I don’t usually watch “The Tonight Show”, but I was up late the other night and caught a repeat episode. The comedy section that night featured the apparently recurring character of Ross the Intern. Watching it I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was watching a modern day Stepin Fetchit routine. The guy didn’t say or do anything particularly funny; his whole routine (which the audience ate up) was just being as stereotypically and flamboyantly gay as possible. It was embarassing to watch.
Are gay people offended by this? (Or straight people for that matter.) Or have I just lost my sense of humor?
I’m not gay, but I love Ross the intern. He’s unapologetically gay, yes, but he seems to be a genuinely nice guy. The skit you might be referring to (the introduction of his video blog?) was not his wittiest moment, though. The piece when he went to a tailgate party before a football game was hysterical.
I find him to be consistently funnier than the other roving reporters, such as John Melendez or the Sopranos guy (whose name escapes me).
I always got the Stepin Fetchit vibe from the older black guy on the Letterman show who runs out on command to bring the gift certificate to the contestant on guess what type of cut this is (sorry, that’s an avulsion) or whatever the hell it is that day.
Ross the Intern is the sound of fingernails-on-blackboard, incarnate. I can’t stand him.
Come to think of it, how did that massive flake manage to survive junior high? Methinks he must’ve been home-schooled, or something. Or maybe the typical pack of bullies and homophobes couldn’t stand to be within a twenty-foot radius of him even back then.
Not that Ross needs defending, but I love him and his segments on TTS! He is who he is and is very comfortable with himeself, to the point where he can make fun of himself. I missed his latest segment, introducing his video blog - where he took Louise to the vets for a check-up, although I was able to watch the video clip yesterday. It wasn’t quite as funny as some of his work is - a recent one that I really enjoyed was one where he went to the Fire Dept. of Burbank’s training site and suited up to work with the firefighters. He really went into the burning building and “saved” folks (including a stuffed dog that they had up there, made to look like Louise!!!).
I guess not everyone is going to like his comedy, but he is good, and his comedy has a positive outlook. Plus he’s overall a very good person.
He’s not a “recurring character.” That’s just who Ross is.
I went to college with Ross the Intern. We were on the forensics team together–though it was my freshman year and his senior year. First, he’s not a “character.” That’s really how Ross is. And he’s a huge amount of fun IRL. I really wish I had a chance to spend more time with him, because I enjoyed his company. Hell, I remember when he first announced that he was interning for the Tonight Show. And thena few months later, my mom was asking me if I had seen “Ross the Intern” on Leno. His bits at the 2002 Olympics were hilariously funny. Yeah, he started his internship at the end of 2001, so I guess technically he is playing a character “Ross the Intern” but it’s not…affected.
That’s interesting; I mean no offense to the real guy.
I dunno, maybe I just saw a particularly unfunny sketch, or maybe this is just a reminder why I don’t watch Leno in the first place (not my style of humor). I guess any comedy that really plays up stereotypes to the nth degree (gay, black, Jewish, whatever) feels offensive if you ultimately don’t find it funny in the first place.