Comedians Speak Out in Support of ’SNL’s’ Katie Rich

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As it goes anytime a comic takes a risk with a joke, there are those who hate it and those who love it. With the case of Katie Rich, the Saturday Night Live writer who was indefinitely suspended from the show after a joke about Donald Trump’s son caused a Twitter firestorm, we’ve already heard the detractors loud and clear;  a change.org petition calling for Rich’s firing has acquired, as of this writing, over 122k signatures, and Rich has effectively been bombarded off of Twitter for the time being.

Not all of the feedback Rich is getting is negative, however. Comics tend to have each others’ backs when one of them gets lambasted for a risky joke that doesn’t land, and this case is no exception.  Vanity Fair reported on a slew of notable comics and writers who have actively tweeted their support for Rich, and we found a few of our own including Paul F. Tompkins, Nikki Glaser, David Cross, Horatio Sanz, Dan Harmon, Mike Drucker, Paul Brittain, Morgan Murphy, Dan Wilbur and many more.

https://twitter.com/paulscheer/status/823912248770838529

https://twitter.com/ReadySetGreg/status/823941198175797248

Harmon even went so far as to offer Rich a job:

https://twitter.com/danharmon/status/823666212122963968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/danharmon/status/823667995113201664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/danharmon/status/823672847574806529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Or take the joke further.

Tompkins spoke with Vanity Fair on the issue, providing a refreshing voice of reason from the comedy side of things. “The joke was talked about for longer than it was online,” he said. “And it was circulated way more by the people who were offended by it than the person who posted it. So I feel like there’s definitely a self-righteous, sanctimonious angle to this that is just so hypocritical.”

He added that, with satire as with all things, the “too-far line” is different for each person and that, at a certain point, enough has to be enough. “The line changes; it goes back and forth. It’s not a fixed point,” said Tompkins. “If someone apologizes, they delete the thing, it’s over. What more do you want? Why does someone have to lose their livelihood over this?”

Why indeed, Paul, why indeed.

 

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler

Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.