RLC Organizer on Obama Impersonator: “Zero Tolerance for Racially Insensitive Jokes”

It must be a slow news day, because the big story of the moment continues to be the controversy surrounding a comedy routine delivered by Obama impersonator Reggie Brown at yesterday’s Republican Leadership Conference held in Louisiana. RLC President & CEO Charlie Davis released a statement saying he thought some of the jokes made were too inappropriate for the setting.

Brown has made a handful of guest appearances on John Stossel’s Fox Business News show, engaging in mock debates with serious presidential candidates. He was invited to speak at the RLC to provide some comic relief in a weekend mostly dominated by presidential candidates.

He cracked some jokes at the expense of the president, including some of a racially sensitive nature. As Obama, he talked about celebrating only half of Black History Month, and quipped that while his mother loved a black man, “she was not a Kardashian.” A picture of Sanford from “Sanford & Son” was shown when Brown, as Obama, joked what he would look like at the end of his presidency.

His monologue was cut short during a joke about Michele Bachmann, and naturally it was assumed that Brown was pulled for his jokes about the Republican candidates. Brown denied these allegations, telling CNN that he was pulled for going over his allotted 20 minutes. He also defended himself against critics who thought his jokes about Obama’s race crossed a line, and said the president has a “great sense of humor.”

One of these critics, Republican Leadership Conference President Charlie Davis, insisted he wouldn’t have let Brown continue had he known the nature of his remarks. His statement:

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.

Davis alleges that he did not know Brown’s routine before he performed it, but on MSNBC today, Brown said he rehearsed his routine ahead of time and no one seemed to have a problem with his remarks.

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Insensitive Jokes Lead to Aflac Open Casting Call for Spokesduck

 

Gilbert Gottfried may be a great comedian, but if he has one lesson to teach about comedy, it’s this: even if you’re hired while the people know you do “blue” jokes, most advertisers don’t have a sense of humor. And when Gottfried thought it was okay to crack wise about the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan, he lost his lucrative job voicing the Aflac duck. To replace him, the AP reports that Aflac has now opened up the casting to anyone in the public who thinks they should have the job.

This is mostly a publicity stunt, but likely a good one all things, and it puts a positive spin on the new hiring. Regardless of how long this search goes on or who gets it, it looks better than replacing Gottfried with – say – Jeff Daniels or Howie Mandell. And though likely no one immediately dropped Aflac as their insurance agents, it’s not good to have a stigma attached to the company in any way, shape or form when it comes to branding. That’s what this is, and that’s all this is.

The thing that is most interesting about this – from the Gottfried perspective – is that we’ve now seen the impact twitter can have on the workplace. Gottfried has never exactly been a “safe” comedian, though he has appeared in a number of cartoons and kids films because of his distinctive voice. He and other comedians have used Twitter to workshop jokes and make mini-rants or whatever, and with it comes a sense that sometimes famous people let their guard down doing it. It’s easy to treat Twitter and Facebook as a place to say how you feel or make stupid jokes, but it turns out that these semi-public discourses have ramifications, and you never know who’s watching or will be offended. Gottfried learned that the hardest way.

Would you audition to be the voice of the Aflac duck?

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Gary Coleman joke at Donald Trump roast: Too soon, too insensitive, too unfunny

Roasts are supposed to be funny, right? It seems that everyone who attended Donald Trump's Comedy Central Roast bombed spectacularly. We all cringed through The Situation's drunken, self-congratulatory mess-fest, and were relieved when Jeffrey Ross intervened and put the Jersey bore out of his misery.

Except, it turns out that Ross was kind of a tool, too. Was there any reason to bring up Gary Coleman at a Donald Trump event? The man lived 42 years and never even resorted to a "Celebrity Apprentice" appearance. Can't we just let him rest in peace?

"He died of multiple aneurysms, which is a little like diff'rent strokes," Ross says.

Um... maybe we'll laugh later. Or not.

Trump says he agreed to the roast for charity's sake -- and he even poked fun at himself during the event. "Maybe you've heard this one. What's the difference between a wet raccoon and Donald Trump's hair?" he asked the audience. "A wet raccoon doesn't have seven billion f---ing dollars in the bank."

Touche.
Photo/Video credit: Getty Images

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