PrintFebruary 27, 2024
The death of comedy
After being fired from the Saturday Night Live cast very shortly after his hiring in 2019, Shane Gillis made what could be characterized as a triumphant return to host the show that so unceremoniously dumped him this past weekend.
While some saw this as a victory over cancel culture, others saw it as rewarding bigotry.
Gillis’ sin was using the term “Chink” in a comedy bit from several years earlier. The context of the bit was Gillis portraying a racist that used the term. That this would precipitate his cancellation is ludicrous.
I recall a bit from Sarah Silverman where she’s doing a run through of her set for the owners and managers of the venue where she’s scheduled to perform that night. After the bit, the principals ask her if she could re-word her joke about the black guy to eliminate the use of the “N word.” She replies “Sure, but what about the Chink joke? Should I change that too?” To which both reply “no, that’s fine.”
But back to my main point, Shane Gillis shouldn’t be held to any higher standard than any run of the mill leftist aligned comedian. Comedy is supposed to be above that. A good comedian is going to rub some people the wrong way. If they don’t, they’re not very good at it. Think of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy. These guys would all be cancelled immediately in today’s overly sensitive culture.
As much as anything, this all is testament to the simple fact that the modern left simply has no sense of humor. Get over yourselves. Let comedians be funny again.
Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
