It seems to me that a simple statement along these lines would be helpful:
“Yeah, I told some jokes on Twitter that, now that I think about them, were in pretty poor taste. Punching down is a shitty thing to do; I apologize and will avoid this kind of joke in the future.”
Targeting Jewish women and fat women isn’t exactly the coolest thing to do.
I think it would be hard to find a comic who doesn’t have some offensive jokes in their past, so I think it’s wrong to try to “screen” people on that basis. Transgressiveness is a staple of comedy.
My objection to Noah is that his jokes just aren’t funny. Nor have his Daily Show appearances been clever. He just seems a bit of a dullard. I really do wonder if he got the job by charming network brass on a personal level, because I am not seeing his qualifications.
I find the outrage embarrassingly pathetic, but whatever. You guys couldn’t possibly make my eyes roll any farther.
I did notice that (one of?) his standup special(s) is on Showtime2 tomorrow night. Never having seen his standup, I’m looking forward to it.
Punching down? That is doubly offensive. It equates a joke with a punch and implies that men are above Jewish women and fat women. As someone who enjoys comedy and believes in equality that is awful.
This thread has now fully entered Poe’s Law territory.
Seriously, a person’s entire life and career should be defined by posts he made in 30 seconds four years ago? I don’t know how he will be as a host. I’m not even sure I will watch but the reaction his dumb tweets have created (not just here, on the Internet in general) is ridiculous.
So, the comedians that are stating that this is exactly what they are doing on twitter are wrong about what they are doing on twitter?
Comedians can twitter every joke in their repertoire, but that doesn’t sound like a very smart business plan. Other comedians could steal their material, or the ticket buying public could become bored with the mean-spirited, petty, misogynistic, racist, attempts at what the comedian thinks is humor.
a-hem… It was a joke. Comedians aren’t responsible for your inability to recognize their humor. You are only required to overlook their flaws.
Again, comedians are doing this routinely:
“Today, I don’t have to go to a small, poorly lit room to try something new. I can open the Twitter app on my phone and test a premise that way. Does America agree with me that “30 for 30” documentaries are just Lifetime television for women for men? Apparently not.”
So, apparently it is actually a good business plan. But, if you want to try to start a comedy career by stealing lines from Louis CKs twitter feed, you’re welcome to test your hypothesis.
Given puddleglum’s politics, I suspect he was also joking.
Before I answer, give me a moment to check.
It’s an objectively stupid way to do it. You are broadcasting the jokes worldwide to your fans and you can’t gauge audience reaction. As your quote said MOST just use twitter to promote themselves. Smart comedianss have lamented the fact that people can easily record and broadcast from small venues nowadays. Stupid comedians “workshop” things on twitter.
On the off-chance you’re serious and not just trying to make a joke lamer than Trevor’s Tweets (you win), it just implies that men have more power than women. You’re welcome to be offended by facts all you like.
The facts are jokes are not punches and all men are not more powerful than all women. Noah is an immigrant stand up comedian, what power does he have? I think we need to cut him a break, after all coming from South Africa he has no experience with a system that has different rules for different groups.
Interesting point! I wonder if he ever works that into his routine?
Dp
Jokes are not punches. Right. I got it. I’d like to introduce you to the idea of figurative speech. Googling it will provide an introduction, but I’d be happy to answer any specific questions you have about it.
All men are not more powerful than all women. Again, I got it. That’s not relevant for this particular scenario. Jokes about fat women desperately wanting people to get drunk so that the fat women will appear attractive are both astonishingly lame and are specifically targeting people for a perceived area of powerlessness. It’s a bully’s joke, not a satirist’s joke.
You get noticed on Twitter. Several Unknowns are now Knowns because of Twitter. They fill clubs and venues and have gigs writing on TV because their Twitter feeds were funny.
As far as pros, yes people will steal jokes (in fact it is frustrating that there are several Twitter “stars” that are built nearly entirely on stealing other people’s stuff) but funny people are funny and Twitter is just another way to flex those muscles.
All of you saying he isn’t funny based on a few Twitter tweets should watch one of his videos or two. The man is funny and smart.
I for one can’t muster up any outrage at a few mildly questionable Twitter comments.