Smokey Robinson Called ‘Mensch’ for Offering to Redo Personalized Hanukkah Message After Mispronouncing Holiday’s Name
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Smokey Robinson and wife Frances Glandney. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons.
Motown legend Smokey Robinson asked to re-record a “Happy Hanukkah” message he sent to a fan after he realized that he mispronounced the name of the Jewish holiday.
Jeff Jacobson, who paid $399 for Robinson to film a holiday greeting on Cameo for his mother, shared the original video message on Sunday on Twitter, writing in the caption, “My mom grew up on the same street as Smokey Robinson in Detroit. So for Chanukah, I wanted to reunite them via @Cameo. But the video takes a strange twist.”
In the clip, Robinson accidentally pronounced Hanukkah as “Cha-NOOK-ah” and admitted he had “no idea what Chanookah is.”
He afterward said he wanted to redo the message. Robinsin tweeted on Monday, “Hey @jeffjacobson — in the spirit of 2020, I’m gonna need a do-over! Please DM your mother’s phone number so we can try this again.”
Hey @jeffjacobson – in the spirit of 2020, I’m gonna need a do-over! Please DM your mother’s phone number so we can try this again ? https://t.co/4E87elQkD8
— Smokey Robinson (@smokeyrobinson) December 15, 2020
Jacobson, who called Robinson a “mensch” for offering to film another video, replied to the singer saying, “Coming right up, Smokey but you owe her and us nothing. We love you!”
Robinson called Jacobson’s mother on Tuesday to wish her a happy holiday, and she invited him for dinner at their home in Vancouver, Canada.
Jacobson shared on Twitter a video of the former neighbors speaking on the phone, and said about the singer’s mispronunciation, “By the way, @smokeyrobinson can pronounce it any way he damn well pleases. He is a true legend whose music has been with me since birth. His kindness and generosity of spirit has already made this most-unusual 2020 Chanukah one of my family’s most memorable. Also, my mom says hi.”
Update – a Chanukah miracle- @smokeyrobinson called my mother while she was at school (she teaches Kindergarten) and it seems like they might be best friends now? Here is a short excerpt that someone in her class filmed. And dont worry, I made sure she put her mask right back on. pic.twitter.com/WXF5jPcKNc
— Jeff Jacobson (@jeffjacobson) December 15, 2020
