TheQuartering [9/15/2021]
People are upset with a dead man.
On Tuesday, comedian Norm Macdonald spoke to the Hollywood Reporter in defense of nonpolitical comedy. In the process, he got very political.
Over the course of the interview, Macdonald touched on the #MeToo movement — he said he’s glad it has “slowed down a little” — and said how deeply sorry he feels for people who’ve faced consequences after admitting wrongdoing in their actions and statements. He specifically lamented the plights of his friends Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr, having “gone through what they have, losing everything in a day.”
Macdonald also said he really doesn’t think Donald Trump’s presidency has been that disastrous, and dismissed the idea that Trump’s election has emboldened racist attitudes throughout the country.
The whole thing got so political, in fact, that The Tonight Show canceled Macdonald’s Tuesday night appearance, despite the fact that MacDonald spent a good chunk of his interview trying to defend host Jimmy Fallon.
Macdonald was ostensibly promoting his upcoming Netflix series, Norm Macdonald Has a Show, and he wanted to defend the idea that his show, like Fallon’s, doesn’t have to have a topical angle. “Ever since Jon Stewart, late-night hosts have all been forced to become political pundits, you know? Even down to Jimmy Fallon,” Macdonald said, referring to the infamous time Fallon had then-candidate Donald Trump on the show and ruffled his hair.