Slashdot Mirror
FCC Considers Fining Stephen Colbert Over Controversial Trump Joke (rollingstone.com)
FCC chairman Ajit Pai said on Friday his agency will be looking into complaints made against Late Show host Stephen Colbert for what some labeled a homophobic joke about President Donald Trump. From a report: On Monday's Late Show, Colbert quipped that "the only thing [Trump's] mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c**k holster." The joke drew accusations of homophobia, a viral #FireColbert campaign and FCC complaints against Colbert. In an interview Friday, FCC chairman Ajit Pai told a Philadelphia radio station, "I have had a chance to see the clip now and so, as we get complaints -- and we've gotten a number of them -- we are going to take the facts that we find and we are going to apply the law as it's been set out by the Supreme Court and other courts and we'll take the appropriate action." Pai added, "Traditionally, the agency has to decide, if it does find a violation, what the appropriate remedy should be. A fine, of some sort, is typically what we do."
It is odd that the joke is being labeled "homophobic." Nothing in it implies that homosexuality is wrong. If Colbert had said the same thing about Hilary Clinton, it would have made just as much sense, had the same meaning, but could not be described as "homophobic."
When have Trump supporters **EVER** cared about homophobia???????
Of course not. It's the conservatives that are hypocrites. Trump is a vile sexist and racist thing. You don't care about homophobia except when it's to defend your champion.
I kind of disagree. In his search to find something to paint the worst picture of Trump that he can he chose an act that homosexuals do every day. For that matter, he's actually insulting women who give blow jobs as well because its such a vile act that only Trump would do it.
When this story broke out, I searched for the clip to see what the fuss was about. When I did find it I realised that I had seen it before, and while I did think at the time that it was an unusual type of joke for one of those monologues, I didn't see how it could be labelled homophobic. The joke doesn't say that homosexuality is bad, nor did it say anything about anyone who is gay. It merely suggested a closer relationship than has been admitted and a power dynamic that Trump is Putin's bitch. It's strong stuff, but nothing different that calling Hillary Clinton a witch ("jail the witch").
The funny thing is, a lot of the people who are complaining about this would also say that gay marriage should not be allowed. I think that if gays and lesbians had a choice they would rather be able to live their lives as they want to and put up with the odd joke or two than not be allowed to marry the person they love and be told that they are going to hell.
The Libs are eating their own now
Not really, Liberals understand that the joke was inappropriate, but not really homophobic.
The joke was inferring a relationship between two heterosexual men where the weaker one sexually submits to the stronger one for protection, basically a "prison bitch".
All the complaints are just political theatre, Conservatives don't actually care that if it's homophobic or not, they just know it sounds homophobic and that's enough to trigger the faux-outrage.
Ajit Pai is just playing the part of the establishment Republican captured by the Trump administration.
I stole this Sig
So if Mr Colbert had been lounging at a piano in a tuxedo a la Noel Coward and languidly drawled, "The only thing President Trump's mouth is good for, is as a place for Vladimir Putin to park his genital member", then that would have been okay?
Fine him into the ground, but don't get him fired. The PUSA bragged about sexual assault (grabbin' PUSSY) and got elected. Colbert joked about something and gets fired? Give me a break. I agree his remarks might have been homo-offensive or even homophobic, but that's protected under free speech laws. Hate speech attacks individuals or orientations; homophobic speech is merely offensive. I'm a staunch advocate of free speech and I defend both Trump's "locker room talk" and Colbert's "homophobic remarks" because they are not meant to provoke, but rather to entertain. I find both incidents morally objectionable, but not to the point of obscenity or hate against a class. tl;dr this shit doesn't matter: fix hunger, refugee crises, nuclear threats, global warming before you shit your pants over sex jokes while the whole system fails.
Not over the joke, over the words he used in it.
That's a good description of the issue.
We don't really care that much when people insult the president, and we can think badly of such people or goodly of them. That part doesn't matter.
But Colbert's phrase was particularly rude, it's pretty-much covered in Carlin's seven dirty words, and it wasn't a sly, under-the-radar slip or emotional outburst as part of a dramatic scene, for example. It was explicit profanity.
People aren't going after him for the rest of his monologue, which was also very insulting, and they don't complain about John Oliver or Bill Maher when they face the camera and rattle off insults with no wit or insight.
It's the explicit profanity, and Colbert knows better.
I think you're wrong about this. He wasn't suggesting Trump would give or has given a blowjob to Putin. He was drawing a word picture of Putin pissing in Trump's mouth, which is a) not a common sexual act and b) something that is in keeping with what we know about Trump.
You are welcome on my lawn.
You're projecting a bit, he never suggested it was a vile act. You can only see it as a homophobic insult if somehow a blow job is a bad thing, which is what that argument hinges on. The joke works because it implies a consensual servitude on the part of Trump towards Putin, as well as the fact that Trump is pretty terrible at talking. Talk of homophobia is a diversion.
It's not always homophobic to mockingly refer to someone as a homo, or even a submissive bottom homo. Not every pejorative homosexual joke is homophobic or offensive. Sometime it's just boys being boys.
CowboyNeal enjoys ruggedized USB sticks up his bunghole. See, it's all good.
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
In what universe is this story news for nerds?
I disagree. He was looking for a way to depict Trump as sexual partner for Putin -- a way to paint him as literally "in bed together" with the Russians. If either Putin or Trump had been female, it could have been any other sexual act... or possibly one with a strap on or other phallus.
Just because it was a homo or bi sexual act doesn't place the negative on the act -- the negative is on the improper relationship -- especially Trump's desire to please Putin.
SCOTUS needs to strike down the profanity exemption to free speech. It was always bullshit. This should've been settled with Lenny Bruce.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
All the complaints are just political theatre, Conservatives don't actually care that if it's homophobic or not, they just know it sounds homophobic and that's enough to trigger the faux-outrage.
Exactly. Someone complained on Twitter that if Rush had said that about Obama, Liberals would have freaked out. Perhaps that's true, but I contend that, had that happened, the guy who tweeted that would have simply checked "Like".
People get bent out of shape (or pretend to) way too easily these days - or do so not really understanding why.
For example, during a preview for the movie, "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" when it showed Trump saying he'd shutdown the EPA, I heard my mother say, "Good". I thought to myself, "What the fuck has the EPA every done to her?" (Answer: Nothing. Mom is 75 and watches a LOT of Fox News - sigh.)
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
This whole tempest in a teapot is an attempt to punish criticism of the government in general, and criticism of Trump specifically. Colbert did nothing to apologize for.
Trump sucks Putin's cock. Come at me, FCC!
(captcha: quoted)
What's actually happening is a bunch of alt-right dipshits are pretending to be offended because they can target a liberal by doing so. It's essentially a false flag operation. Moreover, they lack the self-awareness to tell the difference between what Colbert said and actual homophobic slurs, so it's no wonder they're labeling it inaccurately.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Eh... it's on par with saying Hillary's a cock-sleeve for the Saudi royal family
It's crude, but not offensive in the least. Especially when you factor in the actual evidence of Clinton-Saudi relationships.
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
People complained to the FCC about Colbert's joke, so the FCC is supposed to review the case. This is the FCC's job, and they would be remiss if they didn't investigate. The FCC isn't investigating because they have a problem with Colbert criticizing Trump, but because it's their job to investigate complaints. The FCC regularly gets complaints about SNL, including a sketch last year in which Dave Chappelle used the n-word on the show. They investigate those complaints, just like they have to investigate the complaints against CBS and Colbert. It's their job. There are a number of factors that go into the FCC's decision, including the context of the objectionable content, whether it was live or not, and the time at which the program aired.
I don't think Colbert's comments merit a fine from the FCC, but that would be the typical penalty for objectionable content on broadcast TV. I don't believe Colbert's comments were homophobic, but they do refer to the act of oral sex, and content relating to sexual acts can still draw a fine from the FCC. There wasn't anything graphic about what Colbert said, and there's a long history of sex-related jokes on late night TV going back at least to the days of Johnny Carson. There were far more objectionable things that aired regularly when Conan hosted Late Night, including characters like the masturbating bear. Then there's all the things Sean Connery has claimed to have done with Alex Trebek's mother on SNL Celebrity Jeopardy, which, by the way, is hilariously funny. I think it would be strange if the FCC issued a fine, especially given that this is late night TV where such content is pretty common.
That said, I didn't find Colbert's comments funny. There wasn't anything particularly clever and I just didn't find it amusing. Personally, I think Colbert is the least funny of any late night TV hosts in recent memory. I didn't really like Conan when he was on Late Night, because I felt too much of his humor was toilet humor. He did have some really good sketches, though, like the recurring In The Year 2000. To his credit, he's gotten a lot better since moving to the Tonight Show and now to TBS. Leno didn't quite measure up to Carson, but he was more in the style of Carson than other hosts. I really enjoyed Leno's Tonight Show, though Fallon is also really good. I didn't find Letterman particularly funny, though he was better than Colbert. James Corden has his moments on the Late Late Show, and Craig Ferguson was pretty good at times. That said, I prefer Seth Meyers, who I think is quite amusing and does a great job with interviewing his guests. I really liked Meyers when he did SNL's Weekend Update, and he's gotten a lot better at hosting Late Night.
No, I don't think Colbert's comments were homophobic or merit a fine. As late night TV goes, Colbert's comments weren't particularly pushing the envelope, though the FCC has to investigate these complaints. They should investigate and hopefully decide that no further action is warranted. I don't think Colbert should be fired over this, but I wouldn't mind seeing him replaced because he's just not that funny. My opinion has nothing to do with these comments, but rather my overall opinion of him as a late night TV host.
By the way, the lameness filter shouldn't be preventing me from using the n-word. Dave Chappelle has a long history of using it in his sketches, including the classic Black White Supremacist, and it's on-topic because he used it in the same time slot on SNL. I know, trolls use it on a regular basis, but it's actually on topic here in providing some context for other content that's been aired on late night TV and why I don't think Colbert's comments merit a fine from the FCC.
The "joke" was more than inappropriate. It was obscene and not in keeping with established broadcast standards. The writers wrote it, the actor spoke it, the network censors decided to allow it, it was taped and not scrubbed from the tape. Therefore it was also a conspired effort to defame and denigrate. A big fine is in order and probably some censures.
You're meaning is unclear.
Do you mean we know President Trump has praised and complemented President Putin?
I believe we do.
Do you mean we are not unaware that President Putin has ordered the assassination of leaders critical of Mr. Putin?
I believe we do know that.
Do you believe we are unaware of President Trump's financial interest in in the Russian block?
I believe we are aware of it.
I think the discernment here is to observe President Putin's actions, and to measure it against the freedoms our founders thought important. If they are congruent, then your view is correct. If they significantly diverge, then perhaps you'd like to explain to those "too stupid" to understand how killing people for expressing their opinion is just dandy and OK.
Since this departs from your own willingness to use your mouth as a cock sock for President Trump, I'm sure you'll disagree with these points. I'm simply devastated by that.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Is the holster joke the only bad thing about Colbert's monologue? How about the the overall contempt and personal attacks? Here are a few:
You’re not the POTUS; you’re the ‘BLOTUS.’
You’re the glutton with the button.
You’re a regular ‘Gorge Washington.’
You talk like a sign-language gorilla that got hit in the head.
In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c*ck holster.
The only thing smaller than your hands are your tax returns and you can take that any way you want.
And Colbert treated Stephen Miller even worse - he made "jokes" about Miller being killed. In a video clip that contains superimposed heads of Miller,
he [Miller] is electrocuted, bashed in the head with a baseball bat, and decapitated. One of the scenes Miller is added to is from the HBO series Game of Thrones, and mirrors a controversial scene where the show’s creators placed former President George W. Bush’s head on a spike.
Can you imagine anyone making "jokes" like that about any other president or his advisors? I didn't like Obama's actions in his second term, but if anyone had made "jokes" like that against Obama or his advisors personally, I would have told him they weren't funny.
If Colbert doesn't like Trump's policies and actions, fine. I don't like some of them either. Colbert should make jokes that criticize Trump's policies. Maybe joke about the Obamacare replacement bill. Attack his policies, not the man personally.
As the RollingStone article says, after the backlash against Colbert's homo joke, Colbert talked about love: "... life is short, and anyone who expresses their love for another person, in their own way, is to me, an American hero." That sounds good. Let's see more brotherly love or kindness in Colbert's monologues in the future.
I'm living in Europe and I bet tomorrow morning in Church, people will be laughing not at the joke but at how America is still arguing left wing and right wing when most of the free world sees it as far right wing and further right wing.
Out of curiosity, what exactly is the definition of right and left in America anymore? Should we start calling it team red and team blue or team elephant and team donkey? This has so little to do with left and right or conservative and liberal that people simply make fools of themselves saying these things.
It's a competition of who can pretend to claim the high ground more than the other by declining into the deepest and darkest pits to do so. Good people don't choose sides. Good people treat everyone with kindness, dignity and respect... even the people they don't like. Good people don't say "it's ok to talk badly about this person because someone on the news does... or because he said something bad first".
Then you should say in "bed together" or in cahooots but NOT "cock holster".
You're trying to make the case for being politically correct?
...grab 'em by the pussy.
rotflmao. That ship sailed a long time ago.
etc.
The backlash is from the left (hint: it's on Twitter). The right could care less about Colbert, it's not his audience. The problem is that everything is scrutinized and has to be politically correct even in comedy. I am a typical left-leaning person with very liberal sexual proclivities but the PC crowd, SJW and Feminists of the era do not represent my or most LGBTQ values, they are bordering on Nazism in regards their ideology and are a leader away from repealing the constitution in their quest.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
If the FCC takes any action against Stephen Colbert for speaking out against Trump, then that's a clear violation of his 1st Amendment right to Freedom of Speech, plain and simple.
Is THIS the country we're living in now? Where you can't criticize POTUS without being OFFICIALLY censured? If so then we're one step closer to living in a dictatorship. Is this the United States of America, or is it somewhere like Syria, or Turkey, or Malaysia?
For those of you that don't get it, this is what authoritarianism actually looks like.
Colbert's comment was absolutely NOT homophobic, unless you consider associating Trump with gays to be insulting to gays (which, I would grant...).
What this is ACTUALLY about is the Trump administration not being happy that a prominent celebrity made a negative comment about Trump, and so they will do whatever they can to prosecute him, even if it means redefining the english language.
And by the way, THIS is what first amendment is for. Like it or not, Trump IS government. That means he is *required* to suck it up if people criticize him, just like every gov't body has done before him.
It's truely scary how you Americans are not just fucking yourselves over, but you're doing it with eyes wide open and cheers.