# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/41 "2009-08-24T15:32:44Z")
**Marley** , I see your warning, but I don’t think what I’m going to say is political: If the late-night comedians were attacking Al Gore about his alleged hyprocrisy with respect to the environment (which I won’t debate one way or the other here), that’d be valid. But they still make jokes about how he’s unemotional and wooden. That’s what’s so stupid. If that’s political, I apologize. ---
**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, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/42 "2009-08-24T15:35:46Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > 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). I remember people talking about her weight while the show referenced in your linked photo was actually running. And there were an awful lot of cloaks and long tunics and dusters in Alley’s wardrobe for that show. She wasn’t into “Fat Actress” territory yet, but she was definitely on the run-up. And I don’t say this as criticism…I don’t care how much she weighs. If she’s happier thin, good for her. If she’s happier fat, good for her. But the weight gain stuff began at least as early as the run of VC. ---
**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, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/43 "2009-08-24T15:36:02Z")
I think discussing Gore as a figure in popular culture is fine, it’s the policy debates that belong elsewhere. As for jokes about Gore being wooden- it’s like doing jokes about Martha Stewart being evil. Everybody was doing it 10 years ago and it’s no longer interesting or funny. ---
**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, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/44 "2009-08-24T15:42:44Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think discussing Gore as a figure in popular culture is fine, it’s the policy debates that belong elsewhere. As for jokes about Gore being wooden- it’s like doing jokes about Martha Stewart being evil. Everybody was doing it 10 years ago and it’s no longer interesting or funny. Which is pretty much the OP’s point. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/45 "2009-08-24T16:03:12Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > 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. That only makes sense if Kirstie Alley were stuck up, especially about her physical appearance. I can’t find any evidence that that’s true. She’s apparently been difficult to work with according to some of her former writers, but it wasn’t about being vain about her looks but about being demanding about plot and dialogue for her characters. She has always seemed to have a pretty open, bawdy sense of humor that doesn’t seem to go along with the idea of her being snooty. (Recall upon winning, I believe, an Emmy, she thanked her then husband for giving her “the big one” every night in front of a live international broadcast audience. That’s not what a snob does.) It’s not schaudenfreude, it’s cheap and easy fat jokes. It’s playground taunting, not a thing more sophisticated. The stuff of 11 year olds. > [@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. Which has nothing to do with the things for which he’s pilloried by comics, who poke at his weight, his appearance (especially for the period when he was wearing a bear), his speaking voice, his alleged lack of charisma and so on. It’s not topical, it is, again, easy pickings playground taunting. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/46 "2009-08-24T17:54:17Z")
I’d love to see a picture of Al Gore wearing a bear! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/47 "2009-08-24T18:10:51Z")
Now, I don’t watch every late night show, but who’s making fun of Al Gore? The only time I ever hear him get made fun of, is if he does something newsworthy. So it would be something like "Al Gore is writing a new book, it’s called [joke about Al Gore]. And then he’s not mentioned again until he does something else. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/48 "2009-08-24T18:16:13Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I’d love to see a picture of Al Gore wearing a bear! You never knew who was in the “masturbating bear” suit until now, I guess? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/49 "2009-08-24T19:40:10Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I remember people talking about her weight while the show referenced in your linked photo was actually running. And there were an awful lot of cloaks and long tunics and dusters in Alley’s wardrobe for that show. She wasn’t into “Fat Actress” territory yet, but she was definitely on the run-up. And I don’t say this as criticism…I don’t care how much she weighs. If she’s happier thin, good for her. If she’s happier fat, good for her. But the weight gain stuff began at least as early as the run of VC. I used to watch Veronica’s Closet (it was on after Seinfeld), and I remember them always referring to Kathy Najimy’s character as Kirstie Alley’s “plus-sized” friend/co-worker, but I always thought they were the same size. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/50 "2009-08-24T19:56:38Z")
Does this mean “Lincoln was gay” jokes are now off-limits? ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/51 "2009-08-24T20:04:18Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > I’m just amazed to hear that Conan is still on the air. You misspelled “Letterman”. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/52 "2009-08-24T20:47:10Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > 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. In part BECAUSE Limbaugh and O’Donnell are famous for being a vicious attack dog and a shrill harpy. The strong impression they convey for other aspects of their personality would distract from the fat jokes. Nowadays Alley is famous mostly for being the target of fat jokes, so she’s easier to write jokes about. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/53 "2009-08-26T13:04:54Z")
But Kirstie is also famous for being a Scientologist, and as everyone knows, Scientology has the solution to every problem a human, sorry, a \*thetan \*could ever face! Except, apparently, taking the fork out of their mouth. Being a shill for the cult makes her as much of a human joke as Tom Cruise, and the fact that she donates all kinds of money means that she is helping the cult enslave even more impressionable young people. So she is evil, and I don’t really care if she is ridiculed as long as she shills for the evil cult. ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-late-night-comics-beating-up-on-people-no-longer-in-the-news/507426/54 "2009-08-26T15:55:31Z")
When dropping the name stops getting laughs the late night guys stop using them. As long as the audience laughs, those people are “funny” and can be used as the target of jokes. It’s that simple. [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=2)