OK, I'll give you a German example. "Jürgen Klinsmann" didn't change his name when he moved to coach the U.S. football team. That's staying true to his German heritage. He was already coaching and famous BEFORE moving to the U.S. He isn't now "George". It's like Sher-Minh Chow or Connie Chung changing their name from "Sher-Minh" or "Connie" when switching from an Asian-language channel to English-language channel just to appease the "English-speaking" people. Why change it? Be Connie or be Sher-Minh ALWAYS. Don't sell out to the English-speakers just so they can 'pronounce it better.' That's BS.
Give it up, Swoly. The sensibilities of English TV listeners are not the same as Spanish speakers. There is a very, very long history of people in showbiz with foreign names who adopted a simpler sounding English stage name. It is par for the course. "Antonietta" is a mouthful for American English speakers, but it isn't for Latinos. That's just how it is. I'm an immigrant myself, so I know this too well. There is nothing wrong with it. Even people with simple English names will choose another stage name just because they think it is more memorable (e.g. Katy Hudson -> Katy Perry). In fact, people with many-syllabled foreign names in showbiz are generally the exception to the rule (Zach Galifianakis anyone)? What is your personal beef with this woman? Did she yell at your puppy?
Jurgen Klinsmann is not a TV journalist or actor. He's a sports coach. Why would he want to change his name? Sher-Minh and Connie are easy to pronounce, memorable two-syllable names. Jackie Chan, on the other hand, is a lot easier to remember than "Chan Kong-sang". It's about having a brand that is easily marketable to English speakers.
Yeah, I pretty much give up. He wouldn't really address a real example like all the Jewish or Polish people who changed their name and brand for their careers. I give up, which is not to say concede the point.
The beef is that she's denying her mom-given name only because she's going to ESPN. ^ I'll take your example, then. To be MORE marketable to BOTh English and Spanish speakers, how come she wasn't "Toni" at Univision? SOLD OUT, that's why. It's not just changing their name AT THE BEGINNING. Had she changed it BEFORE, for Univision AND for ESPN kept the same, that would have been fine, at least in my opinion. She changed it only after she left Univision. See my point now? It's not like you, Señor B-Bob, can't pronounce "Antonietta." Can you? I bet you can.
Speaking of Connie Chung, get a load of her real name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich. Sellout. Utter sellout, that woman.
Dang Swoly, you must really have a thing for Toni. Why would you expend such energy to a person you don't give two cents about? I think secretly Swoly is in love with Toni Collins.
There's no "love/hate" thing here, gents. Because her mom is such a proponent of "Hispanic" and "Latino" Women Empowerement, I thought she would be also proud to be that much "Latina" and keep the name and tell Da Man "Screw you, I'm 'Latina' and proud of it, canijo!" but she opted to sell out. Well NOW you got it. Now if you could, please help me teach these other dudes. They seem to not get it or be stuck in the "why are you concerned with her changing her name, everyone does" thing. EDIT: WELL, this thread made it to Google already... if you search for "sell out Toni Antonietta Collins" :grin:, haha.
We get it completely. If you really care that much just go confront her online about it. It isn't very hard to do that nowadays. Do you want me to ask her for you? Otherwise just post pictures of her. Spoiler
I agree with SwoLy. When my family came over from Eastern Europe, they had to shorten their last name from Schwelitzeinburgdorf to Wells. Buncha' sellouts.
holy **** this is some petty ****. who the hell cares if she changes her name, only she and her family should care.
Interesting - I know a girl who did the exact opposite for her TV career. She went from using the caucasian sounding "applewhite" to her mothers maiden name of "sandoval" to play up the latino heritage. Worked for her - she hosts her own show in Arizona.