Suggesting miscegenist rape for Sarah Palin didn’t turn out too well for Sandra Bernhard. Granted, the statement was meant more like Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal than Elridge Cleaver’s essay in Soul on Ice.
In a statement on her Website, Bernhard said the gang rape comment was part of a larger piece from her show:
That comment is part of a much larger, nuanced, and yes, provocative (that’s what I do) piece from my show about racism, freedom, women’s rights, and the extreme views of Governor Sarah Palin—a woman who doesn’t believe that other women should have the right to choose, even in cases of rape or incest; a woman whose administration forced the victims of violent crime to pay for their own rape kits. Women deserve better. I certainly wish Governor Palin no harm—I’d just like her to explain to me how she can hold such outrageous views…and then go back to Alaska.
Bernhard, who delivered the monologue last month in Washington D.C. got fired from an October 16 event “Funny Women … Serious Business” put on by the Boston-based Rosie’s Place, a domestic violence shelter for women after the shelter’s executive director, Sue March, was informed of the comic’s remarks in an email.
“We were horrified so we decided that we wouldn’t have her at our event,” Marsh said.
Many guests at Rosie’s Place have been victims of violence, said Leemarie Mosca, the shelter’s public relations director.
"In light of our mission, we don’t think violence against women is a laughing matter," she said.
The Hynes Convention Center will still go on as planned but a replacement for Bernhard hasn’t been tapped. Maybe Margaret Cho’s available.
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Maybe Sarah Palin’s available.
well…you gotta admit, the domestic violence shelter might have a point, on appearances alone.
There are some things that just should not be said. This is one of those times.
Bernhard has based her career on saying the things that shouldn’t be said. Nothing wrong with that. She probably misjudged in this case by evoking images that don’t just make people uncomfortable but actually cause pain. If she lost a gig because of it she should accept that and move on.
Hear, hear!! Rape ain’t funny. Ever. No matter WHO talks about it. And it’s nobody’s effing business about how I know.
Who is Sandra Bernhard?
Seriously.
Not cool Sandra!
Those kind of remarks are uncalled for in any context.
Oy, I am going to say my piece and then STFU, Y’all have a nice evening.
Sandra Bernhart is pretty much the equivalent of Ann Coulter without the black cocktail dress. she is a Shock Jock.
And the crap sucks from both ends of the spectrum. Can I come sit by you?
Well, unless you want to speak at a domestic violence shelter…
Frankly the whole idea of using comedians to raise money for a domestic violence shelter seems bizarre to me.
A female comedian. She’s been around since (at least) the ’80s, when there were rumors about her and Madonna. She guest-starred on “Will & Grace” a while back. I wish I could link you to her “classic” performance, but she really hasn’t done anything that’s all that noteworthy.
By removing my statement from the original context you alter it’s meaning to suggest that I condone what she said. I meant there is nothing wrong to the extent she has the same right to express herself as the rest of us. If she says things that people find so offensive that she loses work as a result, that is fair and just. She should take her lumps and get over it.
“The King of Comedy” is pretty much it. She was a semi-frequent guest on Late Night With David Letterman when he was at NBC. She was actually funny at times. I saw one episode where she came out and pretended to be pregnant with Letterman’s baby through the entire interview, much to his dismay.
Absolutely.
Cool! Because she was.
when Bernhard first made the comments in her routine I didn’t write about them because the only info I had was the out of context lines. I suspect from reading her statement she was trying to say “well maybe Palin would feel differently about rape kits and abortion if she were raped” hence my reference to A Modest Proposal. Though frankly the racial comment Bernhard added was disturbing to me.
Was her routine funny? I wasnt there. Was it provocative? Yes, obviously.
Should it have gotten her fired? That’s up to the people who hired her. They felt her words were inappropriate (and if she had done that routine there..OMFG)
Actions have consequences. I applaud the shelter for standing up for what they feel is correct and right for them.
The graceful thing for Bernhard to do would be to make a (large)donation to that shelter if they will take her money or to a rape crisis service, perhaps one in Alaska, to help offset the costs for the victims, to be able to provide more services, etc.
And maybe charities should do more due diligence when it comes to booking talent for their benefits. Bernhard is play really blue, her work is brutal, rough and even before this, might not have been the best choice.
I am not shooting the messenger.
Thanks for pointing out some news I missed today.
She’s an extremely unattractive, unfunny performer. I am a liberal Democrat, can’t stand Palin, but “joking” about rape just isn’t funny or appropriate.
Attackerman is across the way!
When We Lock Horns, We Can Go Harder Than Busta
Hey Lisa,
Do not be afraid to speak your mind or say something that some folks won’t like.
They still let me in the door and I am the antithesis of PC.
Don’t be afraid, as my father say’s, God hates a coward.
Get after ‘em and when they start howlin’, yer doing it right.
thanks,Frank.
I really had no idea.
I am popular culture-challenged.
Don’t feel bad.
I have never been able to comprehend the appeal of Sandra Bernhard.
She appeared on Letterman regularly until she didn’t anymore. Same as Sarah Jessica Parker.
Come to think, I don’t get the appeal of SJP, either.
My first post was designed to open discussion, and it has. Both sides, Bernhard and the shelter have their points in this matter–and I support the rights of both to express them. Neither party is “wrong” nor do they deserve vilification.
At the center of this is that Palin has repeatedly expressed–most recently on television–that rape victims should not have Plan B (morning after pill) nor be able to terminate their pregnancy. Rape victims in Alaska were charged for their rape kits. I wonder what the shelter has to say about these matters?
The point of Bernhard’s routine: “If it happened to her, maybe she’d feel differently.” Did Swift really think the Irish should sell their children as food?
Firing Bernhard off the benefit was appropriate from the shelter’s perspective of who they are and the work they do. Again, I wonder how they feel about Plan B and termination of pregnancy when rape or incest is involved.
Both Bernhard’s comments and the actions by the shelter are examples of the rights we have in this country. Bernhard has the right to express her views; and the shelter has the right to not hire her if they don’t feel those views fit with their mission.
Of course not but that’s not the point. The difference is that–with the exception of incidents such as the Donner party or Monty Python sketches–cannibalism is an extremely rare phenomenon and the satire in Swift’s essay works because it’s so patently absurd.
Sexual assault, OTOH, is sadly not as rare as cannibalism–in point of fact it’s statistically likely that quite a few members of Bernhard’s audience for that performance were survivors of sexual assault.