Will Smith and Chris Rock

Big difference between being a comic and being an insult comic.

There's still an infinite amount of room in which to be funny.

But with the exception of a roast, being funny at a specific someone's expense is mostly no longer possible.

 

Why not? Because Will Smith got away with doing something that was way out of line?

 

You’re out of place, outofplace.

That was true before Sunday’s slap heard round the world.

 

No. I just think the days of singling out audience members and mocking them individually has probably passed.*

For no other reason than it's hurtful and unnecessary and too easy. Low fruit. So, good riddance.

Rickles couldn't earn a dime in the current climate, except, as I said, doing roasts.

It's been heading this way for a while. Joan Rivers in the same Oscars venue was another example.





*I stipulate here it is always open season on hecklers.

 

That is fair. I've never been a big fan of that particular practice, but I think people are overstating the long-term impact of one slap. I do imagine we are going to see some audience member at a show somewhere getting arrested for thinking they can get away with assault just because Smith did.

 

As I just wrote, I am certain that we will see stories of people going to see a comic live and ending up in handcuffs because they thought they could get away with assault just because they saw a celebrity get away with it on television.

 

It happens. More often than you think. I posted this on Monday:

'Comics getting punched' is a show business subcategory. For proof of which, stand in the old Sunset Hyatt parking lot after the last set at the Comedy Store and watch what happens to anyone who used stolen material that night.

 

It doesn't even need to reach that point. If people have become so thin-skinned that they can't be the butt of a joke, they probably need to stay inside their home more.

 

Who decides? If I'm a person and my looks fall outside societal norms, should I anticipate being ridiculed for it?

 

First question would be, are you a public figure? If so, you should be prepared to take the barbs.

If you're not a public figure and you slug a comic who insults you, sure, that's a bit more complicated. My take would still be that the person is too easily triggered. He's listening to a comedian.

 

FWIW: Floor level seats for Chris Rock's two shows in Boston tonight are going for $1100.

 

There's a whole little category of Constitutional law regarding "fighting words" that rests on the assumption some things "by their very utterance, inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality."