Current Events > Former SNL writer pulled from stage because his jokes were deemed too offensive

(+) Yeah! (+)

Meh. I'd trust a video over an organizers word that a problematic toxic woman harassing homophobe - (the entirety of what he wanted you to take from that article) assaulted them from a stage.
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eston posted...

Allanon23 posted...

This is why almost every decent comedian has stopped doing colleges or events run by them.

Because they don't know how to read an audience?

Bill Maher said it best. "You know, when Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry the Cable Guy say you have a stick up your ass, you dont have to wait for the X-Rays to come back. Thats right: A black, a jew and a redneck walk onto a college campus, and they all cant wait to leave."

I mean, you know there is a problem when Chris Rock won't do colleges
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32 and 18 is a HUGE world of difference, especially in NYC. There's a very large disconnect in the older 27+ population and the younger people. The older people don't care much about racism and sexism and whatnot. It's just casual and ingrained and it's not going to change.

Everything he's saying is true. It's just that the audience was Columbia University (which is right by the hood BTW). Most of those people probably didn't grow up in NYC and get their experience from the internet.

And NYC hoods are pretty bad for gay black men. My close black friend's cousin is gay and I'm shocked by how everyone, including his own cousin treats him.
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We need to rid the liberal SJW cancer from our society.

voldothegr8 posted...

eston posted...

Allanon23 posted...

This is why almost every decent comedian has stopped doing colleges or events run by them.

Because they don't know how to read an audience?

Bill Maher said it best. "You know, when Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry the Cable Guy say you have a stick up your ass, you dont have to wait for the X-Rays to come back. Thats right: A black, a jew and a redneck walk onto a college campus, and they all cant wait to leave."

I mean, you know there is a problem when Chris Rock won't do colleges

Yeah also has nothing to do with reading a audience Imo. Certain comedians are good at certain types of humor and whoever books them should be aware of this. Iirc Daniel tosh pissed some school off after he was invited to do a commencement/graduation speech and he point blank told the crowd some of them where going to be failures, some would end up in prison and some would die that night in a drunken car wreck. School shoulda known better Tosh's how shtick is to be offensive.
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SSJCAT posted...

the one joke they mentioned doesnt seem bad at all

This.
He was even highlighting that blacks and gays have it harder than others...
Like, that's basically a Social Justice talking point, and yet it was deemed offensive!
Lol
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

eston posted...

Allanon23 posted...

This is why almost every decent comedian has stopped doing colleges or events run by them.

Because they don't know how to read an audience?

Being a shit audience =/= the comedians fault.
There's a reason they also don't play Amish events. (Well, more than just not being welcome to.)

It isn't the audience's fault if a comedian bombs. That's just dumb
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I don't think the most prolific comedians of our time are concerned about bombing . . .
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The most prolific comedians of our time usually do a better job of reading the audience. I know I keep saying this but it is one of the most fundamentally important aspects of stand up comedy. This guy started insulting the audience because he wasn't getting the laughs he wanted. It spiraled from there. He fucking bombed and he has no one to blame but himself.
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eston posted...

And how the fuck are you gonna pull the "sorry I'm from another generation" shit when you're 31

I'm 32 and I've been raised liberal my entire life -- and i don't feel like I'm the same generation as younger kids now, at all. I believe art is meant to challenge, which sometimes means offend. His jokes weren't offensive in the examples - just bland and unoriginal.
I also don't agree with extreme punishments or any form of digital vigilantism -- which seems so engrained in this generation as being acceptable

Also I think it's worth noting that stand up comedy isn't what this guy is famous for
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bobbaaay posted...

eston posted...

And how the fuck are you gonna pull the "sorry I'm from another generation" shit when you're 31

I'm 32 and I've been raised liberal my entire life -- and i don't feel like I'm the same generation as younger kids now, at all. I believe art is meant to challenge, which sometimes means offend. His jokes weren't offensive in the examples - just bland and unoriginal.
I also don't agree with extreme punishments or any form of digital vigilantism -- which seems so engrained in this generation as being acceptable

Did you read the second article that was posted? It paints a much clearer picture of how this all played out. It wasn't just about the jokes.

https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2018/12/04/spilling-the-tea-on-nimesh-patel-2/
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eston posted...

bobbaaay posted...

eston posted...

And how the fuck are you gonna pull the "sorry I'm from another generation" shit when you're 31

I'm 32 and I've been raised liberal my entire life -- and i don't feel like I'm the same generation as younger kids now, at all. I believe art is meant to challenge, which sometimes means offend. His jokes weren't offensive in the examples - just bland and unoriginal.
I also don't agree with extreme punishments or any form of digital vigilantism -- which seems so engrained in this generation as being acceptable

Did you read the second article that was posted? It paints a much clearer picture of how this all played out. It wasn't just about the jokes.

https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2018/12/04/spilling-the-tea-on-nimesh-patel-2/

I did read it. I know it was about his arrogance.
I'm just addressing the comment about 20-somethings and 30-somethings being the same culturally.

They're not at all.

Yeah well I'm 36 and I don't try to act like I'm from some bygone era. It's like when people ask "could X movie be made today?" and then name a movie from like 10 years ago. The cultural landscape has not changed that drastically
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I'm 39 and I'm literally at lunch hanging out with a bunch of twenty somethings. There's very little separating us except for maybe the cartoons we watched.
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eston posted...

Yeah well I'm 36 and I don't try to act like I'm from some bygone era. It's like when people ask "could X movie be made today?" and then name a movie from like 10 years ago. The cultural landscape has not changed that drastically

You're three years older than I am. You should easily remember when people didn't fly off the handle over ever little thing anyone said. The news used to be about shit that happened rather than some comment that someone didn't like. People weren't getting fired over things that were said away from the job site.

I'd go on but it's too depressing.

eston posted...

Yeah well I'm 36 and I don't try to act like I'm from some bygone era. It's like when people ask "could X movie be made today?" and then name a movie from like 10 years ago. The cultural landscape has not changed that drastically

This is an exaggeration.

SaithSayer posted...

eston posted...

Yeah well I'm 36 and I don't try to act like I'm from some bygone era. It's like when people ask "could X movie be made today?" and then name a movie from like 10 years ago. The cultural landscape has not changed that drastically

People weren't getting fired over things that were said away from the job site.

I'd go on but it's too depressing.

BINGO BINGO BINGO

SaithSayer posted...

You're three years older than I am. You should easily remember when people didn't fly off the handle over ever little thing anyone said. The news used to be about shit that happened rather than some comment that someone didn't like. People weren't getting fired over things that were said away from the job site.

I'd go on but it's too depressing.

I remember when social media didn't exist, that's the main driving force behind all of the things you just named. People always had opinions about things
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eston posted...

ah well I'm 36 and I don't try to act like I'm from some bygone era

Many of the left have made it abundantly clear that they have abandoned the historic stances of the ACLU and other civil rights groups.
PC culture is at a peak high with people's jobs on the line.
And in seemingly a blink of an eye, the "don't say gay" campaign made several insults and slurs utterly taboo and intolerable.

Hell, my shemale porn isn't even labeled shemale anymore, it's transgender. As if I'm going to watch some MtF or post-op shit.
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

Hell, my shemale porn isn't even labeled shemale anymore, it's transgender. As if I'm going to watch some MtF or post-op shit.

I don't know how to respond to this so I'm just going to surprise emoji
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It's disgusting that the modern left thinks digital vigilantism is okay.

It's one thing to be an "sjw," and point out when someone is being a bigot. In the early days of the internet we had heated, angry arguments and sometimes minds were changed. We valued education, rehabilitation, empathy, and an understanding of culture and the soft sciences.

Nowadays they're intellectually lazy. They say it's not their "job" to educate. They'd rather have echo chambers, exclude people, and have things like content warnings to avoid any sort of challenge.
They'd rather destroy lives and create a non-understanding, black and white reality where "bad" people are incapable of changing -- and refuse to examine why they wound up the way they are. We'd rather force people into silence or submission.
They also fail to acknowledge the scope of things like the internet -- and how their momentary triumph for confronting a bad person and hosting it online means that person is indefinitely out of the work the remainder of their lives. It's also incredibly self important to believe that you, as an average citizen, has the emotional and intellectual and philosophical means to be the sole arbiter of justice.

It's all self important, "look at me," insta- generation trying to make lazy, reckless attempts at improving the world

Remember non-celebrity leaks? Like in a chatroom you used to go to and some girl would send nudes to a guy and before you know it, everyone has seen it?

bobbaaay posted...

It's disgusting that the modern left thinks digital vigilantism is okay.

Wait, was this comedy routine livestreamed or have we lost the thread of the discussion so we can vent about SJWs?

SaithSayer posted...

Remember non-celebrity leaks? Like in a chatroom you used to go to and some girl would send nudes to a guy and before you know it, everyone has seen it?

Like... are you lamenting for a time when there was no stigma to sharing nude pictures sent privately?
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CyricZ posted...

bobbaaay posted...

It's disgusting that the modern left thinks digital vigilantism is okay.

Wait, was this comedy routine livestreamed or have we lost the thread of the discussion so we can vent about SJWs?

SaithSayer posted...

Remember non-celebrity leaks? Like in a chatroom you used to go to and some girl would send nudes to a guy and before you know it, everyone has seen it?

Like... are you lamenting for a time when there was no stigma to sharing nude pictures sent privately?

I'm commenting on 20- somethings being culturally different than 30- somethings. And I'm a liberal myself and always have been. I don't hate "sjws" -- just this generation

The regressive left has gone too far
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To be clear, the audience's biggest offense was not laughing as hard as he thought they should be. They weren't booing him or walking out en masse, they aren't trying to get him fired, etc. The jokes were not funny. People didn't laugh. He chose to blame the audience for this and quickly wore out his welcome.
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Too many folks ITT looking at the one joke.

Read the other article.
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It also wasn't a comedy show, it was a comedian performing at the tail end of a larger event encompassing many different artists, performers, and lecturers in which literally nobody else had this issue
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CrimsonRage posted...

SaithSayer posted...

TheRealDill2000 posted...

voldothegr8 posted...

Comedy is dying guys, fuck SJWs

Maybe people should learn to tell inoffensive jokes.

Maybe weaklings shouldn't go to comedy shows outside of Jeff Dunham and his crap?

super offensive jokes aren't the only comedy. i question people who can only laugh at jokes that punch down.

not saying the joke this topic is about is super offensive. it was super tame.

Not one facet of comedy needs to die. Each comic has their own style. Pick someone known for being family friendly such as Brian Regan or Ben Bailey.

That joke is not offensive. I decided to read the article because I didn't believe he got kicked out for such an inoffensive joke, and it turns out I was right:

The news articles Ive read give the impression that Patel told some controversial jokes that caused PC outrage, but the performance was just a trainwreck. While Patel started with strong laughs, he soon hit a controversial joke that earned mixed reactions. Instead of moving on, Patel warned us that hes from an older generation (this guy is only 32), and then delivered the usual condescending and presumptuous spiel about how we need to learn about the real world. I thought, Relax, you just got on stage. Patel presented himself as arrogant and almost contemptuous toward the audience he was meant to entertain. Later, he even said, Well, Im already paid, setting the tone of his performance.

The atmosphere throughout the remainder of the routine was uncomfortable with a few occasional laughs. While its normal in stand-up to pick an audience member to dialogue with, Patel just kept returning to the same girl to ask her painfully drawn out questions, as if he were mining material for a routine he had not prepared. He asked another audience member personal questions about their parents in a room full of strangers. To me, his routine was strangely obsessed with Black people, my favorite part being when he questioned why there was so much online outrage that Black actors werent nominated at the Oscars in 2016, but not for Asian actors. Patels anti-Blackness jumped out: The hashtag was #OscarsSoWhite, not #OscarsNotBlack.

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CyricZ posted...

bobbaaay posted...

It's disgusting that the modern left thinks digital vigilantism is okay.

Wait, was this comedy routine livestreamed or have we lost the thread of the discussion so we can vent about SJWs?

SaithSayer posted...

Remember non-celebrity leaks? Like in a chatroom you used to go to and some girl would send nudes to a guy and before you know it, everyone has seen it?

Like... are you lamenting for a time when there was no stigma to sharing nude pictures sent privately?

That only happened to the ones who had no sense of accountability. They'd have an online relationship and then act shocked when things went south. lol

And there was definitely a stigma. Out of all the people who ended up seeing them, very few would go around spamming links in the open chat or go about directly trolling her about having seen them.

CyricZ posted...

Too many folks ITT looking at the one joke.

Read the other article.

Irrelevant. What is relevant is that they thought his jokes were inappropriate. Maybe they're right, but then don't hire a comedian or lay down the ground rules earlier. I'm also not sure why you're taking their word for it specifically. They said that pointing out the emphasis on black people in the Oscars is "Anti-black". Which it isn't. It's an observation. Notice how they don't argue the veracity of that observation they simply assert that making that observation is anti-black. This tells you the mindset that they have.

eston posted...

It also wasn't a comedy show, it was a comedian performing at the tail end of a larger event encompassing many different artists, performers, and lecturers in which literally nobody else had this issue

While a comedian is doing his set, it's not functionally different than a comedy show. The comedian will do his set, and the angle comedy takes is different than the angle every other type of performance takes.

If you invite a comedian to your event to do comedy, do a bit of research. Ask them if they can do other material. If someone invites me, I'll assume they know more or less what my type of comedy is (I'll ask for ground rules sometimes).
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Soon we'll have a black market for jokes and comedy.
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AdviceMan posted...

While a comedian is doing his set, it's not functionally different than a comedy show. The comedian will do his set, and the angle comedy takes is different than the angle every other type of performance takes.

It provides a much different context than if this was only a comedy show, and as has been stated throughout the topic a professional comedian should be able to read the audience rather than insulting them for not laughing hard enough. Because again, they were not booing or heckling him. He simply did not get the laughs he wanted, and reacted by tanking the rest of his set.
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I read the article and while yeah, it's justified for why they cut the cord on him, the writer proves his point with their 2 paragraph long critique on how offensive the joke in the OP was.
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Wetterdew posted...

That joke is not offensive. I decided to read the article because I didn't believe he got kicked out for such an inoffensive joke, and it turns out I was right:

The news articles Ive read give the impression that Patel told some controversial jokes that caused PC outrage, but the performance was just a trainwreck. While Patel started with strong laughs, he soon hit a controversial joke that earned mixed reactions. Instead of moving on, Patel warned us that hes from an older generation (this guy is only 32), and then delivered the usual condescending and presumptuous spiel about how we need to learn about the real world. I thought, Relax, you just got on stage. Patel presented himself as arrogant and almost contemptuous toward the audience he was meant to entertain. Later, he even said, Well, Im already paid, setting the tone of his performance.

The atmosphere throughout the remainder of the routine was uncomfortable with a few occasional laughs. While its normal in stand-up to pick an audience member to dialogue with, Patel just kept returning to the same girl to ask her painfully drawn out questions, as if he were mining material for a routine he had not prepared. He asked another audience member personal questions about their parents in a room full of strangers. To me, his routine was strangely obsessed with Black people, my favorite part being when he questioned why there was so much online outrage that Black actors werent nominated at the Oscars in 2016, but not for Asian actors. Patels anti-Blackness jumped out: The hashtag was #OscarsSoWhite, not #OscarsNotBlack.

And there it is.
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Kineth posted...

Wetterdew posted...

That joke is not offensive. I decided to read the article because I didn't believe he got kicked out for such an inoffensive joke, and it turns out I was right:

The news articles Ive read give the impression that Patel told some controversial jokes that caused PC outrage, but the performance was just a trainwreck. While Patel started with strong laughs, he soon hit a controversial joke that earned mixed reactions. Instead of moving on, Patel warned us that hes from an older generation (this guy is only 32), and then delivered the usual condescending and presumptuous spiel about how we need to learn about the real world. I thought, Relax, you just got on stage. Patel presented himself as arrogant and almost contemptuous toward the audience he was meant to entertain. Later, he even said, Well, Im already paid, setting the tone of his performance.

The atmosphere throughout the remainder of the routine was uncomfortable with a few occasional laughs. While its normal in stand-up to pick an audience member to dialogue with, Patel just kept returning to the same girl to ask her painfully drawn out questions, as if he were mining material for a routine he had not prepared. He asked another audience member personal questions about their parents in a room full of strangers. To me, his routine was strangely obsessed with Black people, my favorite part being when he questioned why there was so much online outrage that Black actors werent nominated at the Oscars in 2016, but not for Asian actors. Patels anti-Blackness jumped out: The hashtag was #OscarsSoWhite, not #OscarsNotBlack.

And there it is.

Yep. Yet another Asian jealous of the Black man.
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eston posted...

It provides a much different context than if this was only a comedy show, and as has been stated throughout the topic a professional comedian should be able to read the audience rather than insulting them for not laughing hard enough. Because again, they were not booing or heckling him. He simply did not get the laughs he wanted, and reacted by tanking the rest of his set.

But fundamentally at the core of this, they were annoyed that his jokes were offensive. I'm not mad at the audience, they can react however they want. But you're mixing two debates. I'm pointing out that someone booking for an event brought in a comedian without making it explicitly clear that this even was about uplifting and making people feel good. I still think he's a shitty comedian, but I also think that people who hire comedians should be aware of the way comedy as a whole operates.

The funniest thing about this set in particular is by the nature of the two jokes he told, it actually SEEMS like he was going for a hacky "oh that's so true" response and wasn't getting it.
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Which joke got him in trouble? It can't possibly be about the gay/black choice thing. That joke didn't stereotype any minorities, and actually celebrated how hard it is to be minority in society.
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Not funny at all, but I wouldn't have stopped the show over that.
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AdviceMan posted...

But fundamentally at the core of this, they were annoyed that his jokes were offensive. I'm not mad at the audience, they can react however they want. But you're mixing two debates. I'm pointing out that someone booking for an event brought in a comedian without making it explicitly clear that this even was about uplifting and making people feel good. I still think he's a shitty comedian, but I also think that people who hire comedians should be aware of the way comedy as a whole operates.

Again, it is up to the comedian to read the audience. It is up to him to know what kind of event he is performing at. Even if he shows up 5 minutes before his set, it is still his job to know what he is walking into.

You don't tell the same jokes at a big cultural event that you would if you were headlining at a comedy club. But the jokes weren't even the biggest problem. The problem was his treatment of the audience.
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Fony posted...

Not funny at all, but I wouldn't have stopped the show over that.

They didn't stop the show after the joke. They stopped it after he started mocking the audience for not laughing at his jokes.
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eston posted...

Again, it is up to the comedian to read the audience. It is up to him to know what kind of event he is performing at. Even if he shows up 5 minutes before his set, it is still his job to know what he is walking into.

Nah, it depends. You're booking? You find out about the comic. You're trying to get booked? You find out about the venue. If you invited Dave Chappelle to do a kindergarten show, you'd just be dumb. Maybe we're talking past each other. I'm not annoyed that he got booted, or that they apologized, I'm annoyed by the comments by the venue saying that his jokes were inherently harmful. It's his fault he didn't adjust (and therefore it's his fault he bombed), but my only exception to this story is their perception of the nature of his jokes.

There's no reason to mention what his jokes are if the problem is his treatment of the audience. It's really easy to just say "dude was bombing, and then he started attacking the audience." But that isn't what they said. His jokes were offensive, and anti-black, and then he started attacking the audience when his set started tanking.
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Barenziah Boy Toy posted...

Fony posted...

Not funny at all, but I wouldn't have stopped the show over that.

They didn't stop the show after the joke. They stopped it after he started mocking the audience for not laughing at his jokes.

Now THAT is a very Carlos Mencia move!

Kineth posted...

Rimmer_Dall posted...

It's not like the audience was booing him or anything. It was the event organizers that decided it was too much and kicked him off.

So the people who invited him and were going to pay him didn't like the job he was doing. *shrug*

I thought you were better than this.
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