So there’s this comedy writer Kurt Metzger, who’s on the staff at Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer. You know the next line already.
Lindy West and Sady Doyle, two outspoken critics of rape humor in comedy, are accusing Metzger of an online harassment campaign that started more than a month ago. Doyle is taking the evidence straight to Amy Schumer and Comedy Central.
Are they sure it’s harassment? Couldn’t it just be…you know…comedy?
Doyle and West both drew Metzger’s attention after they voiced their opinions on the ongoing debate about rape jokes within the comic community—a persistent issue since last year’s Daniel Tosh controversy.
The bloggers claim Metzger is targeting them and other feminists by making impersonator accounts on various social media platforms and filling them with obscene Photoshops of the women he’s mocking.
Well there you go – just as I thought, it’s not harassment, it’s pure comedy gold. What could be funnier than impersonator accounts and obscene Photoshops of women you don’t like? And obviously that kind of thing is totally harmless no matter what.
Even if the true creator of the sockpuppet account is never exposed, the level of Metzger’s vitriol may give a boost to feminism’s argument within the comedy community. While Metzger argued on Facebook, “Don’t worry about jokes. Rapists don’t hide behind rape jokes,” the domestic violence in his past—not to mention the threats in his current language—illustrate in a grim way the very real connection between “jokes” and actual assault. Ironically, Metzger is a textbook example of the academic study he mocked and dismissed—the one that explored how men who enjoy jokes about sexual violence are more likely to commit sexual violence. Metzger’s admissions, truthful or not, are horrifying enough: He stated that some women “deserve a beating,” then he copped to choking his girlfriend because she didn’t “fear” him enough.
Yes but that’s because his girlfriend deserved it. Jeez – people are so dense.
He needs to learn the difference between side-splitting, hair splitting and plain old spitting.
Huh. So, playing the skeevy zombie roommate in Ugly Americans is actually a step up for him.
Not sure I quite get the joke here. Maybe it’s because I’m soo PERIPHERAL to comedy. Although I think I have watched some skits on Comedy Central before, I cannot recall Mr Metzger’s name. Well, his first name is known to me, but his last name means Butcher, no? So, pure Bologna Suino. Best enjoyed in waffer-theen slices.
“What could be funnier than impersonator accounts and obscene Photoshops of women you don’t like?”
Speaking of which… radfem2014 got a fake twitter account.
Um…
We need a bit more background. The late-coming, out of the blue allusion to ‘the domestic violence in his past’ really begs for clarification.
How does someone with this sordid a history get hired to write for a woman’s show? Blah blah privacy, blah blah ‘forgiveness.’ It still smacks of welcoming a shuffled priest into your school or parish.