Comedy Central’s Daniel Tosh Crosses the Line with Transphobic Jokes on Tosh.0
February 17, 2010
Bil Browning from The Bilerico Project recently alerted GLAAD to a problematic episode of Comedy Central’s Tosh.0, a program that features comedian Daniel Tosh’s opinions about online media, pop culture, and celebrity news. Tosh crossed the line late last month with a severely transphobic segment in which he continuously made degrading remarks about a video featuring “The World’s Tallest Model,” articulating crude insinuations about her gender identity and her anatomy.
The segment can be viewed below:
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| World’s Tallest Model | |
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In the clip, Tosh shoots out rapid fire offensive jokes such as, “the worst thing about being so tall is that it makes your d*ck look small,” and “like most models, I assume they photoshop her d*ck out.”
Although GLAAD recognizes that there is a time and place for appropriate humor and satire, this kind of blatantly offensive material cannot be tolerated in a climate that remains extremely transphobic. It contributes to putting transgender people in harm’s way.
GLAAD will be monitoring Tosh.0 for anti-LGBT content and urges you to do the same. If you see offensive material, fill out an incident report at www.glaad.org/reportdefamation or e-mail incident@glaad.org. Should offensive material continue to air, GLAAD will be working with Bil Browning and others to call out Comedy Central for giving a platform to anti-transgender humor.
Related Posts:South Park Tries and Fails to Redefine “The F-Word”
November 5, 2009
Last night’s episode of Comedy Central’s long-running animated comedy South Park featured rampant use of the anti-gay slurs “f*g” and “f****t” as Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny attempted to drive a local biker gang out of town.
In “The F-Word,” life in South Park has been disrupted by a loud and disruptive biker gang. Cartman ultimately takes it upon himself to inform the gang that “everyone thinks you’re total f*gs.” When the South Park kids then tag “F*GS GET OUT” all over town, first the gay residents and ultimately the entire town take offense at the anti-gay rhetoric. When the mayor gathers all of the kids together to ask why anyone would spray paint such hateful anti-gay messages, the kids are taken aback, not realizing that the F-word was hurtful to the LGBT community.
Stan: “Why would we want gay people to get out of town?”
Cartman: “Oh, they think we meant gay f*gs.”
Kyle: “Oh, hey that’s not very nice mayor. Just because a person is gay doesn’t mean he’s a f*g.”
It is then revealed that, to the children of South Park, “f*g” does not refer to gay people at all but rather to people who “ride a loud Harley up and down the streets ruining everyone’s nice time.” Thus, a “gay f*g” is only a “f*g” if he is an obnoxious biker and a straight person who is considering buying a motorcycle is “bike-curious.” Eventually, the boys convince the head dictionary editor to change the definition of the F-word to read:
“Fag n. 1. An extremely annoying, inconsiderate person most commonly associated with Harley riders.
2. A person who owns or frequently rides a Harley.”
GLAAD disagrees. Though the writers of South Park attempted to craft a commentary on the shifting meaning of words, the fact of the matter is that the F-word is and remains a hateful slur that is often the last word heard by LGBT people as they fall victim to hate crimes. Just this year, 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover of Massachusetts hung himself, unable to endure further anti-gay bullying at school which included constant use of the F-Word.
South Park was right on one point: all too commonly, more and more people are using the F-word as a seemingly benign insult, unaware or unconcerned about the word’s anti-gay meaning. However, the spread of the word in this manner does not make it okay to use. Mickey Rourke and Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson recently learned this lesson as GLAAD reiterated the need for all uses of this slur to end.
GLAAD encourages you to contact Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, as well as Comedy Central, to share your personal stories of the negative impact the F-word and other anti-gay slurs have had on your life. It is important that the people behind South Park realize that the F-word is not just a harmless insult; it is a hateful word with often violent consequences.
South Park Studios Official Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/southpark. (You will have to become a “fan” in order to leave a message.)
Steve Albani
Comedy Central SVP, Corporate Communications
(212) 767-8695
steve.albani@comedycentral.com
Lisa Leingang
Comedy Central SVP, Programming
212-654-5866
lisa.leingang@comedycentral.com
Comedy Central Comment Line:
(212) 767-8600
**UPDATE: CALL TO ACTION: Tell South Park’s Creators About the Harms Caused By Slur-Filled “The F-Word”
Related Posts:GLAAD Expresses Strong Concern about Comedy Central’s The Jeff Dunham Show
November 4, 2009
On October 23, Comedy Central drew the highest viewership of any premiere in the network’s history with its pilot episode of The Jeff Dunham Show. Dunham is a hugely popular comedian-ventriloquist who incorporates several stereotypical puppet characters in his show, from Achmed, a dead Muslim terrorist (whose puppet costume is a skeleton), to a bigoted senior citizen puppet named Walter.
Jeff Dunham and "Walter"
In one of the opening sketches of the pilot, Dunham and the ever-crotchety Walter see a therapist to resolve their consistent spats. When Walter discovers that the therapist is gay and “married to a man,” Walter leaves the session out of concern that everyone thinks he and Dunham are a gay couple. He retreats to a bathroom stall. “I told you we shouldn’t have come to Hollywood. This is what they do here. Everyone thinks we’re gay!” Walter and Dunham both make references to the actions they associate with being gay. The end result from Dunham: “I don’t want to be gay with you.”
Click here to view the complete segment on Videogum.
Where the sketch with Walter and Dunham walks an extremely fine line between comedy and insult, Dunham’s previous stand-up acts illustrate a clearer homophobic tone. In one such show, Dunham’s character, a furry puppet named Peanut, makes several derogatory remarks regarding a gay superhero named “Gay Man.” “When he flies, his butt whistles,” Peanut says. Also, “Don’t turn your back on him.”
Click here to view the complete segment on YouTube.
GLAAD is closely monitoring The Jeff Dunham Show and reaching out to Comedy Central executives to ensure that Comedy Central does not give The Jeff Dunham Show legitimacy to malign or attack the LGBT community in the name of “equal opportunity offender” comedy.
Related Posts:Meghan McCain Urges NY’s GOP to Support Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
May 22, 2009
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain of Arizona, pressed New York legislators to extend marriage protections to same-sex couples in an opinion piece appearing in Friday’s New York Daily News.
McCain specifically called on the state’s Republican senators to offer their support and make the difference to pass the marriage bill.
McCain made heartfelt arguments to back her stance putting a human face on the issue:
No matter how politically charged the discussions about marriage equality may get, the question is really a simple one: Do the rights and privileges we offer citizens include everyone in our country, or only some of us?
I believe that allowing gays and lesbians the freedom to marry is an idea whose time has come. Though my opinion is no doubt influenced by my family’s public role in political life, I still approach this from personal experience, as I think most people do. For me, this is about treating all of my friends, and all of our brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren the same as I want to be treated. Equality under the law and personal freedoms are what make America the greatest country in the world, and they are core values that I hold as a Republican.
Meghan McCain and her father Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Along with her strong pro-marriage stance McCain also leaves no ambiguity about her steadfast political allegiance to the Republican Party noting that:
People may always have a difference of opinion . . . but championing a position that wants to treat people unequally isn’t just un-Republican. At its fundamental core, it’s un-American.
McCain, 24, has been blazing the media circuit as of late, challenging the Republican Party to reconsider its stance on such issues as abstinence and marriage for gay couples. On Monday night, McCain was the featured guest on Comedy Central’s, The Colbert Report where she told host Stephen Colbert:
I do believe the Republican Party can be a safe place for the gay community. . . If you go to the basic beliefs of the Republican party of keeping government out of your life, why can’t that include marriage?
And what does Senator McCain think of his daughter’s perspective? In April Senator McCain had this to say to CNN about his daughter’s political opinions:
I love and respect my daughter, and I appreciate the fact that she brings fresh views and ideas and we need that in our party.
You can read Meghan McCain’s blog here.
Logo to the Rescue!
March 4, 2009
Sarah Silverman knows firsthand that the recession is no laughing matter. When Comedy Central cut The Sarah Silverman Program’s budget by 20%, the executive producers of the highly-rated series thought they would have to close up shop.
Not your typical TV lovebirds
Today, Comedy Central announced that it will be ordering a third season of the show, thanks to co-financing from Logo, MTV’s network that targets LGBT viewers.
Over the weekend, Comedy Central president of original programming Lauren Corraro contacted former Comedy Central exec Marc Leonard, now senior staff at Logo. By Monday morning, the two had hammered out a deal to share the series through combined financing.
Logo has run Comedy Central series before, like Drawn Together (which features a gay character), but this is the first time that the networks have teamed to finance a series.
The Sarah Silverman Program was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award last year for Outstanding Comedy Series, because of the groundbreaking portrayal of Brian and Steve, Sarah’s gay neighbors.
