Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Links - 15th May 2024 (2 - Comedy)

Comedian who mocked disabled child singer did not breach limits of free speech: Supreme Court - "A comedian who mocked a disabled child singer for years did not breach the limits of free speech guaranteed under Quebec's Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.   In a 5-4 split decision, the top court ruled Friday that while comedian Mike Ward's act ridiculed Jérémy Gabriel, a young man with Treacher Collins Syndrome, he was chosen as a target not because of his disability but because of his fame.  In its ruling, the court found that Ward's jokes did not seek to incite others to mock Gabriel and he cannot be blamed for the actions of Gabriel's classmates and others who parroted the jokes"
Left wingers keep claiming there is no freedom of speech in Canada, only freedom of expression. Looks like CBC didn't get the memo. Nor did the Supreme Court of Canada

Lesbian wins $22,500 over comedian's insults - "A Toronto comic and a Vancouver restaurant owner have been ordered to pay a lesbian patron $22,500 in compensation over a tirade of insults, after the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the comic's claim that his words were an appropriate response to a heckler.  Lorna Pardy filed a complaint in 2008 alleging she and her lesbian partner were the targets of the offensive comments made by Guy Earle, who was hosting the open mike night at Zesty's Restaurant on Commercial Drive in May 2007. Earle did not deny he was offensive, but claimed Pardy and her same-sex partner first rudely heckled him along with the amateur comics on stage that night. Earle claimed that Pardy threw two drinks in his face, and admitted he broke Pardy's sunglasses in a confrontation after the show.  Earle's lawyer later walked out of the Human Rights Tribunal hearing after claiming it was an illegal restriction on his client's freedom of speech."

Shane Gill - "The Left says that when it comes to comedy, you cannot punch down. Only up. But in order for you to punch up, you need to tell yourself that there are entire groups of people that are beneath you. The Left very often exposes themselves as incredibly racist the moment you give their positions anything more than the most cursory thought"

Melissa Chen - "I see that the Chapelle Discourse has outlasted news about Afghanistan, China, Taiwan, lab leak, and supply chain disruptions in the media cycle.  We have utterly lost the perspective on what is most consequential while hyper-focusing on the trivial pursuit of fixing perceived moral injuries."

Dave Chappelle Apparently Tricked “Saturday Night Live” Staff By Performing A “Fake” Monologue In The Dress Rehearsal Before Revealing New Antisemitic Material Live On Air
Modern comedy is just about pushing the left wing agenda

Why I showed up at Netflix to support Dave Chappelle - "Cancel culture is not just a threat – it has already succeeded. Comedy is basically in its death throes. Comedians are afraid to say anything that might upset a mob of college-age morons. All the sitcoms currently on network television are the most boring and stale programmes I have ever seen in my life...   So many people are reaching out to me privately – film stars, game developers, writers – to say thank you for being willing to go out and do this. I really hope that what has happened serves as an example to people that it is time to fight for our craft and for our right to say proudly that we like jokes."

Meme - "Female stand-up comedian
*Period blood*
*Fake orgasm*
*Dick size*
*Bra*
*Boobs (Cleavage)*
*Blaming men for everything*"

John Cleese on Monty Python and Political Correctness - "the thing about political correctness is that it starts as a good idea and then gets taken ad absurdum. And one of the reasons it gets taken ad absurdum is that a lot of the politically correct people have no sense of humor... they have no sense of proportion, and a sense of humor is actually a sense of proportion. It’s the sense of knowing what’s important. In my stage show I tell jokes that make the audience roar with laughter, jokes about the Australians or the French or the Canadians or the Germans or the Italians. I make all these jokes and everybody laughs — and we don’t hate those groups of people, do we? Take this joke: “A guy walks into a bar and says to the barman, ‘You hear the latest Irish joke?’ The barman says, ‘I should warn you, I’m Irish.’ So the guy says, ‘All right then, I’ll tell it slowly.’” That’s funny! But if you tell that joke and replace “Irish” with “barman who isn’t very intelligent” it isn’t funny at all. Why should we sacrifice laughter to the cause of politically correctness if that laughter isn’t rooted in nastiness? This actually reminds me of an idea I had: Every year at the U.N. they should vote one particular nation to be the butt of the joke... People find it hard to believe this, but unless we’re talking about puns and wordplay, all humor is essentially critical. So to eliminate jokes that are at the expense of other people is to eliminate most jokes. If you laugh at someone, it’s because his behavior is inappropriate. That’s why you can’t really be funny about Jesus Christ or St. Francis of Assisi, because everything they do is pretty appropriate... At what point are we allowed to make a joke? After the Charge of the Light Brigade, how many years had to pass for it to be acceptable to make jokes about the dead British?... if I can make jokes about Americans or English or Germans but I can’t make jokes about black people, then the question is this: When will we be able to treat black people in the same way that we treat Germans?... when will be able to say things are equal? Where’s the line? Here’s another example: Americans love jokes about English dentistry. Now that’s not very nice, is it? Have you ever heard an Englishman saying, “Stop persecuting me?” So where’s the line about what’s allowable? It’s very thin, wherever it is. Interviewer: I think the line is actually pretty thick: The people who historically have had more power in a society don’t get to decide what’s offensive to those who historically have had less power. Cleese: Eighty percent of people out there on the sidewalk will tell you they are oppressed by the system. All I’m saying is that all these definitions and rules are not cut-and-dried... Sometimes in my show I say, “There were these two Mexicans” and immediately the whole audience goes, “Oooh.” People think something is going to be offensive before it’s even been said... The Mexicans are actually the heroes! They’ve won! There are millions of Mexicans in America. Are we trying to pretend that isn’t the case? So is that a nasty story to tell? I don’t think it is. And isn’t it condescending to say that certain people can’t take a joke? "

BREAKING: AOC TRIGGERED by obvious parody account of her on Twitter, assessing how to 'move forward' - "Recent posts from the parody account include: "Feeling cute, might go to the southern border for another photo shoot", "If we tax citizens at a rate of 80%, we'd easily be able to pay 3 trillion dollars in reparations to transgenders", "Farming should be illegal", and "Cow farts are far more dangerous than fentanyl."... the parody account wrote, "This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on @elonmusk."  Musk responded to the post with a "fire" emoji...  The parody account posts content making fun of AOC's notorious response to Senator Cruz when she stated, "I don't want to date you" in response to criticism from the congressman."

Meme - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC: "FYI there's a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility. It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread. I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody) @AOCpress: "I'm still not going to date you."
Once again, liberals are threatened by comedy, satire and parody
It's only okay if it's parody Trump accounts. Imagine if Trump had tried to shut down parody accounts

Meme - "Yes police? They're parodying me" *BBQ Becky*

Storm on Twitter - "Here ya go, Alex. I made this handy guide for all your genius supporters to use so they can tell you apart from the domestic terrorist impersonating you."
Ian Miles Cheong on Twitter - "It's clearly marked as a parody. You should also mark your own account as a parody because you're like a parody of a politician."
Shibetoshi Nakamoto on Twitter - "oh no, not obvious parody that’s criminal, all humor should be banned and anyone making a joke should be put into the electric chair"
Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 on Twitte - "AOC is mad that parody account @AOCpress is making fun of her. Now AOC is threatening to sue Twitter over this hilarious critic. That’s a pretty thin skin Sandy Cortez has — something you’d expect to find in a schoolgirl not a member of Congress."
Jack Murphy ⚡️ on Twitter - "The internet is a tough place lady Meaner than the streets of your hometown I guess"
Comrade Misty is Putin’s Buddy 🍀 on Twitter - "It’s clearly labeled as parody. Is this violence?"
Styxhexenhammer666 on Twitter - "It's hard to parody someone as brain damaged as you, Alexandria."
Noel Olinde on Twitter - "Who cares? Nobody takes you seriously anyway. The parody account can only make you look better…"
Richard Marshall on Twitter - "@AOC Can't wait to see what her "team" comes up with to "deal with it""
ALX 🇺🇸 on Twitter - "It’s clearly marked as a parody. I find it concerning that your actual Tweets and positions are so close to parody that it’s sometimes indistinguishable from reality."
Julia 🇺🇸 on Twitter - "She’s so mad Elon restored the parody account’s blue check—and even Politico is running cover for her. The account is following the rules of Twitter, which apply to everyoneeeee! Get bent, AOC 😆"
Jake 2.0 on Twitter - "The AOC team is worried that a parody account is being taken seriously and mistaken for the real AOC. Think about that."

Jailed for jokes he didn’t make - "Munawar Faruqui was accused of insulting Hindu gods and members of the Indian government with ‘indecent’ and ‘vulgar’ comments at a gig on 1 January.  But witnesses say he did not get to perform that night. Police have even admitted there is no evidence for the accusation. Apparently, the accuser – the son of a politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – overheard some jokes Faruqui was preparing for his performance. Faruqui and four others (including another comic) were arrested and charged with upsetting religious sentiments and – in reference to Covid – performing a ‘negligent act likely to spread infection of diseases dangerous to life’.  Despite not actually performing at the gig, Faruqui remains in jail. And police superintendent Vijay Khatri has – incredibly – said it ‘doesn’t really matter’ whether or not Faruqui made the comments, because he is guilty of ‘intent’."

Meme - Miri beaucoup @Miribeaucoup: "my hot take is that jokes in general are overrated. everyone should stop attempting to be funny. learn empathy first. i'd rather live in a cautious, sensitive world than a "funny" one."
Why liberals aren't funny

David Sedaris: ‘People say I’m terrible and cruel — but other people have terrible thoughts too’ | Saturday Review | The Times - "“Thank God I’m gay. I’m giving a commencement speech at the most PC school in America — Oberlin College [in Ohio]. Because I’m a middle-aged white male, it made me wonder would I have been doing it if I wasn’t gay? It has been a good career move.” Ah, political correctness. “I don’t know what is worse. To have a far-right audience or a far-left audience. I have a joke about Trump borrowed from Bill Maher [a comedian and talk show host], who said that if elected, Trump would change the symbol of America from an eagle to a turtle f***ing a shoe. People walk out.” If right-wingers walk out, “people on the left want to stay and tell you, ‘You can’t say that.’ Both of them are like this . . . [Sedaris makes a strangling motion] hands around the neck of comedy slowly choking the life out of it... He says of this spirit of censoriousness that “it’s a new thing: I’m going to go see you for an hour and a half, and if you say one thing that I don’t agree with, you’re off my list”. Some jokes that don’t work in the US, work in Britain, though... “Mother Teresa and Princess Diana are in heaven. Mother Teresa says to God, ‘It’s not fair, I served the poor and devoted myself to service; all she did was go to cocktail parties and wear fancy clothes — how come she gets a halo and I don’t?’ And God replies, ‘That’s not a halo, that’s a steering wheel.’ ” Yes, it’s bad taste, but Sedaris does not mind. “There are people who say I’m so terrible and cruel — but you can’t tell me other people don’t have cruel thoughts. Martin Amis argues that good taste is the last thing that writers should pay attention to. I have a lot of respect for that.””
Clearly, without "homophobia", he'd be even more famous
Obviously it's worse to walk out than to try to silence people, especially since you're silencing them for a righteous cause

Monty Python star John Cleese mocks Hank Azaria’s Apu guilt with apology to ‘English people’… but some don’t get the joke - "British actor John Cleese has been both cheered and chastised for ridiculing voice actor Hank Azaria over his apology to “every single Indian person” for his portrayal of Simpsons character Apu.  Azaria drew a mixed response this week when he said sorry for his portrayal of the long-running cartoon’s Indian shopkeeper Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, whose stereotypical identity, the actor said, had helped maintain “structural racism.”... “Not wishing to be left behind by Hank Azaria, I would like to apologise on behalf on Monty Python for all the many sketches we did making fun of white English people,” Cleese said in a tweet on Tuesday. “We’re sorry for any distress we may have caused.”... Other Twitter users similarly chimed in with well-loved examples of people mocked by Monty Python, including the French, the Chinese, “upper class twits,” Catholics, people from Yorkshire, and others. Some users questioned why white people are “trying to be offended” on behalf of ethnic minorities in order to “appear virtuous,” and suggested that comedy relies on being able to make jokes about different cultures."

Meme - Capt. Planet: "Gen Z the weakest generation because of them Rush Hour has to put this before the start of their movies"
"We all love our 90's buddy comedies... but this movie was created in a different time. FYI: Certain depictions, language and humor may seem outdated and at times offensive"

Ricky Gervais says being able to offend in comedy is a ‘good system’

In defence of Ricky Gervais and the right to offend people - "In 2004, a woman in Birmingham wrote a play about a disabled child who was raped inside a Sikh place of worship. Some Sikhs were offended that this fictional storyline was set at a Gurdwara (Sikh temple) and went on a protest that eventually turned violent. The play had to be shut down. Some groups wanted the writer, a Sikh woman herself, arrested for allegedly stirring up anti-Sikh tensions.  The second story is as follows. Several hundred years ago, when the region now known as India was ruled over by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, he was angry that Hindus refused to convert to Islam. To protect their freedom of religion – the right to believe in something the emperor found offensive – a Sikh guru gave up his life. He told the community: protect freedom of belief, because it affects all of us... Gervais says, very early on, that he doesn’t need to do this. He’s already rich, he doesn’t need to cause controversy to get richer. He’s doing it for an important principle. The show, essentially, is about him defending the right to be offensive. The offensiveness is the point. That’s where I’m with him 100 per cent, for two important reasons.  Firstly, without the right to offend, we lose the right to challenge ideas and norms. I’m not arguing about whether Gervais is good or bad, or whether he is offensive or not. It’s fine if you find him and his jokes distasteful. But I’d rather live in a world where people are offensive than one where everyone agrees. Then we would have no diversity of thought or ideas.  I was deeply involved in the Sikh play controversy, now nearly 20 years ago, because I defended the right of the writer to tell her truth. For that, we were both labelled “traitors” by some Sikhs. They had a right to find her offensive but they should not have the right to stop her from speaking out.  To take another example, even the idea of gay marriage was offensive to the norms of religious institutions... The second point in defence of offensiveness is even more important. When we clamp down on “offensive” speech, usually through the law, it’s always used against minorities first... Somehow, we went from not wanting people to discriminate, to not wanting people to be offensive at all. That’s dangerous enough as it is. What’s worse is the idea that people who are mildly offensive should be completely shunned – ie “cancelled” and never heard from again. Someone is either on the side of angels, or must be cancelled. They’re either “woke” or “racists”. But the world isn’t black or white, it’s in hundreds of shades of grey. I may not agree with everything – or even anything – Ricky Gervais says. But that’s ok, because it’s more important to protect the right of people to be different than to be inoffensive."

Rex Murphy: Bravo to Ricky Gervais for standing up to wokeism - "Gervais dared face the whirlwind. Good on him. And his Netflix special will be a hit. It’s interesting that comedy, in the ancient tradition of deploying the weapon of satire to correct or rebuke social mischiefs, may be the force that puts a halt to up-to-now triumphal wokeism."

Comedian says he was rejected by agent for being white - "Brooklyn funnyman Tyler Fischer, 35, was trying to find a talent manager in October 2020 when he first connected with AGI Entertainment Media & Management, a Manhattan outfit that reps comedians Samantha Bee and Colin Quinn, television host Julie Chen and journalist Natalie Morales... ” ‘We love you. Everyone here loves you and thinks you’re a star, but we’re not taking you because you’re white.’ And that’s when my stomach dropped,” alleged Fischer, who is now suing the company for discrimination in Brooklyn Supreme Court... “UPDATE: I will not settle. I will take this all the way even if I don’t get a dime. This ‘justified’ racism must end.”  Fischer wouldn’t detail the purported settlement offer.  “I have endless people reaching out to me privately saying, ‘This happened to me. I’m too afraid to speak out.’ I had an acting agent reach out the other day who said, ‘You have no idea how bad it is. They’re not hiding it’”"
The cope is that non-white people were discriminated against for a long time, so this is good

Comedy is being ‘nuked’ while reality TV gets away with sex and swearing, says ‘Allo ‘Allo! star - "Comedy is being “neutralised”, according to ‘Allo ‘Allo! star Vicki Michelle, while reality TV shows are allowed to get away with rampant sex and swearing.  The actress who played the French waitress Yvette Carte-Blanche in the series, has said that most viewers would welcome new comedies in the style of ‘Allo ‘Allo!, but a minority would take offence...   A string of content warnings for TV series was issued last year by streaming service BritBox - a collaborative venture between the BBC and other broadcasters - including one advisory note which told viewers that ‘Allo ‘Allo! featured “outdated” material.  “Comedy is being neutralised - or nuked,” Ms Michelle said. “I think 80 per cent of this country would love comedy like ‘Allo ‘Allo! to be made again, so 20 per cent might take aversion to some of the content.”...   The humour stemmed from innuendo and mockery of national stereotypes and accents, and in 2021 Britbox warned modern audiences about the supposedly dated content of the decades-old programme, with a note stating: “This classic comedy contains language and attitudes of the time that may offend some viewers.”  BritBox explained at the time that certain classic programmes required advice on the “potentially sensitive language or attitudes of their era”. But Michelle argued that contemporary television is far more offensive than the comedy now deemed worthy content warnings, telling the Daily Mirror: “People eff, blind and use the c-word on telly and that’s considered fine.  “And on reality TV people make love under a sheet, and that’s fine. There was none of that in ‘Allo ‘Allo!. I don’t think there’s anything in there that would upset a normal person.   She added: “‘Allo ‘Allo! didn’t send up anyone in particular – we sent up everyone.  “It was a family show where the adults got the double entendres and the children just thought the situations were funny. You can see someone on telly in a bikini and their boobs out.”"

Marlon Wayans hits back at cancel culture as he claims that movies such as White Chicks are 'needed' - "He's known for his role in a slew of wacky comedies, including 2004 hit White Chicks.  And Marlon Wayans has now explained that we 'need' these kind of movies in the world, as he struck down on 'cancel culture'. The actor, 50, claimed 'we can't laugh anymore' while discussing the 18 years since White Chicks' release, explaining that he won't change his ways or jokes... 'If a joke is gonna get me cancelled, thank you for doing me that favour. It's sad that society is in this place where we can't laugh anymore'"

Meme - "Mostly Strawman
Not funny
Never original
Motivated by butthurt
*wall of text*
A leftist meme"
Aka the left can't meme

Meme - "Jokes are funny"
"BUT IT CAUSES REAL WORLD HARM"
"How?"
*punches comedy champion*

Being Offended is Part of Living in a Democracy, Comedian Says - "comedians in particular have found it difficult to navigate the waters of a culture in which many people are easily triggered. A 2015 article in The Atlantic described how comics were censoring their own jokes before standup routines on college campuses. The article was probably prompted by Jerry Seinfeld, arguably the most famous comedian in the world, who had explained months before why he wouldn’t perform on “PC” college campuses...   Seinfeld is not the only comedian uncomfortable with the trend of easily offended people. (Perhaps it’s because comedians thrive on producing edgy material.) British funnyman Stephen Fry explained his distaste for the phrase a few years ago.     “It’s now very common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that,’ as if that gives them certain rights. It’s just a whine,” Fry said. “It has no meaning it has no purpose it has no reason to be respected as a phrase.”... when did it become accepted thinking that people have a right to not be offended by the words, people, or ideas around them?  As our culture grows more diverse and our means of communication improve, one might think it would be incumbent on people to become more tolerant of different ideas, people and opinions–at least if the people in that society wished it to remain cohesive and civil. But it seems that the opposite is happening... Is the expectation to not “be offended” practical in nations that have literally hundreds of millions of people with diverse life experiences, ethnic and racial backgrounds, educations, and worldviews? If people are offended, is there a healthier and more constructive way than shame to address the conflict?"

Do Blackadder and The Fresh Prince need trigger warnings? - "The BBC has slapped offensive-content warnings on classic comedy shows Blackadder and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...   It is not clear what infringement of woke rules prompted the warning on The Fresh Prince. The show is hardly awash with profanity, and none of the characters in the all-black cast ever says anything racist.  Since the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, the BBC has gone into overdrive in identifying and atoning for potentially offensive shows on its iPlayer platform...   These offensive-content warnings are bad news for comedy. Comedy, more than any other genre, works best when it comes close to or transgresses the line of acceptability and convention. The BBC’s censorious attitude will no doubt encourage comedy writers and stand-ups to carry on producing boring, sterile shows that never risk offending anyone. This joyless war on comedy has got to stop."

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