I've never seen this comedian. If his is just an act, then perhaps his statements can be ignored. But what about his audience that laughs? They aren't acting. They enjoy their own hate. And that makes him an enabler.
I think I'll continue to not see his act.
6
I watched it last night, mostly because the brilliant John Mulaney was quoted in this article and it sounded as though he's a fan.
I found Jeselnik more tedious than offensive. Misdirect, punchline. Repeat ad nauseam. He's not someone I'd watch again.
8
I agree. His comedy is best in small doses. It gets way too samey and monotonous when you watch a special.
3
no faith in those who nominate, as the iconic ms Jackson was overlooked....pitiful.
I hope it's actually funny. It's billed as a comedy.
There is so much stuff billed as comedies, the late night talk shows, SNL, that aren't funny.
1
Earlier this week, I was wondering, what happened to Anthony Jeselnik? I really was. I hadn't seen him in a few years and clearly some impulse was causing me to miss his brand of comedy.
I wouldn't call myself a fan. In fact, everything I know about Mr. Jeselnik I learned from this article. But I vividly recall that, whenever I encountered him by chance on a TV special, I couldn't look away. And something about his jokes satisfied a deep urge in me to say the same kind of things.
Then there's that voice. It's different. It's seductive. And then he does it; says something that's loaded with his twisted truth.
I'm happy to hear he's still around and not the victim of some random shooting somewhere. Of course with him it wouldn't be random.
12
Along with Chris Rock one of our great comedians. he is not afraid to be politically incorrect and no topic seems off limits.Let's hope that continues.
12
Goodness gracious,this article makes me want to look at some old Lenny Bruce and George Carlin videos.
11
Jeselnik is hilarious, but more importantly, he's unique---at least among comics working today. That's an accomplishment.
Funny excuses almost everything, because the fact of being funny means it is exposing the inherent absurdity of the joke's viewpoint. As Roger Ebert put it so well "It's not what it's about, it's how it's about it" that matters.
21
Anthony is the evil twin version of Demitri Martin. Both are masters of language and misdirection, and both are enormously funny.
19
"A joke writer in the tradition of Steven Wright"--I have seen Steven Wright live. I have listened to all of Wright's and Jeselnik's CDs. Jeselnik is no Steven Wright. Yes, both--like lots of comics--use misdirection frequently. But Wright never jokes about sex or race or politics; never acts smug; and never mocks anyone but himself. His humor also uses absurdity much more than Jeselnik.
Frat bros love Jeselnik; nerds love Wright.
And Wright is MUCH more original and funny.
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@DSM14 i love both, and am assuming you’re not so good at assumptions.
24
@tgI am assuming you are entitled to love both, just as I love Wright and like Jesselnik. I am also assuming you could not come up with any factual reason to dispute anything I said, so had to resort to assumptions.
To quote Wright; "I sent a friend a postcard of the earth. I wrote "Wish you were here.'"
4
@DSM14
Have you seen Jeselnik without the beard? Dude is drop dead cover model gorgeous.
He's tall. He's handsome.
Honestly, what is there to mock?
7
He is clever and makes a lot of people laugh. Making humor from dark situations has been around for millennia - just because its not your kind of humor doesn't mean it doesn't help people through this crazy ride we call life
23
What a time! The question is should a comedian be apologizing for his jokes or not? Is he woke enough? Oh, God, help us. This is a humor? Where are you, George Carlin?
14
I just watched the latest Jeselnik Netflix show. It is most fascinating to watch him keep his onstage character while making jokes that quite witty and based on language (not all obscene) and timing.
I noticed the dedication to Jessica after an extended monologue on abortion. Very clever monologue on abortion that moves pro and con.
Also note Chris Rock in post credit thanks.
Jeselnik is very intelligent and hopefully will direct his performances on more prevalent concerns of our time.
17
I am currently watching his latest Netflix special. Although it is not drop dead funny there are some laugh out loud moments. And much more entertaining than most Netflix comedy specials.
5
It's funny that the 'woke' think they're new and the first to have these ideas. That the more educated and aware of how life really works you become the less woke you are. People are upset about those that laugh at this humor, but have no self awareness of how their ideas can be to others.
4
I have long been a fan of Anthony Jeselnik. However, last night, in Green Bay, I had the joy of watching David Sedaris 'stand up' in front a theater full of people and make them roar with laughter with his readings and
in-between-readings patter. If one was to construct a Venn diagram mapping Jeselnik's humor and Sedaris', there would be a modest area of convergence.
If you love to laugh and are not prudish, do not pass up an opportunity to see Sedaris. He is even better in person than he is on paper!
15
Jeselnik's a good kid. I hope he finds a way to use his powers for good too, but for now, it's highly entertaining, and that helps people too.
9
@Dan Stackhouse
He does use his powers for good, just not always on stage.
He said in the article he only has women comedians open for him which helps get them exposure in a 'boy's club' atmosphere that is comedy.
He fixes his material to better suit the times.
Off stage, he's a great guy who does good things all the time.
5
How fascinating it is to hear the frump-verse announce that certain things aren't funny. The physical act of laughter is the ultimate authority on what's funny, overriding all other standards of morality, artistry, propriety, and skill. It is the audience that makes material funny. Tell them to change their reactions, and you will have your victory. Lots of luck.
15
He's too funny by half. There's a reason he's not one of the bigger names in comedy. Saying offensive things for a laugh is low form of entertainment.
7
@ck
Really? Made Joan Rivers a multi-millionaire.
Your taste is not necessarily my taste. Some offensive things are funny.
8
I'm a bit fan and by that I mean I appreciate his humor and not that I'm a large, annoying air mover.
His observations can be shocking, and I wouldn't want all my comedy to be like his, but he's a bit like Cap'n Crunch; it's awesome and awful at the same time.
7
Just watched 20 minutes. Found him clever, but tedious and soulless. His too cool for school thing gets old fast.
15
@Sparky
In theory, jokes about race or women or Gays or whatever could help society IF the listeners laugh, but then say to themselves, Hey what's wrong with me? I'm laughing at something awful. I need to change.
4
From the comedian's perspective, everything is fair game. To be noticed, he needs to cross lines. From audience's perspective, racial slurs and worse should not be funny to begin with.
7
The guy is just brilliant, on the Comedy Central Trump roast his jokes cut sl close to the bone that you can't tell when he is kidding or just ramping up his brand of sarcasm. This article describes some of his miss-direction, and often when you see that coming there is an end of the joke twist that almost nobody can anticipate. Like Rickles he spreads around his digs (often with a point) and any adult who is offended by the ridiculously stretched out premises he creates, probably has the self esteem of a wounded kindergartner.
10
Whatever you say or do sends out energy and a vibration to the world and affects things for good or ill, and you are responsible for it. You can't say it was just my "character" who did such and such. You do have an effect and you are responsible for it.
15
@Judy Strain,
Perhaps you are right, but I'm afraid that puts a very large burden on any actor who plays a character who does anything negative.
7
@Judy Strain
And the "energy" this guy sends out is "hilarious"
In the words of the Drill. Sgt.
"Lighten up Francis"
8
@Judy Strain
How new age of you.
So, every movie/TV villain is responsible for the person they portray?
That's not how acting works.
5
"When I asked why woke comics don’t criticize him more, Jeselnik said, “I think because they know that I’m woke.”"
We said the same thing about Louie.
Just sayin.'
20
No. We didn’t. There was always something creepy about Louie. He pretended to be in character when he performed — but he really was that gross guy he mocked.
4
@Chrystie
Good luck finding anything in Jeselnik's closet.
As a person, he's great. He's progressive. He's liberal.He supports women, not gropes them.
He is a great guy who performs onstage.
5
We have enough monsters in real life. No need for a character that’s a monster.
18
@Denise What a Pollyanna! Lighten up, you take yourself far too seriously. Sad that you can't enjoy hysterically funny humor because you live in some kind of uber-serious depression land........
16
"Satan is squeaky clean"
Ha! Brilliant!
7
A lot of his jokes always make me wonder... when is funny, not funny anymore.
He himself referred to those jokes which make a racist, or a misogynist, laugh a little harder than others. Comedy is a fine tight-rope act.
Perhaps, its because I liked comedians like Norm Macdonald, more nuanced, more intellectual.
4
The first joke here rips off Steve Martin: "I can still remember sitting in a darkened theater with my arm around 17-year-old Mary Joe Rasmussin, trying to get to first base. I even remember the name of the movie: 'The Lion King.'" Good comedy is transgressive but it doesn't punch down. I'll be watching this. Thanks for letting me know about it.
3
brilliantly funny and I miss his TV show.
14
Will all due respect to Bill Burr and many of the other great comics of this generation (meaning post-Chris Rock generation IMO) ... Jeselnik is the best. He's a genius. He's always laugh-out-loud funny.
12
Jeselnik is wickedly and brilliantly funny. I've seen him a couple of times live, and will continue to do so whenever he's in the area with a new show. He is a master of his craft, to be sure.
13
The current generation of comedians needs to try writing. Much of the new humor is not. Wake me when the reset happens.
9
I've seen him. The give-away that his entire routine is all an act is that he constantly has a twinkle in his eye and an ever-so-subtle smile at the timing of a punchline. He knows exactly what he's doing and waiting to see the reaction of the audience. It's a smart comedy set.
Interesting article. I like to hear/read how his material has changed over time. I'd be equally interested to meet him in person to be introduced to his off-stage, real-life personality.
42
@Eric I think the give away that it is all an act is that he is a professional comedian.
6
@deb
Yes...obviously. I was intending to get the point across to others that are/seem to be offended by his art.
3
I haven't seen the new special but I've heard some of his other stuff and it's funny. However, I wish he had more story jokes and less one-liners but that likely doesn't work well for this type of humor.
1
It's got to be so hard to be a comic these days, especially one trying to push the envelope. There's pretty much nothing taboo that hasn't already been covered, and we're in an age where there's going to be pushback on just about any edgy subject. Sometimes that pushback is career-ending. I haven't been wowed by what I've seen of Jeselnik, but I'm glad he's out there making people uncomfortable.
8
He seems to mining the vein of Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr.
3
Hiding behind a persona to spew hatred and ignorance isn't funny, it's cowardice.
11
He's not "spewing hatred and ignorance". He's telling jokes.
27
@T SB
All respect, but if you'd watch Jesselnik or hear one of his records, you's see that he's not spewing hatred and ignorance.
19
@T SB
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
9
Lenny Bruce is rolling over in his grave - with laughter.
So is Richard Pryor.
And Joan Rivers.
Lets not forget Aristophenes. Or Kafka. Or Ishmael Reed or Phyllis Diller or Joseph Heller, or ... you name 'em.
Humor is not the province of the "woke."
53
Anthony is very funny.
19
This guy is so funny. 99% of the time I find myself laughing and simultaneously being horrified by the things I am laughing about. What I love about him is the way he goes off on a totally unexpected tangent. You think the joke is going to go in a certain direction and boom! Off he goes, somewhere completely new and incredibly funny.
He's easy on the eyes, too. ;-)
35
I recently caught Amy Schumer's standup act and, consequently, I believe I have heard most of the best jokes told by Anthony Jeselnik, Sarah Silverman, and other comedians, albeit retold in a less funny way.
25
Attempting to annoy Mr. Jeselnik by insulting his ex-girlfriend?
1
@Sándor
I assume this snark is intended to help cover-up the recent well documented allegations of joke stealing against Schumer. If you have evidence Jeselnik has stolen Schumer's jokes, state it.
3
@epistemology
Re-read the comment. It says that Schumer was stealing Jeselnik's jokes, not that he was stealing hers.
7
“I think because they know that I’m woke.”
That isn't the reason he escapes the wrath of Twitter. It's because they know Anthony won't apologize for his jokes. Whenever the Twitter mob goes on a crusade the goal is to humiliate. Anthony has demonstrated time and time again that he will say what he wants and if someone threatens his job he will just go say whatever he wants somewhere else. His audience knows this too, so they follow him. This is what integrity in comedy looks like when it's actually practiced. Instead of inviting instability into his career it has made Anthony Jeselnik immune to the histrionics of the Twitter rage mob. Take note other entertainers.
90