Stephen Colbert - Did he go too far?
Stephen Colbert said something in his monologue on Monday night that has caused a lot of controversy. He was ranting about his favorite target, the Cheeto-in-Chief, and he concluded his barrage by saying, "In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c–k holster."
Some people want to give him a pass for this obviously homophobic remark. Sorry, but he should not be given a pass for this. He needs to issue an apology. The network should take some kind of action against him. This was not an attempt at satire, as was the case when back in 2014 his official twitter account for The Colbert Report posted "I am willing to show Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever." That was an attempt to poke fun at the move by the owner of the Washington Redskins for starting a charity to benefit Native-Americans at a time when the backlash against the team's name was very strong.
This is different.
George Takei, Rosie O'Donnell, Patton Oswalt and others are defending Colbert and their rationale is that it is okay because he was insulting the Cheeto-in-Chief. That doesn't excuse the use of a homophobic slur in this or any other case. If any conservative talk-show host were to make a similar comment regarding any prominent liberal, gay or otherwise, these people would be among the first to criticize the comment.
You cannot pick and choose which slurs you will tolerate because of the target's politics. Homophobia is unacceptable in any format, especially from those with a very large audience. If these celebrities find homophobia acceptable when it is used to insult someone they dislike, they lose the right to criticize it at any time.
UPDATE: Stephen Colbert addressed his previous remark on his Wednesday night show, claiming he could have used different language, but stopping short of an apology. He tried to justify what he said by saying it was in response to how the Cheeto-in-Chief had treated a friend of his, Face the Nation host John Dickerson.
Doesn't make it acceptable. If you think it is, consider this. Suppose that Dennis Miller had made the same comment about President Obama and any other world leader during the Obama presidency? Would these people defend the comment? I don't think so.
* * *
Some people want to give him a pass for this obviously homophobic remark. Sorry, but he should not be given a pass for this. He needs to issue an apology. The network should take some kind of action against him. This was not an attempt at satire, as was the case when back in 2014 his official twitter account for The Colbert Report posted "I am willing to show Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever." That was an attempt to poke fun at the move by the owner of the Washington Redskins for starting a charity to benefit Native-Americans at a time when the backlash against the team's name was very strong.
This is different.
George Takei, Rosie O'Donnell, Patton Oswalt and others are defending Colbert and their rationale is that it is okay because he was insulting the Cheeto-in-Chief. That doesn't excuse the use of a homophobic slur in this or any other case. If any conservative talk-show host were to make a similar comment regarding any prominent liberal, gay or otherwise, these people would be among the first to criticize the comment.
You cannot pick and choose which slurs you will tolerate because of the target's politics. Homophobia is unacceptable in any format, especially from those with a very large audience. If these celebrities find homophobia acceptable when it is used to insult someone they dislike, they lose the right to criticize it at any time.
UPDATE: Stephen Colbert addressed his previous remark on his Wednesday night show, claiming he could have used different language, but stopping short of an apology. He tried to justify what he said by saying it was in response to how the Cheeto-in-Chief had treated a friend of his, Face the Nation host John Dickerson.
Doesn't make it acceptable. If you think it is, consider this. Suppose that Dennis Miller had made the same comment about President Obama and any other world leader during the Obama presidency? Would these people defend the comment? I don't think so.
* * *
posted by me at 10:19 AM
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