Feminism

Twitter Round-Up of Comedians & Comedy Writers Supporting Daniel Tosh’s Rape Threat Misogyny and Those Calling Out His Bullshit

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[Trigger warning for rape]

So last night I wrote about asshole comedian Daniel Tosh threatening a woman with gang rape in a comedy club after she opposed his rape jokes. As I was researching information for my post, I came upon Louis C.K. tweeting his support of Tosh.

Now, people keep telling me how feminist he is. And don’t get me wrong. I love that he calls out sexism, did a benefit at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and donated money to the Fistula Foundation. But. What. The. Fuck. Not only does he make rape jokes but he defends Tosh too?? Not cool.

So then I thought, well Louis C.K. can’t be the only one supporting Tosh’s douchebaggery. And I was right. He’s not. So I’ve compiled a list of tweets from the comedians supporting him or making light of the whole situation.

But THANK THE FUCKING SUN, MOON AND STARS!!!…I also found tweets from comedians and comedy writers (plus two badass female actors and one rocking magazine editor ) NOT supporting this and vocally opposing his bullshit. Because I’m an optimist and think people should be supported for speaking out against injustice, I’ve included those links too.

What Tosh and people supporting him don’t seem to get is that it’s not about freedom of speech or censorship or what’s funny and what’s not. Although I still contend rape jokes aren’t funny. But what’s really at the core of this situation is how we trivialize and disregard people’s pain, trauma and wounds. 1 in 4 women are raped. As I said before, Tosh crossed the line the moment he disregarded that woman’s concerns, asserted his male privilege and tried to humiliate her with a rape threat.

So why am I posting all these negative tweets? Is it just to call people out? Yes. But what’s more important is when we look at them as a collective. Then you begin to see just how prevalent and insidious rape culture truly is.

P.S. Fab blogger Amadi is also compiling a list so thank you to her for being awesome…and for reading my mind!

P.P.S. I updated this post with more comedians speaking out against Tosh thanks to Katie Halper’s The Nation post. Love it!

COMEDIANS SUPPORTING TOSH:

Louis C.K., comedian, radio host, writer, actor

https://twitter.com/louisck/status/222849861224108035

UPDATE on 7/17/11: Louis C.K. said on The Daily Show that he does NOT support Tosh’s rape threat, that he’s a fan but didn’t know about the controversy when he tweeted to Tosh.

Jim Norton, comedian, radio personality, writer, actor

https://twitter.com/JimNorton/status/223227706848972800

Patton Oswalt, comedian, writer and actor

Sarah Silverman, comedian, actor, writer, singer

RT’ed:

https://twitter.com/anthonyjeselnik/status/223094201947140097

Anthony Jeselnik, comedian

https://twitter.com/anthonyjeselnik/status/223094201947140097

https://twitter.com/anthonyjeselnik/status/223172033347981312

Dane Cook, comedian and actor

Stevie Ryan, comedian and actor

https://twitter.com/StevieRyan/status/222881109728440320

Doug Stanhope, comedian

Opie Radio, Opie and Anthony radio show on Sirius

Doug Benson, comedian and actor

Kumail Nanjiani, comedian

https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/223170603467800576

https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/223164327857889282

https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/223163055981338625

https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/223123329660370945

https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/223119171582566401

Michael Ian Black, comedian, actor, writer

https://twitter.com/michaelianblack/status/223171064161771520

Chelsea Peretti, comedian and writer

COMEDIANS, COMEDY WRITERS AND ACTORS CALLING TOSH OUT:

Roseanne Barr, comedian, actor, writer, producer, presidential candidate

https://twitter.com/TheRealRoseanne/status/223446792400928770

And she RT’ed:

Martha Plimpton, actor

https://twitter.com/MarthaPlimpton/status/222800995745411074

https://twitter.com/MarthaPlimpton/status/223246214991327233

https://twitter.com/MarthaPlimpton/status/223240618279841792

https://twitter.com/MarthaPlimpton/status/223247050735755264

Meghan O’Keefe, comedian and writer

Colin Quinn, comedian

Katie Halper, comedian, writer and Feministing contributor

Jamie Kilstein, comedian and Co-Host of Citizen Radio

Lena Dunham, writer, actor, director (Tiny Furniture), creator of Girls

Katey Healey Wurzburg, comedian

Christina Gausas, comedian

https://twitter.com/christinagausas/status/222799813538885632

Bonnie McFarlane, comedian

https://twitter.com/bonniemcfarlane/status/223094050989948928

Bob  Kulhan, comedian

Hari Kondabolu, comedian and Totally Biased writer

W. Kamau Bell, comedian and Totally Biased Host

Molly Knefel, comedian and writer

Joe Garden, comedy writer

https://twitter.com/joegarden/status/222757259690778625

https://twitter.com/joegarden/status/222849662716096514

https://twitter.com/joegarden/status/222843974103216128

Lizz Winstead, political satirist, writer and Co-Creator of The Daily Show

Andi Zeisler, Bitch Magazine Editor and Founder

6 thoughts on “Twitter Round-Up of Comedians & Comedy Writers Supporting Daniel Tosh’s Rape Threat Misogyny and Those Calling Out His Bullshit”

  1. Love this. But, can we clarify. What Tosh did in response to the woman’s heckling was a rape-THREAT not a rape joke.

    Reply

    • I approved @get a sense of humor’s oh-so-clever comment (thanks for threatening me, asshole) only to show that misogynistic douchebags get a thrill – a power trip – by threatening women with rape or violence. Sadly, it happens all too often.

      Reply

  3. @Kate I don’t believe Tosh honestly wanted that woman to be raped, let’s not take it that far.

    Louis C.K. is just tired of all the politically correct rhetoric, and how it erodes the comic’s
    freedom to address (or joke about) certain taboo topics.
    He defended Lena Dunham’s show, amidst the backlash of her not including a more racially
    diverse cast.
    His comment was, basically, “It’s a great show, and fuck all these overly sensitive, politically correct imbeciles, for trying to take away from that.”
    Something along those lines…

    Reply

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