J.D. Vance's quote on Poles is film fiction

A shocking quote allegedly coming from J.D. Vance has recently become popular on the Polish Internet. The words, ridiculing Poles, caused outrage on the Internet. As it turns out, this quote cannot be found in Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy”, and the source of controversy is the film adaptation of his autobiography.

Claim:

J.D. Vance wrote “You know what’s interesting about the Poles? They bury their dead with their asses sticking out of the ground, that way they got a place to park their bikes.”

Our rating:

False

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Zrzut ekranu przedstawiający wpis użytkownika Koloproktologi1 — Source: X/Koloproktologi1

Does J.D. Vance mock the Poles?

@Koloproktologi1 shared the quote in question on X. The photo shows J.D. Vance, an American politician and United States senator. In the caption of the shared post, you can see that the quote ”You know what’s interesting about the Poles? They bury their dead with their asses sticking out of the ground, that way they got a place to park their bikes” comes from Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” — a book on the problems of the American working class. However, it turns out that the author never wrote or spoke these words.

Where did the quote come from? The difference between the book and the film adaptation

In fact, the quote does not come from the politician, nor is it part of his book. The phrase appeared in the 2020 film adaptation of “Hillbilly Elegy”, directed by Ron Howard. In the film, these words are spoken by Vance’s grandmother, played by actress Glenn Close.

Her character uses explicit language and sarcasm. The quoted fragment was supposed to be a joke. However, it was not taken from the book and was added by the creators of the film. Although Vance is credited as an executive producer, there is no clear evidence that he had any influence on how his book would be adapted. However, many social media users wrongly attribute ironic words about Poles to the American politician.

Summary

The „You know what’s interesting about the Poles?…” quote is the result of the screenwriters’ invention, not words spoken or written by J.D. Vance. Even though the book and the film are based on the same story, the differences between them are significant, which shows how adaptation can affect the perception of the author himself.

Sources:

The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/movies/hillbilly-elegy-jd-vance.html