And, ‘What do you think you could have done?’ Like a little kid, you know? I would just sit him down and be like, ‘So what do you think we could change there, pal?'” Thompson said the monologue is about “finding the balance of both things — allowing creative liberties but also watching your step as far as harmful words are concerned.” He lamented that while the internet was focused on “one specific word,” the rest of the monologue and the rest of the episode was “overshadowed” by the backlash. Micelli defended the role of comedians to “test boundaries” and criticized the media for promoting headlines that “create fear and anxiety.” “Every time Shane Gillis goes up there and you watch his monologue — he mostly made fun of himself the whole time, and he’s a lovely human being.
Shane is a wonderful man. Comedians test boundaries, and if they don’t test boundaries, guess what? Nobody’s going to watch them,” Micelli said.
Let artists create. … Artists tell us the truth, so we need to support artists more than ever to push those boundaries [and] let us loosen up a little bit. It’s a balance we desperately need.” A representative for Gillis declined to comment.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
