorant comments and we were subjects to powers outside our control – both outside and inside our borders. We did supply Germany with iron and allowed troops to be transported, but we also saved tens of thousand of jews and other people, as well as helping Finland in their war against the Soviet Union. Not to mention intelligence shared with the Allies – who were planning to bomb our mines and railroads. By navigating between the wishes of the Allies and demands of the Nazis, were we able to avoid attacks from all of them – while still saving people’s lives.

But it was also a class issue in those days. The upper class often sympathized with Germany, because it was “in” to do so, but it had nothing to do with honest belief, just “fitting in” with the elite at the time. I can honestly say that I am proud of our neutrality. To be fair, had we still been a powerful military force like in “the good ol’ days” we would have kicked some ass. Being neutral doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re a nation of pacifists, we kick ass when we have to. :)
On January 31st 2009, regardless wrote:

I know Jessica was right when she said “Sweden,” but to cite Wikipedia as her source of reference just shows how dumb she really is… next time maybe she’ll cite a RELIABLE source.
On February 3rd 2009, NiklastheSwede wrote:

You cannot speak about neutrality without referring to anything. It is commonly agreed upon that Sweden WAS neutral during WWII. Whether this was right or wrong is a rather complicated moral question I believe. However, considering the military weekness of Sweden at the time, much divide in opinion among Swedes, as well as the role that Sweden could perform, it was probably the best or perhaps inevitable way to go. During the cold war and still, partly for other reasons, Sweden had/has a policy of not joining alliances and strive to be neutral in conflict or war. However, if it is relevant, justifialble today, hmmm, I don’t know.
On February 5th 2009, wikipediabrown wrote:

She meant Switzerland, it’s the excepted country of neutrality. Argue other countries status all you want, she was clearly pointing out the historical neutrality that we were all taught in elementary school, then she had one of her obsequious assistants on payroll pull up an article to “prove” her point, (the same person that taught her the word salient). To be fair, it’s a mistake we all could have made when you’re not obligated to know the difference, when you’re not regularly confronted with political topics. She did use i.e. inappropriately, but again, completely acceptable in street speak, the doctor for whom I work does it all the time, I don’t even think he knows about e.g., he uses i.e. exclusively, it’s common, although English is his second language… None the less, no one looks to Jessica Alba as our intellect barometer, she’s doing damage control more for her ego than anything else. I’d probably do the same.
On February 6th 2009, vonjunzt wrote:

Sweden has been militarily neutral for nearly two centuries. It may have peacekeepers in Afghanistan, but they are not under NATO command and do not participate in combat operations in that country. For the record, Switzerland has also dispatched its soldiers on peacekeeping missions: to Kosovo in 1999, and Afghanistan in 2003.
On February 15th 2009, US Expat in Sweden wrote:

A bit more detail emerges on Sweden’s “neutrality” during World War II:

http://www.thelocal.se/17604/20090215/
On March 27th 2009, to balls123 wrote:

Why do every ignorant american feel the urge to show it on the internet? I quote ‘Sweden was not , IN FACT, neutral. The country made an effort TO APPEAR neutral, but IN FACT catered to Hitler’s demands throughout the war. Switzerland is widely recognized as the model for neutrality’ LMAO learn some history. Fact: just bc in american elementary school Siw is the main example doesnt mean the rest of the world shares the same limited view. FACT: Switzerland agreed to act as The Reich’s personal bank during WWII. Fact: Both swe and Swi work as peacekeepers nowadays. Fact Sweden has been neutral longer (longest in the world). Fact: just because you are ignorant doesn’t necessitate that Alba is. She might be but since her mom is scandinavian odds are she aint. Either way her comment has indirectly really damaged the US by showcasing tons of ignorant morons like yourself. Too Funny