You can’t joke about anything anymore.
It’s a refrain we’ve been hearing from certain comedy circles for the last decade. The danger of cancel culture is a running theme of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Dave Chappelle has repeatedly spoke up for free speech in the face of fierce criticism over his jokes about trans issues or the politics of Israel. The world’s richest comedy nerd, Elon Musk, told us comedy had become illegal.
Now that the talk shows of Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel — two late-night hosts who made jokes about President Trump the centerpiece of their programs — have been canceled and suspended, respectively, what are the heavy hitters of the comedy community doing? Would you believe they are heading to Saudi Arabia?
Starting next week, many of the most popular American stand-up stars (Chappelle, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart) will perform at a huge new festival in Riyadh, hosted by a government not exactly known for its openness to dissent. The optics were never great, but the timing is now especially awkward.
Tim Dillon, a comic and podcaster with an aggressively nihilistic sensibility who boasted on Rogan’s show about getting paid $375,000 to perform at the festival, announced yesterday that he was fired from the event for comments on his podcast. In a grim echo, he also addressed the crackdown on comedy in this country, criticizing the suspension of Kimmel. “It’s wrong to pretend it’s because the show sucked or because it was losing eyeballs or money,” Dillon wrote, likely aiming his comments at right-leaning comedians who didn’t like Kimmel. “Clearly it was a politically motivated hit job.”
Credit to him for straightforward bluntness.
It’s easy to roll your eyes at late-night comedians getting applause for mocking the president. Many people, myself included, found some of those jokes pandering. But that now seems a little glib. When Kimmel joked about the president, he knew that a target was on his back. President Trump, who has already effectively mounted pressure campaigns against universities, law firms and media networks, had made this clear, calling for Kimmel’s show to be canceled long before ABC’s decision Wednesday to pull him off the air.
In his first monologue after “The Late Show” was canceled by CBS, which cited a “purely financial” decision in an explanation that looks less and less credible, Colbert responded to the president’s social media reference to his fellow talk show host (“I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next,” Trump posted) by waving his finger at the screen: “No, no, absolutely not Kimmel,” he said. “I am the martyr. There’s only room for one on this cross.”
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Being a High-Profile Comedian Right Now Is No Joke appeared first on New York Times.
