Will’s Unpopular Opinion – The Roast with the Most – 9-8-16

Ann Coutler is a cunt. This is a truism for many progressives, liberals, and democrats who wince whenever she appears on screen. Her very appearance on air makes me sigh with anger and overt hostility towards the very idea that I’m going to need to sit there and listen to this woman proselytize for the duration of her interview. Bill Maher has her on his show, ‘Real Time’, on the regular, and every time she opens her mouth, I want to run into a cave and gouge my eyes out and shove them into my ears, just so I don’t need to listen to the nonsense that prattles out of her skewed moronic face anus. We all appreciate Bill having Coulter on as some type of “grow a republican chia-pet” charity case, but she’s seriously a mentally deficient over waxed Q-tip, who should be flushed down the toilet in lieu of making this entire country dumber. And obviously, I’m not alone.

Rob Lowe, Actor and professional male bimbo, had a “Roast” in his honor on Comedy Central a few nights ago, and as easy as it was to poke fun at the pretty walking mannequin, the comedic crew selected for Lowe’s televised downfall shifted gears during the show, and turned their focus to Ann Coulter instead. In fact, if you had tuned into the show at any point after her turn at bat, you’d probably assume this was actually an Ann Coulter Roast from the get-go. Some of the jokes were harmless, referring to her as a scarecrow, or suggesting she’s looks like a horse. She got called, ‘Beetlejuice’, in what I thought came off as a fairly obvious unfunny jab. But others were incredibly spiteful. The guitarist, Jewel, came out swinging in her nuanced way, stating that she is delighted Coulter was being jeered and heckled, and that Ann’s the reason straight men turn gay. Someone also suggested she just kill herself. The room erupted with laughter and applause. And as the one-two punch onslaught continued, I couldn’t help but feel pity for this woman as she sat there and had to take it. And although this may be the most wildly ‘unpopular opinion’ I’ve ever posted, I don’t think Ann Coulter deserved to be thrown under the bus the way she was, in that setting. (Even if she stood in front of it, waiving it over, and then refused to get out of the way as it came barreling down on her.)

The edited clips have been littering the internet in all feeds. But as I watched it, I couldn’t help but feel she was set up to fail. She became an easy target, and looked like a wounded squirrel just waiting to die. Some of her jokes (although, terrible.) were fed to her by Comedy Central’s writing staff, and honestly I could imagine Don Rickles or Gilbert Godfrey saying almost the exact same thing, and getting a better response. Maybe it was just her delivery, or maybe it was just the fact that the audience had a preset disposition when she walked to the podium. Either way, it almost came off as though she was the one intended for the roast initially; as if she was invited to take part of a joke she wasn’t in on. So then why would she go if she was going to be apart of such a vicious attack? Probably because she didn’t realize there was never going to a Rob Lowe Roast, but rather an Ann Coulter Roast instead.

This happens all the time. Everything is fair game at that banquette table. Roasts casually shift their attention from the “roastee” to the “roaster”. Jamie Foxx famously fed “comedian” Doug Williams to the crowd at Emit Smith’s Roast, effectively ending William’s career before it even started. Clapbacks and insults are common at these shows, but never have they gone as far is to completely, collectively dog pile on someone for what felt like their own personal gain. But if this is the name of the game, then why is it an issue now? Because the jokes stopped being jokes, and became about personal, somewhat reactionary, opinions about Coulter. At some point a precedent was set and mob rules prevailed. And this is borderline dangerous.

I am a liberal. But in recent years it feels more and more as though dems and progressives aren’t fighting the good fight, but rather the easy one. It’s easy to lambaste someone for their rhetoric and throw a few quick gibes at them in passing. It’s easy to feed someone lines, and then hate on them once the crowd has turned, and it’s easy to verbally reduce someone in a public setting for comedic purposes. And that’s the problem, it doesn’t take any effort. At Rob Lowe’s Roast, Hollywood effectively lowered the bar for political debate and morality. This wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t publicized the way it was, but to chastise someone for their political beliefs, comes off as an assault on the person you have the discourse with. The resolve is diminished by being petty, and reduces the democratic party to a bunch of brash children. In the end, if you want to win the fight, you can’t play by the same rules of your political opponent and resort to name calling; you have to be better than that. Joking is fine, but public ridicule is something else and in the longterm does more harm than good.

I understand that this was a Roast. I really do. I know that she (anyone) should know what they’re getting themselves into before they walk up on that stage. Ann even jokingly said: “I want to welcome everybody to the Ann Coulter Roast with Rob Lowe”. It would appear she thought (at best) she’d get a mild ribbing, but clearly that wasn’t the case. Nonetheless, I haven’t seen one article that comes to Ann Coulter’s defense. I’m sure they’re out there, but I don’t read “The Drudge Report” or any other right-wing news magazines. What I can’t seem to escape however, are articles glamorizing Coulter’s takedown as a huge accomplishment for left-wingers and liberals alike. Let me be very clear about this; this is not an accomplishment, and if this was to happen at any conservative event, it would be hailed as a go-to example of why Republicans are trash. I am in no way defending the thoughts or actions or comments of Ann Coulter, but rebuking and demonizing someone publicly (at a comedy event, no less) is the wrong way to win an argument. Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.

-Will Valle