Daniel Tosh and Rape Jokes

[Riptide]

So rape jokes are The New Funny now?
I would think that would be forbidden territory for men.

So Tosh then starts making some very generalizing, declarative statements about rape jokes always being funny, how can a rape joke not be funny, rape is hilarious, etc. I don’t know why he was so repetitive about it but I felt provoked because I, for one, DON’T find them funny and never have. So I didnt 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…”

http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/07/10/514002/daniel-tosh-gang-rape/

 

[TigerVols]

Daniel Tosh and funny do not belong in the same sentence.

 

[Point of Order]

Are people unfamiliar with his schtick?

 

[Chef2]

I can honestly say I have never sat through more than 2 minutes of his show....nor do I have any desire to.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

So it's the rape joke that takes it over the edge. I guess the racist, sexist and gay jokes are cool though.

 

[bigpern23]

Daniel Tosh is hysterical.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Comedians say crazy **** to get a reaction.

I'm not saying I agree with what he said and I certainly don't think it's funny, but he's a performer and his "character" that does stand-up and does his show and while we may not like what he said, he has a right to say it.

 

[Beef03]

So it's the rape joke that takes it over the edge. I guess the racist, sexist and gay jokes are cool though.

Don't forget the pedophilia jokes that pop up from time to time.

 

[TrooperBari]

George Carlin used to joke about rape all the time.

"I can prove to you that rape is funny. Picture Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd."

"All the time?" I have quite a few Carlin albums and that's the only one I can recall from memory.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Comedians say crazy **** to get a reaction.

I'm not saying I agree with what he said and I certainly don't think it's funny, but he's a performer and his "character" that does stand-up and does his show and while we may not like what he said, he has a right to say it.

It does not look to me like anyone is denying his right to say it.

On Tosh, I've decided to just be old and realize I'll never get it.

 

[dreunc1542]

Daniel Tosh and funny do not belong in the same sentence.

Seconded.

 

[Riptide]

George Carlin used to joke about rape all the time.

"I can prove to you that rape is funny. Picture Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd."

"All the time?" I have quite a few Carlin albums and that's the only one I can recall from memory.

I think Carlin's bigger point was that you'd better stick to cartoon characters if you go there -- and even that is risky business.

 

[EStreetJoe]

Who's Daniel Tosh and why should I care?
Besides didn't we already go through this over on Sports & News when someone used the line from Blazing Saddles as the subject and everyone else just ran with it?

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

LA Times

By Danielle Paquette
July 11, 2012, 10:11 a.m.
Tepid apology? Thinly veiled insult?
You be Daniel Tosh’s judge.
A woman’s Tumblr post that went viral Tuesday claimed Comedy Central's "Tosh.0" host singled her out during one of his stand-up gigs and said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by like, five guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her?”
We’re struggling to find humor (or proof of Tosh’s humanity) in that one.
Faced with Web backlash, the foul-mouthed comedian took to Twitter:
“All the out of context misquotes aside, i'd like to sincerely apologize,” he wrote, linking to the woman’s post.
“The point i was making before i was heckled is there are awful things in the world but you can still make jokes about them. #deadbabies."
What more can we expect from the man who wrote Inappropriate Touch Tuesdays?
According to the blogger’s account, Tosh targeted her after she interrupted his show, yelling, “Actually, rape jokes are never funny!”

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

Someone who would go to a Tosh show and not expect to be offended is an idiot.

Someone in the audience at any standup comedian's show who thinks it's their place to heckle the person everyone is there to see is an asshole.

 

[nmmetsfan]

Wonders what the big deal is regarding inappropriate humor

 

[Buck]

No topic/word is intrinsically unfunny or offensive.
All topics/words are subject to context, delivery and intent.

This is very much in line with Tosh's act. I think he's pretty funny, but not everything hits. When your act is based around threading the public's line of offensiveness/inappropriateness, you've got to expect splashback.

 

[Riptide]

Of course, when you get splashback, your best move is not to say, "Hey, wouldn't it be funny if you got raped, too?"

There's a long line of Sandusky jokes there, too, but who would laugh at them?

 

[Buck]

I would laugh at them depending on the joke and the delivery.

 

[schiezainc]

In you don't find inappropriate jokes funny, then I don't really know what to say to you. For me, it's a staple of our newsroom and, usually, the only thing keeping most of us sane.