Modified On June 9, 2010
As of 8:41 EDT, that was the most recent comment under the Youtube video of Philly comedian Doogie Horner‘s appearance on America’s Got Talent. And by “juich,” we think the commenter means “Jewish.” (See video below.)
We post this video because it is fascinating and illuminating. Host Nick Cannon tells Horner, “We’ve had forty different standups on this show, and they’ve all been booed off the stage.” What’s going on out there? We’ve always been aware of an ugly, low-level distaste for standup comics– either borne of envy or general resentment or merely the pack mentality fostered by multiple negative portrayals in the media or the pop culture– but what we’re seeing lately seems to be a bit wider, a bit more blatant, the participants engaging in the hatefest in an unapologetic manner.
The video of Horner’s two-minute battle is just the latest example of this wave.
Much to Horner’s credit, he doesn’t flinch. Instead, he engages in outlandish, stonefaced condemnation of the crowd and (according Helium’s Facebook status update) he manages to advance to the show’s Vegas stage. He takes the comic’s worst nightmare (no doubt with Cannon’s warning still ringing in his ears) and stays in the moment. He turns the mess around and manages to garner some fans toward the end. They were no doubt admiring his refusal to back down.
It’s especially disturbing that they start booing immediately! They booed him merely because he was a comedian. It is worth noting that the same crowd waited for a long time before they registered that level of dissatisfaction with the gentleman who put his dick in a bucket and then lit firecrackers inside that same bucket. So… to recap: A guy who pulls down his pants and fakes blowing up his penis is accorded more of a welcome than a comedian.
It seems that not backing down is the best way to deal with the rude creeps. We suppose that’s why we’re in our twelfth year of publishing this magazine.