During a standup performance at the
Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, comedian Daniel Tosh reportedly joked about rape
and suggested that the woman who heckled him should be gang raped.
Now, there have been conflicting reports
on how the topic was brought up. The
club owner told BuzzFeed
that the topic of rape was brought up by an audience member and was pretty
mild.
[Jamie] Masada says Tosh asked the audience, “What you guys want to talk about?” After someone in the front said “rape,” a woman in the audience started screaming, “No, rape is painful, don’t talk about it.” Then Masada says, “Daniel came in, and he said, ‘Well it sounds like she’s been raped by five guys’—something like that. I really didn’t hear properly.
According to her blog post titled ‘A
Girl Walks into a Comedy Club,’ the female audience member left the show
early in fear for her life after Tosh joked how hilarious it would be if she
were gang raped.
After I called out to him, Tosh paused for a moment. Then, he says, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by like 5 guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her…” and I, completely stunned and find it hard to process what was happening but knowing I needed to get out of there, immediately nudged my friend who was also completely stunned, as we high-tailed it out of there.
Tosh has received support from his fans
and other comedians like Dane Cook (before his tweet mysteriously disappeared)
and Louis C.K. showed
his love for Tosh without
actually condoning the rape joke controversy. Whoopi Goldberg said on a recent
episode of The View
said the joke was okay as long as it “works.”
Photo courtesy of Comedy Central |
Regardless of what context the joke was
in, Tosh, the star of the Comedy Central show Tosh.O, blurred the line between “just plain offensive” and “funny
offensive” when he took his jokes “too far” to some fans.
This controversy all begs the question
though, are we not holding people accountable of what they say as long as it’s
funny? Understandably, it is a comedian’s job to make fun of serious situations
because “it’s what they do.” However, when does “it’s their job” overshadow
something as serious and sensitive as rape?
People usually attend comedy clubs to
laugh and have a good time. Some commenters on various news stories about the
issue said that people should know what to expect when going into a Tosh comedy
show. However, is it right to blame her for standing up for what she believes
in? Is it right to give Tosh a pass for basically encouraging a crime to happen
just because it would be funny?
Now some may argue that anyone stupid enough
to act on a joke should be thrown in jail because what they are doing is
against the law, but the influence celebrities have on fans and society is downright
scary.
Tosh did issue
an apology after the woman’s blog went viral and now there are rumors
he is taking out rape jokes in his animated Brickelberry pilot, but still should
certain topics be off limits in the comedic wolrd?
I don't think #Rape is never funny. But I guess you have to be sexual assault survivor to to see there is no #comedy in this.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly....
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