Obama impersonator pulled from Republican Leadership Conference stage

 

Barack Obama impersonator Reggie Brown briefly stole the spotlight this weekend at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans after making a series of racial jokes and taking digs at several 2012 GOP candidates--the stars of the show--before being pulled from the stage.

When the routine mocked the president and other Democrats, it seemed to get a positive reception from the conservative audience--but the crowd let loose a smattering of groans and boos when Republicans became the butt of jokes.

Brown opened by saying Obama only celebrates half of Black History Month because he is biracial, that the president's "mother loved a black man, and no, she was not a Kardashian," referencing the reality-show sisters who have dated and/or married black men. Brown later compared the Obamas to the stars of "Sanford and Son," to wide laughter.

But when Brown started taking on the GOP's base, things grew tenser. He insulted Barbara Bush's appearance, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Mormon faith, suggested former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty doesn't have a spine, and joked about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Just when he was about to make a dig about Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) the comedian was ushered off stage.

As media outlets reported, former Republican National Committee spokesman and current GOP strategist Doug Heye responded to the performance via Twitter, writing: "Wonder why many minorities have problems with GOP? Hiring Obama impersonator to tell 'black jokes' at SRLC, for starters. Our own fault."

Brown was asked on CNN Monday morning if he believes he was yanked due to content or for time. "I do believe that I was over time for a few minutes and I also believe the material was starting to get to a point to where maybe they started to feel uncomfortable about where it was going," Brown said.

Event organizer Charlie Davis told The Ticket via email Monday morning: "I pulled him because his content was inappropriate for the conference."

After asking Davis why Brown wasn't pulled off stage sooner if the comments were "inappropriate," Davis followed up, writing:

The RLC is designed to showcase the top Republican leaders and ideas in the country. To talk about limited government, fiscal responsibility and rebuilding the American economy.

Had I been in the room I would have pulled him sooner. We have zero tolerance for racially insensitive jokes. As soon as I realized what was going on I rushed backstage and had him pulled.

You can watch highlights of Brown's set below:

UPDATE 10:35am EST: Event organizer Charlie Davis confirmed to The Ticket that Brown was pulled for "inappropriate" content.

UPDATE 11:55am EST: Davis follows up to say the racial comments were "inappropriate."

(Photo of Brown: Patrick Semansky/AP)

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Obama Impersonator Says He Wasn't Pulled Early Over Race Jokes

Organizers at the Republican Leadership Conference reportedly cut short a performance by Barack Obama impersonator Reggie Brown on Saturday following a series of "racially-tinged" jokes about the president. (Example: "My favorite month is February, Back History Month. See Michele, she celebrates the whole month. I only celebrate half"). On Monday, Brown defended his act and pushed back against the suggestion he was yanked early during an appearance on MSNBC and in an interview with CNN.com.

Related: Jon Stewart Also Perplexed by John King's GOP Debate Questions

In the CNN interview, Brown refuted the notion he was cut off prematurely. The real story, according to Brown, went something like this:

"What happened is that I went over my minutes. They told me I had 20, but they aired a video before me and then my intro took up more time. When our liaison—they guy who introduced me–came up to me onstage, he said, “Hey, I am sorry—your time is up," and so I finished and went backstage. I was told it was because of my time, not my act, not because of anything I said."

He repeated the time-constraint explanation during a sometimes in-character appearance on MSNBC this morning, adding that the performance didn't cause any problems in rehearsal and that his jokes about the 2012 GOP presidential field also weren't a problem."That's my material," he said, "that's what I do." Also, he says he got paid in full.

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The Simpsons Episodes with Nuke Jokes Pulled in Europe

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Mar 28, 2011, 16:47 by Greg Stacy

The Simpsons episodes featuring jokes about nuclear power are being pulled by European broadcasters following the crisis in Japan.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland plan to pull any episodes featuring jokes about nuclear disaster. Austrian network ORF has already pulled two episodes, 1992's "Marge Gets a Job," which features scientists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie dying of radiation poisoning, and 2005's "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister," which include jokes about nuclear meltdowns.

Al Jean, executive producer of The Simpsons, tells Entertainment Weekly that he doesn't object to the episodes being pulled.

"We have 480 episodes, and if there are a few that they don't want to air for awhile in light of the terrible thing going on, I completely understand that," says Jean. "We would never make light of what's happening in Japan."

Twentieth Television, the syndication division of Fox Television, has offered U.S. TV stations that air syndicated reruns of The Simpsons wih a list of episodes that contain material that could be seen as being in poor taste, given the ongoing disaster in Japan.

Jokes about the hazards of nuclear power have permeated the show throughout its long history. Even the opening credits feature the famous sequence where Homer Simpson is driving home from work at Springfield's nuclear power plant, only to discover a glowing fuel rod tucked in his shirt which he then casually tosses out the window of his car.

Jean says that there are upcoming episodes where we see Homer working at the plant, but there are no jokes about nuclear power planned.

"Some of them are workplace shows, but they are just about Homer being at work," he says. "They're not about nuclear power."

Jean adds that Homer isn't going to leave his job at the plant.

"He's still going to work there," says Jean. "We have a rich universe in which we can do a million things and not touch on that."

The first Simpsons shorts aired on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, a year after the Chernobyl disaster.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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