Now, we’re finding out why so few female comics grace Letterman’s iconic stage.

Letterman’s comedy booker, Eddie Brill, has been fired for suggesting in an interview that female comedians aren’t as funny as their male counterparts. That, combined with the fact that the show booked only one female comic last year, sealed Brill’s fate with the program.

Brill’s appraisal of the state of female comedy didn’t go over so well at the newly launched Mirth Magazine, whose editorial condemning Brill subsequently sparked a discussion between readers, female comics who participated in the Times profile, and eventually Brill himself. At first, Brill claimed to have been quoted out of context—a claim that was quickly refuted by the interviewer, Jason Zinoman—but hours later, Brill came around to recognizing that he “should have been more accurate with my words and feelings in the interview,” and admitted, “It is time for me to accept the consequences of my printed words.”

The funny part of the story, and not in any “ha ha” fashion, is why it took an interview like this to reveal the biased nature of the show’s talent selection.

Then-Gov. Clinton appeared on “The Arsenio Hall Show” way back in 1992 to, A. play his saxophone and B. earn some cool points along the way.

He likely did both. Now, it’s common for both presidential hopefuls and the Commander in Chief himself to appear before Letterman, Leno and their peers to win over the masses.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney joined the late night fun this week by reading “The Late Show with David Letterman’s” Top Ten List. Letterman, whose liberal biases have become crystal clear in recent years, kindly allowed Romney to speak directly to his audience.

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Titled, “Things Mitt Romney Would Like to Say to the American People,” the bit included this highlight – “It’s a hairpiece …”

No doubt this won’t be the last Romney appearance on late night television should his bid to win the GOP’s presidential nomination come to pass.

]]> http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cftoto/2011/12/20/romney-latest-politician-to-enter-late-night-arena/feed/ 36 http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/12/06/new-survey-shows-republicans-prefer-work-driven-shows-over-snarky-fare/ http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hollywoodland/2011/12/06/new-survey-shows-republicans-prefer-work-driven-shows-over-snarky-fare/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:21:22 +0000 Hollywoodland http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/?p=548284 The Red/Blue state divide doesn’t just involve politics. Turns out television watching habits are sharply influenced by how people pull the voting levers on Election Day.

A new survey conducted by Entertainment Weekly shows that Democrats prefer sarcastic comedies and morally entangled heroes, while Republicans gravitate toward workplace scenarios.

Yet both the Left and the Right adore “Modern Family,” a pro-gay comedy with plenty of Emmy appeal. Sounds like a media meme takes a hit with that news.

There’s some unintentional comedy packed into the intriguing report, too. Consider this description of why “The View” fares better with liberals:

Shows that skew female tend to do better among Dems, while male-friendly shows tend to do perform higher among Republicans.

How ’bout the panel’s hard left tilt? Might that have a smidge to do with it?

And why wouldn’t Republicans flock to “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” as the report indicates, since Leno doesn’t go out of his way to insult the Right like peers Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman do?

The survey also notes how shows like “Hawaii Five-O” appeal to righties, but cop procedurals like the left-wing “Law & Order” don’t. If the New Media didn’t exist, would the “left-wing” tag had been applied to that venerable franchise?

Now, late night talk show hosts have taken the bait.

Last night, the majority of the comedy elite had fun at the expense of Herman Cain, the popular GOP presidential candidate accused of sexually harassing two women during the 1990s. The wobbly reportage was condemned by not only conservatives but the left-leaning Pro Publica media outfit. But it proved too irresistible for the usual comic suspects (source: The daily Hotline roundup):

David Letterman: Now (businessman) Herman Cain when he was the chairman of the National Restaurant Association back in the ’90’s is saying there was a claim of sexual harassment. I looked it up. … Here’s what happened: he was just listing the specials. (‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ CBS, 10/31).

Jimmy Fallon: “Herman Cain was accused of sexually harassing two women in the ’90s. Which explains his new campaign slogan, ‘did somebody order a pizza with extra sausage?’” (‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,’ NBC, 10/31).

Jimmy Kimmel: “Cain says it’s a misunderstanding, he never sexually harassed anyone. He owned a pizza place, he just asking them if they wanted extra sausage and — it happens.” (‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!,’ ABC, 10/31).

Conan O’Brien: “Herman Cain is having to respond to claims that he once sexually harassed women. Did you hear that? Apparently a German woman kept telling him nein-nein-nein!” (‘Conan,’ TBS, 10/31).

Jon Stewart: “In Herman Cain’s defense, there’s very little in the pizza world that’s not sexually suggestive. ‘Hey, you want sausage on your pie?’ ‘Hey, you want me to stuff your crust?’ ‘No, no, I told you, I guarantee I will come in 30 minutes or less. I told you.’ By the way, that is a very optimistic — I think the key phrase there is ‘or less.’ … If he’s telling the truth, he’s just a nice church-going guy and everything he does now is tainted by these allegations. … That clip of Herman Cain smiling at the end of his political ads. That’s just dirty. That commercial is always going to play with different music in people’s heads now. (Sexy music playing) Hey, stop looking at my black walnuts.” (‘The Daily Show,’ Comedy Central, 10/31).

He was really concerned that with President Barack Obama’s dismal approval ratings the Republican primaries would become a winner-take-all contest, with the popular Christie making it all the way to the White House.

Louis believes that political satire is the finest form of the comedic arts, and he has seen it die twice over the last two decades. When the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal broke, every hack in America became a political comic just by appending Bill Clinton to their favorite oral sex gag. As we moved into the new millennium, comics who specialized in blonde jokes could call themselves political just by substituting President George W. Bush into the punchline.

With this new administration, political humor became very tricky, and only a few comics will attempt to make fun of the President. Heck, even the guys who did those “What if a Brother ever got into the White House?” routines were forced to write some original material or abandon the political arena altogether. Louis believes that the political edge of his club is part of what has kept him afloat three years into a recession.

But with the buzz surrounding Christie, there was suddenly a resurgence in hack political comedy. Late night hosts, who have been incapable of finding anything funny about a pair of big ears for the past three years, have stumbled on a new way to market fat-based humor.

This week, David Letterman speculated that Cristie was the only candidate you could view from space (gosh, Dave, no; “when he’d sit around the White House, he’d sit AROUND the White House” … or, “New Jersey would lose a zip code”).

For full disclosure, I have been guilty of the occasional fat reference. Usually though, it’s directed at Michael Moore, who happens to be the world’s fattest Communist (and takes more than his “fair share” of the pie, whether it be economic or boysenberry). I lamely excuse these jokes because the underlying theme is hypocrisy — the same reason why others might make fun of gay Republicans or Al Gore’s private jet.

So what will the comics do now they won’t have Christie to make fun of? Letterman took off running with the “Rick Perry’s Racist Ranch” angle; it seems that a painted rock at a hunting camp is enough to make him the token racist of this election cycle. Fortunately, there are a total of fourteen other Republican candidates to choose from, including a couple that will even allow jokes about race and gender (though oddly enough, racism and sexism are only derogatory when the candidate is a Democrat).

Personally, I think America is ready for a fat President. I’m tired of seeing Presidents jogging (shirtless leaders are so Eastern European). After three years of being told by Michelle Obama that we shouldn’t be eating like the First Family, I’d love to have a President who has more important things in mind than his daily carb count. We’re in a depression; who really cares about the President’s health?

Heck, that’s why we have a Vice President — to allow the President a vice.

On the other hand, I was very moved by Jon Stewart’s monologue and there was no doubt about his pain.

It didn’t take long, however, for the entertainment industry to jump on the Bush derangement syndrome bandwagon and every film, show or play to be tainted with liberal hate.

Jon Stewart should take a look back on his feelings that day and tone down his contempt for all things conservative.

Until then, I don’t watch him or Letterman anymore.

You know, it’s kind of amazing that as telecast ratings for the the Academy Awards sail over a cliff, the Academy appears to be in complete denial over what the real problem is. For starters, a large number of their recent hosts — Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, David Letterman, Chris Rock and Jon Stewart — are polarizing and divisive figures who turn off well over half the country. Those of us who don’t live on the coasts don’t like these people, and why should we? They continually insult us, who we are, and what we hold dear. No Bitter Clinger in their right mind wastes a Sunday night with their guts in a knot waiting for a Leftist sucker shot.

Oscar has the same problem with presenters and winners. Every time some mouthy jerk grabs a trophy we sit there on edge waiting, waiting, waiting for it.

If you believe in traditional marriage, love Jesus, adore America, hate terrorists and have finally figured out Obama’s a failed president — watching the Oscars sucks.

Billy Crystal does, however, transcend that problem. Not 100%, but he is a national figure who isn’t polarizing, puts on a great show, and in the talent and class department comes as close to a Bob Hope and Johnny Carson as anyone today. And sadly, he’s about it.

If Crystal were to return to hosting duties, I have no doubt ratings would improve thanks to the enormous amount of goodwill he’s built up over the last few decades. However, if Hollywood ever wants to return to that golden era when watching the Academy Awards telecast was a national viewing experience, they have much, much bigger issues to deal with.

Hey, Hollywood: You can add 100 best Picture categories for all we care and hire all the young, pretty hosts most of us have never heard of like James Franco — but your real problem is that most of America is just not-liking you back.

Comedians are free to joke about what they want, but does anyone else find it creepy that David Letterman, of all people, is making sexual jokes about a sitting congresswoman?  After all, it was just two years ago that we learned Letterman had been bedding members of his staff in a secret bedroom above the Ed Sullivan Theater.  I’m not really sure why anyone would find this x-ray line funny in the first place (though I get what he intended), but even if they did, doesn’t the fact that it emanated from Letterman’s pervy mouth turn the “ewww” factor up just a little too high?

Letterman has the aura of a misogynist FM radio shock jock–the type of guy you wouldn’t want near your kids–and nothing illustrates this more clearly than a depraved joke about a female public servant who happens to be highly educated and a mother of twenty-eight (including twenty-three foster kids).

And not to sound like a broken record, but how many sexual jokes has Letterman made about Democrats in recent memory?

For doing the MSM’s job — for demanding a sitting president release a document reasonable Americans asked to see — Trump was unfairly held up for public ridicule and dishonestly labeled racist. And even though he deserved neither, even with the heat raining down on him from all four corners of his life, including those cowards in Hollywood,  Trump showed great courage in stepping into the arena and taking the fight directly to the White House in the face of unbelievable pressure.

And don’t ever forget that Trump won. Obama blinked and the Birther issue was disarmed.

I’m no Birther, never was. But doesn’t mean I didn’t see how the MSM and White House were using this issue to their political advantage.

Until Trump came along.

Trump will now return to private life and “Celebrity Apprentice,” and I’ll always remember him as the rare celebrity willing to use that platform to do the right thing even though it hurt his standing in the Hollywood/MSM herd.

How many can say that? You think Joy Behar, Alec Baldwin, Seth Meyers, David Letterman or Jerry Seinfeld have that kind of grit and personal courage?

Donald Trump is a great American, and I wish him nothing but the best.

This is two days in a row where a glib, lefty comedian has taken off his clown nose, engaged in a serious debate with someone from our side they disagree with politically and found themselves caught off guard by a prepared presentation of facts and logic.  Wednesday it was Jon Stewart being schooled by Donald Rumsfeld on the Iraq War and last night a calm, cool, and educated Senator Rand Paul gave David Letterman a terrific lesson on the basics of economics…

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Like Jon Stewart, you have to give Letterman credit for his willingness to seriously engage on this issue. You just have to wonder how long that will last if our side keeps presenting our ideas so well. Will the clown nose and cheap shots return soon?

What is great, though, is that thanks to Secretary Rumsfeld and Senator Paul’s willingness to enter the hostile territory of popular culture, a whole new audience has been exposed to a range of ideas unheard of on these shows before. Instead of our worldview simply being ridiculed or marginalized as punchlines, it’s being presented in reasonable and even attractive ways.

If Letterman and Stewart want to expand their audience; having more of our political stars on, engaging them on the issues, but doing so with this kind of respect would be an excellent way to go about it. 

Fox Nation has some of the transcript here.