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Turning the standup world upside down
A regular reader sent us a link to a CNN.com item about Jamie Masada’s plan to rid the world of standup… or at least rid the Laugh Factory of standup. Here is, quite literally, the money quote:
Masada suggested Richards donate at least $500,000 (euro381,270) to charity for every time he unleashed the derogatory term. Masada also said the comedy club will ban comedians from using all “hateful words” including the “n-word.”“We want to be the first place in the world to ask all of the comedians if they go on stage and use the ‘n-word,’ (it) comes out of their paycheck,” Masada said.
This should be condemned in no uncertain terms by every working comic in America. Can we say that any more plainly?
We don’t know about you, but when we see the work “ban” come out of a club owner’s mouth, we get nervous.
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Reply to: Turning the standup world upside down
I don’t see rules from a club owner as cause for nervousness. I see every rule as an opportunity for an entrepenuer who thinks that without that rule, or rules, they can attract a more profitable crowd.Good luck to the club in finding comedians once the word gets out that if you say something they don’t like, you won’t get paid.
Sensie Ern makes a good point. However, we would point out that fear makes club owners behave in ways which are counterintuitive. Fear of lawsuits? Fear of somehow being labeled as a racist? Fear of negative press?We remind all that, 15 years ago, many club owners saw “variety acts” as the way to boost revenue. For whatever reason, they saw their bottom line sagging. They determined the problem to be (fill in the blank) and their solution to the perceived problem was to book jugglers, magicians, hypnotists and novelty acts. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of the abovementioned act, but they were not the solution.
KNOCK KNOCKWho’s there?MICHAEL RICHARDSMichael Richards Who?MICHAEL RICHARDS, YOU N-WORD.By the way, if the war on N-words continues, it’s only a hop and a skip until synonyms for the N-word are added to the list.
Good point, Blogger of Wrongs.Maybe there could be a sliding scale fee structure. I couldn’t afford the fine for an n-word, but maybe I could use a less inflamatory, but more affordable, racist word when necessary. Just kidding. I think this is a horrible idea – comedy generally needs fewer restrictions, not more.