Modified On January 13, 2005
Paul Krassner, writing in the LA Weekly, tells of Chris Warren, who had a visit from the S.S. after joking about violence against a “protectee.” Turns out they were hipped to the joke via an irate letter from a doctor in attendance at one of Warren’s shows.
“…So I was surprised with the visit by the Secret Service. I was asked to tell them the joke, and they both laughed! However, I was then told that if I was to tell the joke again, I would be subject to arrest, charged with a federal crime, that of threatening a ‘protectee’ of the Secret Service, then put on a terrorist watch list.”
Read the rest here. We’re not so much disturbed by the Secret Service leaning on Warren as much as we are by some crank writing a letter to a local paper because the comedian rubbed her the wrong way. The letter concluded with “Maybe Warren should look at his material and figure out that there are certain subject matters that are never funny no matter how you tell the joke.” Uh… wrong.
Was it Woody Allen who theorized that “tragedy plus time equals funny.” We’ve amended it around here to be “Tragedy plus punchline equals funny,” taking time out of the equation. Skene will never joke about a protectee– she just isn’t keen on telling anyone her weight!