“Woke” culture has become insufferable.
More people are speaking out against it.
And a famous comedian had one bold message for people trying to shut him up.
The comedy world is striking back against “woke” insanity and cancel culture.
Over the past few years, comedians who refused to toe the politically correct line have begun to thrive as people are still yearning for good comedy.
That has opened the door for more comedians to speak their minds as people like Dave Chappelle have taken major slings and arrows.
The comedians strike back
Now Howie Mandel, former host of Deal Or No Deal, is speaking out against the censors trying to get comedians to shut up.
During a podcast discussion with filmmaker Mike Binder, Mandel said, “If you think of comedy as an art, they started telling us there are certain colors you can’t use . . . If you’re a painter you shouldn’t say, ‘You can paint anything you want, but don’t use black, don’t use any yellows, and it’s really not right to use blue.’ Art suffers, and there isn’t anything we shouldn’t talk about.”
Mandel went on to explain that comedians need the freedom to discuss all sorts of topics.
He continued, “All humor comes out of darkness. That’s why the Tragedy and Comedy masks are so close together . . . If you’re a little kid and you go to the circus, you’re laughing at a clown falling down. You’re laughing at the misfortune of somebody you don’t know . . . If something bad doesn’t happen, it’s not funny. If something embarrassing doesn’t happen, it’s not funny. If something awkward doesn’t happen, it’s not funny.”
Mandel discussed how comedian Gilbert Gottfried was fired as the voice of the Aflac duck after making a joke about a tsunami that hit Japan.
Mandel explained, “You don’t have to laugh at the joke. You don’t have to like the joke. You don’t even have to get the joke. You’re going to remove his livelihood . . . for this joke that you don’t like, that isn’t even pointed at one particular person . . . Who is damaged by this? Who has ever been damaged by comedy? Ever? Ever?”
Pendulum swinging
Mandel also discussed how comedians have fought back against the censors and won.
He added, “I think the pendulum swung really far into the woke . . . and I feel people like Shane Gillis and Bert Kreischer and Ari Shaffir and all these Austin comics . . . these people who don’t give a s*** about that and believe in the purity of what [stand-up comedy] is – and it is an art form – are bringing the pendulum back, and they’re selling bigger numbers than anybody that is trying to conform to what you believe you need to conform to.”
Gillis was famously fired from Saturday Night Live shortly after being hired because old podcast interviews surfaced where he made insensitive remarks in jest.
A few years later, Saturday Night Live brought Gillis back to guest host the show.
Gillis’ arc is a clear illustration of the shift taking place in American culture.
Stay tuned to Unmuzzled News for any updates to this ongoing story.
