Comedians have long grappled with how to joke about race.
While strides have been made socially in how we talk about race, racism is still present in our media and comedy, consciously and not.
Recently comedian Amy Schumer took heat for jokes she made in her early stand up career about hispanic men as well as some jokes she made at this year’s MTV Awards about Latina women. Just this week, Schumer apologized for what she called “dumb jokes” and said she does not consider herself a racist.
A Washington Post article compared Schumer’s jokes to comments made by Donald Trump about Mexican immigrants during his presidential campaign.
What racial humor is acceptable today and how does that compare to what was acceptable in the past?
Guests:
Stacey Patton, a contributor to PostEverything at The Washington Post, where she recently co-authored the piece "Don’t believe her defenders. Amy Schumer’s jokes are racist."
Andrew Wallenstein, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Variety, where he recently authored the piece "Amy Schumer Says She's Sorry. Don't Believe It."
Alonzo Bodden, comedian and winner of the third season of the reality television series, Last Comic Standing