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Sarah Silverman thinks complaining about PC humor is a sign of being old

Sarah Silverman

Earlier this year, Jerry Seinfeld went on a pity tour about how kid these days just don’t understand good humor. Jerry said he stopped touring colleges because they’d call him out for non-politically correct jokes, and that drastically cramped his style. My position was that Jerry is free to tell whatever jokes he wishes, but obviously he is bothered by criticism. And if Jerry thinks it’s too difficult to adapt to PC audiences, maybe his jokes aren’t that funny at all. He followed up with another interview, in which he complained about “a creepy PC thing,” and again, he’s placing the blame for his dumb jokes elsewhere.

Sarah Silverman, who is at TIFF to promote her drama, I Smile Back, took a moment to put whiny comedians like Jerry in check. She thinks he’s acting like an old fart, basically:

Adapting to the the times: “To a degree, everyone’s going to be offended by something, so you can’t just decide on your material based on not offending anyone. But, I do think it’s important – as a comedian, as a human – to change with the times, to change with new information. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with changing with the times. I think it’s a sign of being old when you are put off by that. You have to listen to the college-aged because they lead the revolution.”

Her problem with college kids: “The thing that bums me out sometimes is, it’s a sea of iPhones, and because comedy is something where you’re connecting. It’s a bummer because you just end up saying your jokes to a sea of empty vessels through which Facebook expresses itself.”

[From Vanity Fair]

Sarah is 44 (vampire), and Jerry is 61. Both of them could feel pretty old on a college campus, but Sarah does pretty well at putting Jerry (and other crotchety male comedians like him) in his place. At least Louis CK didn’t complain when people called his SNL monologue offensive. He was being “edgy” for the sake of offense, which was kind of sad, but you don’t hear him shouting at people to get off his comedic lawn. Jerry’s just upset he can no longer plop down in a diner and have people fall over with laughter. Really though, this isn’t all about comedy. This is about how all of entertainment is — you adapt to people’s tastes or you get out. Entertainers sometimes forget that people want to be entertained, which is what’s going on with Jerry Seinfeld.

Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman

Photos courtesy of WENN

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