# I'm tired of the late night comics beating up on people no longer in the news. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426 "2009-08-23T21:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/21 "2009-08-24T00:45:57Z")
Buttafuoco! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/22 "2009-08-24T01:18:34Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Buttafuoco! There’s a name I wish I could never hear again. I’d even volunteer for some sort of “Tigana” type spell so I just can’t hear it. That won’t keep my eyes from accidentally being burned out by his sex tape. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/23 "2009-08-24T01:47:54Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > As a long time viewer of Conan, I would be willing to bet money that there was some fued or ugly past personal incident between Conan (or one of his writers) and Kirstie Alley… > > She has been the butt of 100’s of incredibly mean spirited, vulgar, hateful jokes over the past 10 years or so, way WAY beyond the usual (already typically cruel) level of harshness that the average celebrity would be subject to. I think Conan has been harsher on her than OJ, Cheney and Paris Hilton combined, and I dont get it------Does anyone know why the level of harassment is so magnified on Kirstie Alley? > > PS—I dont know anything about KA except that she is supposedly a Scientologist----I am not trying to garner sympathy for her, as I dont care about her (or most any other washed up actress/celebrity/attention whore) but Conan is SO brutal towards her compared to others, I am certain its personal, not just another comedic easy target. What gives? > ETA > I am not imagining this am I? Any other longtime Conan fans notice this? Conan needed a go-to person for “fat” jokes after Anna Nicole Smith died and Kirstie Alley was the next well-known person available (especially after she started appearing in Jenny Craig commercials only to get fired after falling off the wagon). Actually, I think Conan himself is quite aware how mean the jokes are. Didn’t he used to sing “Oh, I’m gonna go to hell when I die” whenever he cracked one at Alley’s expense? Also, don’t forget that Alley used to be quite hot looking before her weight problems. The decline in her physical appearance is a source of schadenfreude similar to seeing the stuck up cheerleader who wouldn’t go near you in high school waddle into the 10 or 20 year class reunion over 100 pounds heavier. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/24 "2009-08-24T01:53:46Z")
To be fair, the last Conan joke I heard about Larry King’s age was pretty good- The first election Larry King voted in was (I may have a-c wrong, doesn’t matter) a.) Kennedy Vs Nixon b.) Eisenhower Vs Stephenson c.) Truman Vs Dewey d.) Jesus Vs Barabbas ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/25 "2009-08-24T02:24:08Z")
> [@Never\_Say\_Dice](#): > > What did Al Gore do to anybody that makes him a target of fat jokes? Or even boring jokes. He’s not a talk show host, he’s trying to help. I have lived in **towns** with smaller “carbon footprints” than Al Gore. He is a shameless huckster of “Eco-Guilt.” He is fair game for comments about his personal appearance, lack of charisma and the way Tipper makes him dress in public. If anyone deserves to be pilloried in the public green, it’s Al Gore. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/26 "2009-08-24T02:45:48Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Conan needed a go-to person for “fat” jokes after Anna Nicole Smith died and Kirstie Alley was the next well-known person available (especially after she started appearing in Jenny Craig commercials only to get fired after falling off the wagon). Actually, I think Conan himself is quite aware how mean the jokes are. Didn’t he used to sing “Oh, I’m gonna go to hell when I die” whenever he cracked one at Alley’s expense? > > Also, don’t forget that Alley used to be quite hot looking before her weight problems. The decline in her physical appearance is a source of schadenfreude similar to seeing the stuck up cheerleader who wouldn’t go near you in high school waddle into the 10 or 20 year class reunion over 100 pounds heavier. I was thinking that this was it also----Kirstie was just a well known fatso, and everyone needs a go-to lardass for the occasional donut joke, right? But I wondered, why not Limbaugh, or Rosie-----You know, fatties who are actually vile, malevolent assholes (and who everyone already hates anyways) as opposed to Kirstie Alley, who by all accounts is just another washed up actress who became overweight… To me, from the frequency and over the top vicious nature of the jokes, I still gotta believe its personal between Conan (or his writers) and Kirstie Alley, and I would love to know what the genesis of the bad blood is. PS----- another poster commented about how often writers float from show to show, so it would not surprise me at all if someone on Conan’s staff has a reason to hate Alley due to working with her on a prior project, and so she became a target that way. PPS-----Kirstie Allie was indeed hott years back when she was on “Cheers” and I can agree that its more satisfying to sass someone who was once a beautiful person that it is to attack somebody who has always been repulsive (Rosie O’donnell) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/27 "2009-08-24T03:11:13Z")
Kirstie Alley also made a short-lived self-deprecating series called “Fat Actress.” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/28 "2009-08-24T03:16:06Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > I have lived in **towns** with smaller “carbon footprints” than Al Gore. He is a shameless huckster of “Eco-Guilt.” He is fair game for comments about his personal appearance, lack of charisma and the way Tipper makes him dress in public. If anyone deserves to be pilloried in the public green, it’s Al Gore. So you object to him working really hard to reduce our impact on the environment? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/29 "2009-08-24T06:36:14Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Are you kidding? He shot a guy and the guy he shot is the one who apologized. That kind of potent and scary evil just demands to be joked about until Van Helsing puts a stake into his heart. > Wakka Wakka Wakka Amen. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/30 "2009-08-24T09:58:07Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > So you object to him working really hard to reduce our impact on the environment? Oh, I’m sorry, which of the physical sciences did he go back to school and earn a doctorate in, to this end? Anything less is, well, less. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/31 "2009-08-24T11:13:10Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Kirstie Alley also made a short-lived self-deprecating series called “Fat Actress.” Kirstie Alley is an actress who had a lot of success “back in the day” who has since tried to cash in making fun of herself because of her weight. As long as she does that, she’s fair game. I agree that doing it after the fact is beating a dead horse and maybe a little mean. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/32 "2009-08-24T11:16:29Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > To me, from the frequency and over the top vicious nature of the jokes, I still gotta believe its personal between Conan (or his writers) and Kirstie Alley, and I would love to know what the genesis of the bad blood is. I don’t know the ins and outs of who knows who in entertainment, but I think this is unlikely. They’re in the joke business and it is probably not personal. I’m trying to find a list of his writers to check, but so far, I haven’t been able to do that. If the jokes are over the top, that may itself be part of the joke. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/33 "2009-08-24T11:58:43Z")
I’m just amazed to hear that Conan is still on the air. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/34 "2009-08-24T14:03:05Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Oh, I’m sorry, which of the physical sciences did he go back to school and earn a doctorate in, to this end? Anything less is, well, less. So you’re dismissing the effect of raising the awareness of a couple of million people? Okey doke. Re: Kirstie Alley – to some extent, I think it’s just laziness – easier to default to your “go-to” fat (old, weird, flamingly gay) figure for the joke than come up with a new one. The other element is that the late night hosts skew pretty old, as do their audiences, in some cases (Leno esp.). These touchstone figures have been around forever, and everyone knows who they are. You could make a joke about Starlett McFamewhore gaining weight, but if half the audience doesn’t recognize the name, the joke is an auto-fail. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/35 "2009-08-24T14:08:07Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > So you object to him working really hard to reduce our impact on the environment? He doesn’t seem to be working hard at changing his own lifestyle to reduce his impact on the environment, just trying to get us to change our lifestyle. That is a major form of hypocrisy. Also, he remains fair game by using this hypocrisy to keep his name in the news while flying in private jets and living in an energy sucking Taj Mahal. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/36 "2009-08-24T14:24:45Z")
Actually, could someone please give me an update as to the dimensions of the belly and butt of one Darva Conger? ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/37 "2009-08-24T15:03:51Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > I’m just amazed to hear that Conan is still on the air. Umm… perhaps you need to adjust your antenna. He replaced Jay Leno a number of months ago. _Wuz in all dah paypuhs._ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/38 "2009-08-24T15:13:00Z")
I realize the OP mentions Al Gore and Dick Cheney, but let’s drop the political stuff here and focus on the entertainment part. We’ve had plenty of debates about all the Gore and Cheney topics in GD and the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/39 "2009-08-24T15:14:17Z")
> [@Reloy3](#): > > He doesn’t seem to be working hard at changing his own lifestyle to reduce his impact on the environment, just trying to get us to change our lifestyle. That is a major form of hypocrisy. Also, he remains fair game by using this hypocrisy to keep his name in the news while flying in private jets and living in an energy sucking Taj Mahal. From [urbanlegends.com](http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/al_gore_energy_2.htm): > [@](#): > > In the book version of An Inconvenient Truth where Gore discusses what ordinary citizens can do to help combat global warming, he stops well short of calling for deep sacrifice or lifestyle change. > > First, he lists a number of modest steps individuals can take to make their homes and activities more environmentally friendly – like using energy-efficient appliances, adjusting the thermostat by a couple of degrees, installing solar panels, and using less hot water when possible – all of which are economically as well as ecologically beneficial, and none of which we have any reason to believe Gore is not taking himself. > > Second, he preaches activism – voting for environmentally enlightened measures and candidates and spreading he gospel of global warming. And in these we know Al Gore has played an exemplary role. > > Third, he argues that everyone ought to try to achieve a “carbon neutral” lifestyle. How? By doing precisely what he does – offsetting one’s environmental impact through investments in projects and enterprises aimed at reducing energy consumption overall. > > So, where is the disjunct between what he says and what he does? Unless you put words in his mouth, there isn’t one. You might argue that it would be better for the environment if people like Gore lived in smaller houses and modified their lifestyles instead of shelling out bucks for carbon offsets – and you might even be right – but that’s a policy disagreement, not proof that he’s a hypocrite. Folks who dislike his politics will no doubt call him hypocritical just the same, but judged strictly in terms of whether or not Al Gore practices what he preaches, the case against him is a sham. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/40 "2009-08-24T15:19:01Z")
By the way, **MPB in Salt Lake** , ‘Kirstie Alley is fat’ jokes are nowhere near 10 years old. That Fat Actress show was four years ago and I don’t remember anybody talking about her weight before that. [Here’s what she looked like 10 years ago](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1152332/Getty-Images-Entertainment) (lower left). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426.md?page=3)