[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
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
Patton Oswalt, comedian, writer and actor
Sarah Silverman, comedian, actor, writer, singer
RT’ed:
Anthony Jeselnik, comedian
Dane Cook, comedian and actor
Stevie Ryan, comedian and actor
Doug Stanhope, comedian
Opie Radio, Opie and Anthony radio show on Sirius
Doug Benson, comedian and actor
Kumail Nanjiani, comedian
Michael Ian Black, comedian, actor, writer
Chelsea Peretti, comedian and writer
COMEDIANS, COMEDY WRITERS AND ACTORS CALLING TOSH OUT:
Roseanne Barr, comedian, actor, writer, producer, presidential candidate
And she RT’ed:
Martha Plimpton, actor
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
Bonnie McFarlane, comedian
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
Lizz Winstead, political satirist, writer and Co-Creator of The Daily Show
Andi Zeisler, Bitch Magazine Editor and Founder
The Opinioness 
Love this. But, can we clarify. What Tosh did in response to the woman’s heckling was a rape-THREAT not a rape joke.
Thanks, Kate! And you are absolutely 100% right! I wrote about it not being a joke in my 1st post on it. I changed the title because you’re right…I don’t want anyone mistaking that this was a joke. Because it wasn’t.
you know what would be really funny? if someone raped you right now, like if 5 guys jsut raped you right now
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/16/opinion/gottfried-tosh-joke/
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.
@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…
Why isn’t Tosh behind bars or would that be ridiculous?