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The Daily Bleat and Tosh’s Rape Joke
There’s a lot of yap yap going on “out there” about a Daniel Tosh “rape joke” that he made at the Laugh Factory.
Tosh, who I find hilarious, by the way, got heckled by a woman in the audience after he did a pretty funny rape joke about his sister.
Here’s the bit-
Some woman in the audience had a problem with his rape joke, so she starts yelling at Tosh. Tosh says, “wouldn’t it be funny if the lady was gang-raped by 5 dudes right now?”
That’s where the trouble began. The usual suspects clubbed the stalactites for all the feminazis to emerge and body-surf Tosh into the San Francisco Bay.
Some writer at the Daily Beast over-analyzes the crap out of the entire exchange and writes some weepy, maudlin piece of feminist hogwash, replete with phrases straight out of a worthless upper west side psychologist’s cat laden apartment.
“cathartic and empowering”
“reclaim control”
“stripping the experience of its weight, of its tragedy”
“to me was something I could now own and talk about ”
“It’s a celebration of a violent crime, which is itself another violation”
Please. I’d rather be raped than be subjected to one more second of your “getting over your rape” vocalizations which seem to define you now, and in a rather smug self-satisfying way.
This commenter nails the crap out of this entire issue:
Adam73
A comedy club is not a forum. When you go to one you’re expected to shut up so that everyone can enjoy the show. If you dont like what the comedian says you can leave or complain to the manager but you don’t ruin it for everyone else. Comedy is subjective and people will always get offended by comedians. What you the author fail to comprehend is how offensive it is when people heckle. They’re assuming the world revolves around them and everyone has to play by their rules. A comedian puts long hours into crafting their bits and when you heckle them your selfishly interrupting the intricate structure of the bit. You ruin the joke and everyone else’s good time. So if a comedian loses his temper and says something hateful and spiteful about you then don’t act shocked. You gave up your right to be treated with respect when you showed no respect for the comedian or the audience. Was the rape comment over the line and in terrible taste? Yes. Was the person it was directed at an innocent ad unprevoking bystander? No.
!snip!
Gina
July 17th, 2012
i used to find him funny but he makes a lot of comments about Republicans so he can fk off like the rest of the young entertainers who would rather portray themselves as “cool” rather than right.
woman
July 17th, 2012
The lady shouldn’t have heckled. Getting up and leaving would have been more appropriate. However, rape jokes are not funny. Rape is something that every woman fears. Anyone who finds rape jokes funny has something wrong with them.
cfm990
July 17th, 2012
These feminists have no credibility in my eyes. They get their knicker in a twist over a joke. How about a little outrage over the way Islamic women are treated.
Gina
July 17th, 2012
@woman.. he makes a lot of off color jokes and as a woman, i wouldn’t really be offended as much as i would cringe. the fact of the matter is that he has aligned himself with the left so that he can have a free pass to say whatever he likes about any race color creed and it turned around and bit him in the ass because for the most part conservatives don’t get their panties in a bunch over comedians being stupid only liberals do.
the only thing liberals find funny is when Christians and conservatives are “being attacked”.
BigFurHat
July 17th, 2012
The original joke is funny. The retort after being heckled wasn’t. Neither offend me, despite being gang raped by five women one time.
I don’t subscribe to the view that there are topics that are verboten for humor. That isn’t the conservative view, in my opinion.
Once you declare rape jokes out of bounds you have the next victim group ready to air their grievance. Before you know it I can’t make Polish jokes.
Necrophidius
July 17th, 2012
Tosh would make fun of dead babies to get a laugh. Fuck him.
BigFurHat
July 17th, 2012
Thank God everyone all doesn’t like the same thing.
CrustyB
July 17th, 2012
Getting offended is America’s #1 pasttime.
Rape isn’t funny any more than murder, terrorism, cancer, Alzheimer’s, etc. But you have to make intelligent distinctions. Is he joking or is he pro-rape?
If you’re offended, don’t laugh.
Gina
July 17th, 2012
Agreed bfh.. just show me where he made as many jokes about democrats/obama as he did against republicans/romney and he is back in my books as a good comedian. i don’t watch tosh.o that often so maybe i missed those episodes.
Stevo
July 17th, 2012
I’m basing this on the report that she heckled Tosh first.
That being the case, her response, that is, if she is an actual heckler, should be something along the line of:
‘I’ll give a hand-job to the 17th guy who ass rapes Daniel Tosh.’
Yeah, that would be an actual, honest, heckler.
Gina
July 17th, 2012
everyone in entertainment/hollywood wants to be so unique and shocking YET they refuse to point out the follies of people in politics (obama) for the fear of not being liked. that is why our movies music comedy.. you name ..it sucks today.
BigFurHat
July 17th, 2012
I never heard anything really political out of the guy. I only know him from Tosh 2.0, which is pretty funny.
I find there is a real difference between making a political joke and being an angry prick who forgoes funny because they are just blatantly shilling.
“Comedians” like that who come to mind are Garofalo, Richard Belzer, Maher, the deceased Bill Hicks, Lewis Black.
They aren’t funny because their attitude is just hateful.
And as Crusty said, attitude is everything. I don’t think you can make the case that Tosh is advocating rape, or diminishing it.
In fact, the joke is funny because he’s talking about how his “prank” led to a heinous (but completely fictitious) act.
The juxtaposition of a helpless woman spraying silly string to ward off a rapist is a pretty funny MADE UP joke precisely because rape is as brutal a thing thta can happen to anyone.
Annetisocial
July 17th, 2012
Saying his sister was mugged would have made the same joke and been no less funny. Unless you find rape hilarious and mugging only chuckle-worthy. That said, the woman in the audience was wrong and should have just walked out.
Isobel Ingoldesthorpe
July 17th, 2012
Well, I’d have to disagree with you bfh, about not subscribing to the idea that some jokes should be verboten. Well, maybe not exactly verboten, but people should have the decency to just leave some topics alone. I just don’t think rape is something to joke about.
Do I think heckling is OK? Certainly not. I’d agree that she could voice her opinion elsewhere, with a complaint or leaving a reason why she won’t be coming back, etc. Hecklers are annoying and disrespectful, but their transgression does not make what they objected to any more appropriate.
For the record, I appreciate humor as much as the next one, and laugh just as loud at a lot of jokes targeting women. It’s in good fun and the ability to laugh at one’s self in my opinion actually makes people more credible (because you can see they don’t jump into attack mode at everything) and just more pleasant to be around. But I just don’t see how anyone can find it funny for a guy (or anyone) to joke about their sister (or anyone) getting raped.
I’m sorry I forgot who said it above also, but re: the comment that asks what about the way Muslim women are treated: Let’s just stick to the topic. The poor way Muslim women are treated doesn’t make something else in dispute less questionable, or at least up for debate. It serves only as a distraction and frankly, sorry, but this is the technique used by people who don’t want to address the issue at hand.
reddecaesari
July 17th, 2012
hey. even his sister didn’t get mad.
about the rape.
Isobel Ingoldesthorpe
July 17th, 2012
@ bfh: I don’t think he is advocating rape, either–I agree that’s ridiculous. Dunno if “diminishing” is a word that would have occurred to me to use, but I still just think it’s in really poor taste. A lot of jokes are, but getting a cheap laugh by “making funny” with an act of brutality–as you conceded it is–just isn’t cool at all. I just don;t see anything redeeming in it by referring to his “juxtaposition.”
Annetisocial, you said it way better than I did.
Gina
July 18th, 2012
like i said i don’t watch him very often but i did see a recent episode where he painted romney supporters as uneducated toothless hillbillies and given that he has so many young fans, I find it ironic that he hasn’t really done the same to criticize obama fans. perhaps he did and i missed it, but i highly doubt it. truthfully, at the end of the day, i think he’s a creepy sociopath who has sex with teddy bears and as far as i know,
that would equal democrat.
Kalneva
July 18th, 2012
Wow. I totally agree with BFH. I cannot believe the number of people on this thread ( THIS THREAD!) who have no fuckin’ sense of humor. Call me sexist; I’m a woman. Not getting the outrage over a joke. It’s a joke. Good lord, people. And, re the comment above about not being allowed to tell Polish jokes, next. Uh, where have you been for the past few decades! You can’t! First they came for the Polack jokes, and I didn’t say anything, because I wasn’t Polish… This country needs to get its sense of humor back, and that’s one of the main reasons I love Tosh (and Adam Carolla, btw). We are so fuckin divided along race, gender, victim lines. And that is the reason the SCOAMF is able to do what he does — divide us!
Isobel Ingoldesthorpe
July 18th, 2012
That’s a pretty broad brush there, eh?
RacKAttacK
July 18th, 2012
Rape is not joking matter…….except when your in a comedy club….if u came to be offended stay your ass at home with your cats
Navigator
July 18th, 2012
I’d like to punch that unfunny Tosh character right in his sucker face.
Brooke
July 18th, 2012
Well… There’s a wide latitude for humor, sure. The chick should’ve just left.
I was molested as a child and I don’t find the subject funny at all. I would’ve walked right out at that point; probably demanded a refund. But that’s just me. Of course, I likely wouldn’t have gone to see a comedian which I knew was going to be an ass in the first place.
I do have to wonder why there is such silence and/or ‘it’s no big deal’ on this sort of humor. When what’s-his-nuts from Seinfeld was screaming, “He’s a NIGGER,” there was all kinds of outrage. Wishing rape on a woman is OK, though?
SgtZim
July 18th, 2012
Tosh is just Dane Cook on ritalin.
I think I have finally grown out of booger, fart, and rape jokes, so Tosh is just another jackass to me, though I probably would have laughed when in my teens.
muddjuice
July 18th, 2012
Torn on this. Agree and disagree. There are standards and morals and ethics. On the other hand, there is freedom.
He’s doing this at a nightclub where rude, offensive and vulger behavior is expected so I don’t see her complaint. If he were on the side of the street saying these things, or on Nickelodian, then I’m outraged.
What did these people expect when they payed their money to see offensive comedians?
Jim
July 18th, 2012
Knock knock
Jim
July 18th, 2012
Who’s there?
Humourless Feminist.
Humourless Feminist who?
That’s not funny! Police! Hate Crime! HATE CRIME!
BigFurHat
July 18th, 2012
Sometimes you’re just laughing at the comedian because of how far they went.
Some people can get away with it, some people can’t.
Michael Richards apparently couldn’t.
Basically because it wasn’t funny at all. Not because of the subject matter, but because of the horrendous improv.
I guarantee Louie CK would have been able to pull that one off. (I don’t support him because of his riffs on Palin, but the guy can be funny when he’s just being funny and not a political hack.)
I dunno. I think a comedian’s palette should include anything they can think of, but it better be funny.
I remember being at Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital while there was a bingo game being called.
Most of the people in there were probably terminal, or with little chance.
The bingo lady called out, “B- 9!”
My brother said loud enough for everyone to hear, “We can only hope.’
It brought the house down.
Instinct would have told you not to go there.
But he made a great cancer joke to people with terminal cancer.
I think the jokes tell you as much about the audience than the comedian. I find that more fascinating than “safe” comedians. There is nothing more offensive than a pablum, marginally funny , safe comedian, like Tom Dreesan. I’d rather watch a guy totally bomb. It’s much more interesting.
By the way – Sam Kinison did a routine about necrophiliac homosexual rape that was friggin hilarious. It can be done. And when it is it is something to behold because of the outrageous subject matter.
Do we now say that only master level comedians get to give it a try? Or do we just let freedom ring and let Tosh do his thing?