One of the things I like about Daniel Tosh, including his show Tosh.O, is its unapologetic nature. He’s up there telling jokes that, if sincere, would be just horrible. But, of course, they aren’t sincere. If they were, they wouldn’t be jokes and he wouldn’t be a comedian. Moreover, he would be a terribly human being who hates just about everyone who isn’t Daniel Tosh.
Unfortunately, Tosh has actually apologized for jokes he told during a recent routine:
So Tosh then starts making some very generalizing, declarative statements about rape jokes always being funny, how can a rape joke not be funny, rape is hilarious, etc. I don’t know why he was so repetitive about it but I felt provoked because I, for one, DON’T find them funny and never have. So I didnt appreciate Daniel Tosh (or anyone!) telling me I should find them funny. So I yelled out, “Actually, rape jokes are never funny!”…
After I called out to him, Tosh paused for a moment. Then, he says, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by like, 5 guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her…”
You know why he made those jokes? And why he said a gang-bang style rape would be hilarious? Because actual rape is awful. The vast majority of Daniel Tosh’s comedy is contrast. That is where the humor is, not in the actual content.
And you know what else isn’t that great? Falling down. It hurts. Yet millions watch America’s Funniest Home Videos. Or how about sports bloopers? They cause people to lose and no one likes that. Yet, surprise, shows like that are a dime a dozen. These things are not the same as rape or murder or any other violent crime, but they aren’t positive. So why do we laugh? Contrast. We don’t expect these things to happen at any specific time, so when they do, they contradict our expectations.
I don’t care to defend the specific joke Tosh made – I don’t want a bunch of feminists over here again – but I do want to defend the nature of his joke. He said something that was so absurd, only an idiot would take it seriously. That’s a good portion of his routine. And I like that style. Because it’s funny.
Filed under: Politics and Social | Tagged: Daniel Tosh, Rape |
For the Sake of Science 
In watching tonight’s episode, Tosh mocked this whole incident through and through. I’ll take that to mean his apology was not sincere.
Good.