The current political climate has, understandably, whipped comedians into a frenzy, but Bill Maher, Kathy Griffin and Stephen Colbert have all recently crossed the line.
00:00Sometimes people want, you know, a joke that's out there and a little crazy.
00:04It seems every second now, there's a new President Trump story, followed by some news spin, followed by, of course, comedian commentary.
00:11But where is the line and when is it crossed?
00:14Though the current political climate is understandably whipping comedians into a frenzy,
00:18The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Sheck says Bill Maher, Kathy Griffin and Stephen Colbert have all recently gone too far.
00:25Sheck cites Colbert as the most potent example with his rating success and whole new energy post-election as he skewers Trump and his administration regularly.
00:34The recent speed bump for Colbert came after he delivered a lengthy, profanity-filled rant against the President.
00:39Sheck writes,
00:40Although no one possibly believes that Colbert is homophobic, he was promptly taken to task for the admittedly over-the-top vulgarity and he apologized on air shortly thereafter.
00:50Not to the President mind you, but rather to the gay community.
00:54It's safe to say that he'll be watching his language more carefully from now on.
00:58Meanwhile, Kathy Griffin found herself recently in hot water after a photo depicting her holding up a bloody fake head resembling Trump's was posted online.
01:06Griffin was instantly condemned from people across the political spectrum.
01:10She apologized in a tearful video saying,
01:13I'm a comic. I crossed the line. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. It wasn't funny. I get it.
01:20But as Sheck writes, the damage was done. CNN cut her from her New Year's Eve hosting gig, calling the image disgusting.
01:27And Trump weighed in, tweeting,
01:29A few days later, in what Sheck calls a self-pitying press conference, Griffin lamented,
01:41I don't think I will have a career after this. He broke me.
01:44He also says she played the female card when Griffin said that it was a woman thing and wouldn't be happening to a guy.
01:50As Sheck puts it, that may be true, but Joan Rivers, bless her soul, would probably have told everyone to go F themselves.
01:57Not long after, Bill Maher found himself in what Sheck calls a familiar position for him, in deep doo-doo,
02:02when he said the N-word during an interview with Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse.
02:07Under fire from HBO as well, Maher delivered an uncharacteristic apology the next day.
02:12I regret the word I used in the banter of a live moment. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and I am very sorry.
02:18Sheck writes, while he should well know that using the N-word is the third rail of discourse,
02:23the outrage seems a little over the top. The critic writes that the comedian was making a contextual joke,
02:28but that said, while the offensive word is freely used by rappers and in such movies and television shows as,
02:34for instance, HBO's own The Wire, it's also commonly accepted that white people have far less, as in no, leeway when it comes to using it.
02:43Sheck concludes that there's nothing new about all this and that comics in the modern era have always gotten
02:47into trouble for crossing the line in one form or another.
02:51Yes, mistakes were made by all three comedians and yes, they were unfortunate and regrettable,
02:55but at the same time, and to their credit, Sheck shines light on the fact that they each followed up with an apology of one sort or another.
03:02The critics' advice on it all in the end? It might just be a good time for everyone to take a chill pill.
03:08So what's your take on these three comedians' recent blunders? The backlash? And where's the line?
03:13Should we be more chill, as Sheck suggests? Let me know in the comments, guys, and please,
03:17nothing that will make you have to issue an apology on your comment on this video.
03:21For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Paul Costabile.
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