Eartha Kitt confronted the first lady and it nearly ruined her career

Retropod

The Washington Post

History, Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.5 • 670 Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2018

⏱️ 5 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At a White House luncheon, actress Eartha Kitt would not let the president or the first lady avoid the issue of the Vietnam War. She paid a heavy price for her boldness.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Post has a new destination for everything travel. Check out, by the way, for local guides
0:06.5	to the world's top travel spots. There's more to see at Washington Post.com slash travel.
0:14.1	Hey, history lovers. I'm Mike Rosenwald with Retropod, a show about the past, rediscovered.
0:23.4	We all get invited to events we don't want to attend, a sibling's piano recital, a friend's party,
0:30.3	a child's school play.
0:32.3	But it's not every day that the First Lady invites you to lunch at the White House.
0:38.2	In 1968, Eartha Kit received such an invite from Lady Bird Johnson, and she did not want to go.
0:46.3	Kit's career as an entertainer was flourishing. She was known for playing Catwoman and crooning
0:51.3	the song, Santa Baby. Orson Wells once called her the most exciting woman in the world.
0:58.0	She was an enigmatic star with a sultry voice.
1:01.5	She was also active with youth groups across the country,
1:04.4	which is how she found herself with an invite to the White House for lunch.
1:10.2	The subject of the luncheon was a question.
1:13.5	Why is there so much juvenile delinquency in the streets of America?
1:18.9	Kit declined.
1:20.7	She thought the lunch would be vapid, full of flowers and champagne, more of an excuse to show
1:25.7	off than an invitation to incite change.
1:31.0	But the First Lady's Social Secretary begged, so Kit relented, packed an overnight bag, and flew to D.C.
1:39.5	On the day of the luncheon, a limousine picked Kit up from her hotel and took her to the White House.
1:45.1	Kit's fears seemed to be confirmed.
1:49.9	The women sitting around the table buzzed about the possibility of the president popping into the luncheon.
1:55.6	They admired the place settings for a menu of crab meat, bisque, and chicken breasts.
	...

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