Daniel Tosh and the Rape Joke Controversy


By Cate Sevilla

Daniel Tosh apparently thinks rape jokes are *hilarious*.

The comedian and host of his The Soup-style show Tosh.0 are usually full of borderline-insulting jokes. Always on the edge of distasteful, it would now seem that Tosh thinks it's humorous to not only make rape jokes, but suggest that it would be funny if an audience member who don't find his jokes funny, be raped.

Last night Xeni Jardin tweeted a link to a blogpost on Cookies For Breakfast, describing an incident at the Laugh Factory involving Daniel Tosh. At the beginning of Tosh's set, he reportedly making "generalizing, declarative statements about rape jokes always being funny", so the author of the blog made a stand:

"I didnt [sic] appreciate Daniel Tosh (or anyone!) telling me I should find them funny. So I yelled out, 'Actually, rape jokes are never funny!'

"...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 finding it hard to process what was happening but knowing i [sic] needed to get out of there, immediately nudged my friend, who was also completely stunned, and we high-tailed it out of there."

Lovely, huh? 

Tosh has "apologised" on Twitter by saying:




Ah yes. The old "those quotes were taken out of context" excuse. Maybe next he'll pull a Sarah Palin and blame "gotcha journalism". 

Even better, the owner of the Laugh Factory has defended Tosh by saying that sometimes comediens make jokes that are "off colour" and that the woman who wrote the blogpost was not attacked by Tosh, and should have known better because as a member of the audience at the Laugh Factory, if you dish something out to one of the comediens "you better be able to take it".

You can read about the entire incident over Cookies For Breakfast.

Image via RedFriday's Flickr

POSTED IN: NEWS
Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:00 (GMT+01)
2 Responses
1.

Pfft. There is always a joke someone won't find funny or will take offense at; should we abandon comedy altogether to avoid hurting anyone's feelings or just censor the bits you and your delicate ilk don't like? I really don't understand the mindset of people who believe that their offence at a joke supersedes everyone else's right to tell it.

Besides, I'd gladly bet cold hard cash that this delicate little flower who so vehemently complained has laughed at more than one joke that someone else in the world would find offensive. How dare she? Who does she think she is, laughing at jokes others don't enjoy? Has she no respect for the opinions of the other 7 billion people on this planet? The fact that you, Cate Sevilla, appear not to even contemplate the terrible consequences of acquiescing to every "I'm offended!" whine leaves me with the distinct impression that you are startlingly slow of mind.

Frankly, my only consolation after reading this banal rubbish is that you don't hold any position of power, as you would clearly and delightedly exploit it to censor those who offend your precious opinions, whatever damage might result.

Oolala886
Wed, 11-Jul-2012 14:42 GMT
2.

Thank you Oolala886, for your brave, anonymous comment. And thank you for taking the time to not only read, but then leave a rather lengthy comment on my "banal rubbish"! My startlingly slow mind really appreciates it!

Cate
Wed, 11-Jul-2012 15:01 GMT

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