Even comics without star power who have set off furors, like Sam Morril and Kurt Metzger , are doing fine. Does fear of backlash make some comics self-censor? The cantankerous debates online today can be seen as moral pushback and a reminder that those dastardly censors at the network were standing in for audiences with strong opinions about what is offensive. Since these squabbles now begin online, comedians are more likely to be harshly criticized in public, but this presents a new foil for comedy that depends on violating social or ethical norms, a broad tradition that includes everything from National Lampoon to Sarah Silverman.
While many try to give high-minded explanations for button-pushing jokes, anyone who sees enough stand-up knows the truth: Transgression gets laughs.
The real consequence of the proliferation of joke controversies is that the realm of the taboo has appeared to expand. Artistically, this is good news for Mr. Jeselnik, whose trademark aesthetic is succinctly crafted setups punctuated by misdirection and a shock. His jokes have the rhythm of a magic trick and the concision of a bubble-gum-pop lyric: Not a word wasted.
Jeselnik, who has the smug smile and good looks of a Neil LaBute villain, has always been a spectacular joke writer in search of a good subject. We have these examples of comedians doing a show in a club, doing some edgy material, and patrons of the club are recording a clip and putting it online. This seems to have happened recently—people think they are owed an apology for things. Like the Tracy Morgan thing, he was doing that material for years.
That gay joke in question was on his HBO special, and one guy decided that the thing was wrong because he wanted an apology for himself. They want an apology, which is insane. If comedy worked that way, nobody would want to see comedy, ever. Exactly, there is no integrity regarding comments on the Internet. They have a mouthpiece, and they feel like they have a need to be heard. For me it took a long time to be able to be as edgy as I am now, but to do it in a smart way.
It took me about six or seven years to tell a rape joke on stage that actually got a laugh. I think that the rape jokes that I have are defendable, but when you start out, you just have to fail a lot before you understand [how to write these]. You should try everything and see what sticks. Even my parents tell me, when I was just a little baby, I used to climb out of my crib every morning, and then crawl over to the liquor cabinet… to try to spend time with them.
My grandmother died about a year ago. But I was wrong. It was fine. The hard part, the upsetting part… was that we thought she died in the way that she wanted. She wanted to die in the best way possible, like uh… You, radio winner. This is not a trick question. Thank you, everybody wants to die peacefully in their sleep.
Not me. I want to be alert, awake, surrounded by friends, in a house fire. But my grandmother wanted to go peacefully in her sleep.
We were all excited for her. But then we did an autopsy. Found out she actually died horribly, in the worst way possible. During an autopsy. It was fucked up. She was dead on. Restaurant Jokes: 23 Best.
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