At P.S. 122’s Spring Gala, a tribute to John Leguizamo that went down at the Abrons Arts Center earlier this week, Rosie Perez got very worked up about her hometown. Rosie, the floor is yours: “The unique thing about New York used to be that the change was organic. Now it’s intentional and conscious. Changing, for example, the name of Harlem to SoHa. This is ridiculous. What does that really mean? The implications of that is so hurtful and deep that its pathetic. They’re saying basically that “Harlem is a little too scary. We don’t want people in the midwest or in midtown or Wall Street [to know] that we live in Harlem, so we’ll call it Harlem and we’ll make it chic. Bitches! Harlem was already chic. That’s why your ass is there. Period. That’s why your ass is there. And you know you really couldn’t afford those high-rises there, either, so shut the fuck up and go home. Sorry about that but it’s true.” See more celebrities complaining about New York in our Party Lines slideshow.
