Bill Maher used a pointer to illustrate his lecture Friday night on HBO’s Real Time, as he gave a “Zapruder-ized” analysis of the Oscars moment that everyone can’t let go.Maher called the segment, “Explaining jokes to idiots,” and said he would break down jokes for the humor-impaired (a Will Smith shot accompanying).“Comedians have been under attack for some time,” Maher said. “So I must defend my tribe.
This war on jokes must end.” He contended that the infamous “G.I. Jane” quip from Chris Rock “wasn’t an alopecia joke, any more than the chicken crossing the road is about bird flu.”Maher pointed out an earlier joke on Oscars night where Timothée Chalamet was teased for looking a little run down, with the cameras cutting to J.K.
Simmons in the Oscar audience. “That’s where it ended,” Maher said. “It’s called being a good sport. Let hte common people take the piss out of you for one minute.”He then pointed out in slow motion the infamous “G.I.
Jane” joke moment, showing Will Smith laughing. Maher likened it to the perfect illustration of cancel culture. “He hasn’t found out yet that his original general reaction was wrong, and that he should conform ot a different view,” Maher said, as the camera slowly panned to Jada Pinkett Smith and her “We are not amused” glare. .Maher noted that woke hecklers and the general intolerance of Gen Z is killing comedy.
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