Joke from Tony Hinchcliffe apparently bombed when he told it on Saturday night, a day before New York rally

Joke from Tony Hinchcliffe apparently bombed when he told it on Saturday night, a day before New York rally

The podcaster who provoked an angry backlash against Donald Trump’s campaign with a racist joke about Puerto Rico reportedly tested out the gags at a comedy club the night before delivering them at Sunday’s televised rally at Madison Square Garden.

Tony Hinchcliffe, whose 11-minute set has thrown Trump’s team into damage limitation mode a week before the presidential election, made the same quip, calling the territory “a floating island of garbage”, at the Stand club in New York on Saturday, according to NBC.

The joke bombed, drawing just a few awkward chuckles, NBC said, citing one of its own producers and three audience members.

  • Tedesche@lemmy.worldEnglish
    33·
    17 hours ago

    I’m a big supporter of comics being given leniency for offensive jokes, and if this guy had made that joke at a comedy club, I would not have had a problem with it, because the presumption is that it’s a joke—nothing is meant to be taken seriously.

    But this was a political rally. Totally different situation. When you make jokes there, they’re understood to reflect the politician conducting the rally. And in this case, it did.

    I hope Mr. Hinchcliffe never finds work as a comedian again. Not because he’s a bad comic, not because he might actually be racist against Puerto Ricans, but because he’s a catastrophically stupid human being.

    • barsquid@lemmy.world
      4·
      16 hours ago

      I think he will be murdered by Donald’s cultists if the election goes bad for Donald. Just a hunch based on the fact that Repubs have been actively radicalizing domestic terrorists for decades.

      • Tedesche@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        15 hours ago

        Maybe one MAGA lunatic will try but a KKK lunatic will jump in front of the bullet to protect a fellow racist. One can dream.

      • Classy@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        11 hours ago

        I also see clips from Kill Tony hawked a lot on YouTube, and the most this guy has going for him is he’s a shock jock. Making a crass, low-hanging quip while grinning at the camera is hardly an indicator of a lofty comic personally, but I’m sure his popularity will continue after this.

      • Tedesche@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        17 hours ago

        I hope he gets an earful from his listeners then, and that they stop listening to him.

      • capital_sniff@lemmy.world
        1·
        15 hours ago

        It’d be funny if it was just about grilling and craft beers with nothing spicier than a Full House (the original) joke, but I somehow doubt it.