The Politics of Comedy
They got to Jerry Seinfeld. He received enough blowback from the Left that he caved. He no longer blames humorless left-wing pundits and activists for the war on comedy. Indeed, he now says he “regrets” claiming that comedy on television has basically disappeared, “[T]he result of the extreme left and P.C. crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people.”
Will Chris Rock and Jennifer Aniston be next? Rock complained in 2019 that he is now stifled, saying, “If it was five years ago, I could say something offensive and funny right now.” Last year, Aniston claimed, “[I]t’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians.”
The humorless ones, who are heavily concentrated in education, nonprofit advocacy groups, and the media, have certainly had an effect. In 2008, comedy as a share of the U.S. box office was 21 percent. Now it is in the single digits.
Seinfeld got it right the first time.
Political correctness, or woke politics, is a form of mind control. What animates the Left is power, and nothing is more important than getting inside the heads of the masses. Once the people surrender their conscience, they can be mobilized to do whatever the ruling class wants. Make no mistake, controlling what we are allowed to laugh at is part and parcel of their agenda.
The two most protected demographics in the nation are LGBTQ+ and Black people. But there is a big difference between the two. Black people are much less incensed about jokes that come at their expense than are gays and transgender persons. The latter, represented most conspicuously by GLAAD, are the biggest promoters of censorship in the nation. And, they are very good about punishing the “offenders,” squeezing apologies from them.
- Tracy Morgan has apologized to the gay and lesbian community for a joke he told in 2011.
- Eddie Murphy, in 2019, apologized to the same people for a joke he told in 1996.
- Kevin Hart apologized in 2019 for a joke that he said, “[H]urt members of the LGBTQ community.”
- Will Ferrell, in September this year, said he regretted dressing as a woman some years earlier while telling a joke. “That’s something I wouldn’t choose to do now,” he explained.
- Harper Steele, a comedy writer known for Saturday Night Live, said he regrets penning a drag queen joke that he wrote years ago. He now says, “It’s absolutely not funny.”
- Amy Schumer apologized in 2015 for making a joke about Hispanics, saying, “I hope I haven’t hurt anyone.”
- Jay Leno often made fun of Asians, but now he says he regrets it.
- Trevor Noah had lots of fun at the expense of Indians and Pakistanis, but now he is apologizing for the “hurt” he caused.
- Jimmy Fallon has apologized for wearing blackface in a 2000 Saturday Night Live skit.
- Jimmy Kimmel apologized in 2020 for wearing blackface in the 1990s.
- Tina Fey has apologized for wearing blackface in her sitcom 30 Rock.
- Sarah Silverman now says she is “horrified” about wearing blackface in one of her 2007 episodes of The Sarah Silverman Show.
- Nikki Glaser has apologized for making fun of “skinny” women.
- Alfred “Weird Al” Yankovic, in 2018, apologized for featuring the word “midget” in one of his songs from the 1980s.
- Patton Oswalt now regrets joking about “retards.”
No one ever apologizes for telling patently obscene jokes about Jesus, Our Blessed Mother, nuns, priests, or the sacraments. This includes many of those who are now apologizing profusely about insulting others. Sarah Silverman and Trevor Noah, for instance, are two of the biggest anti-Catholic comedians in the nation, but they will never apologize for slandering priests.
If proof is needed to show how political all of this is, consider that Dave Chappelle — who won’t apologize for LGBTQ+ jokes — apologized in 2016 for simply saying, “I’m wishing Donald Trump luck.” Similarly, John Mulaney now says he “deserved backlash” for joking about Trump and Biden without making it clear that he very much favored Biden.
Best of all is Stephen Colbert. In 2017, he made an obscene joke that offended Trump supporters and gays at the same time. He only apologized to gays.
Jay Leno called me years ago after I blasted him for telling anti-Catholic jokes. He said he tells 11,000 jokes a year and wanted my advice on what kind of jokes about Catholics are okay and which ones are not — reporters and television talk-show hosts have asked me the same thing. I told him that jokes about Catholic school kids are fine. “Sister Act” type fare is also okay. But when you get to the heart of our religion — as Gretchen Whitmer did by mocking the Eucharist — that crosses the line.
The comedians of an earlier era — Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Rodney Dangerfield, Dean Martin, Don Rickles — made their audiences laugh without getting vulgar. Mel Brooks managed to lampoon everyone without getting nasty. So it can be done. All it takes is creativity, prudence, and a sense of decency. When that happens, there is no need to protect or demonize anyone.
William “Bill” Donohue is the president and CEO of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization and the publisher of Catalyst. He has authored several books on civil liberties, social issues, and Catholicism.
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