Just after midnight, President Donald Trump took to his favorite social media platform–Twitter–and sent out a puzzling tweet.

Damn, they deleted the tweet! Good that I have a screenshot. #covfefe pic.twitter.com/pjIhkXqw7I

— Katya Bohdan (@katyabohdan) May 31, 2017

It’s pretty clear that Trump meant “coverage” as opposed to “covfefe” which…isn’t a word, despite his team’s bizarre claims that he was referring to some sort of inside joke. But it doesn’t really matter why Trump tweeted out the non-word, because the rest of Twitter had a ton of fun with it. Check out the best of the new, beloved #covfefe meme below:

covfefe
covfef
covfe
covf
cov
co
c
co
com
comi
comin
coming
coming o
coming ou
coming out of my cage and i’ve been doing just fine

— mar (@happiestweekes) May 31, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Best Twitter Responses to “Covfefe” appeared first on Law Street.

Back in November, the single greatest segment in the history of morning television aired: On WEAU-TV’s “Hello Wisconsin,” two comedians, presenting themselves as the fitness duo “Chop and Steele,” demonstrated fake home fitness tips like speed stomping on straw baskets, lifting jugs of gravy, and karate-chopping fallen branches with fervor.

It was later discovered that “Chop and Steele” were actually Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, New York-based comedians who host the live comedy and film event The Found Footage Festival.

Gray Television, WEAU-TV’s owner, did not appreciate being on the receiving end of this beautiful moment in television history, and is now suing the two comedians for committing fraud, copyright infringement, and conspiracy to commit a wrongful activity, according to The Mercury News.

Gray Television writes in their complaint that Pickett and Prueher have been re-airing the “Hello Wisconsin” episode at Found Footage Festival events, which the company claims is an infringement of their intellectual property. Gray Television is asking for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as fees incurred in pursuing this litigious action.

The suit also states that the duo misused airtime in order to advertise their own brand, which they misrepresented to the station during the booking process. According to the New York Daily News, the duo, under the name “Jerry Chubb,” emailed two of the show’s anchors a fake press release presenting Chop and Steele as a duo that “us[e] their muscles to entertain and educate” and had previously been fan favorites on season three of America’s Got Talent.

According to The New York Post, the suit quotes Pickett and Prueher saying that local morning programs are “easy to exploit,” and highlights another instance when the duo pulled a similar stunt where Prueher dressed up as an expert chef to promote a fake cookbook on the “Fox 6 Wake Up” morning show in Milwaukee.

The Grand Forks Herald points out that Pickett and Prueher had actually appeared as Chop and Steele on other morning shows like “Good Day Dakota,” where, during the bit where the duo lifts the jugs of gravy, one of the jugs Pickett was lifting fell and spilled onto the floor of the studio. Pickett said that he felt so bad about the accident that he stayed after the segment was over and helped clean up. According to the Grand Forks Herald, the “Good Day Dakota” team seemed to have fun with the segment, and Pickett credited one of the anchors for being game with the ridiculous segment.

Pickett and Prueher have expressed to numerous outlets their general annoyance with Gray Television’s lawsuit; however, speaking to the Grand Forks Herald, Prueher said that he was amused that a whole law firm “has to parse out every dumb thing we said and did on that show.”

Austin Elias-De Jesus

Austin is an editorial intern at Law Street Media. He is a junior at The George Washington University majoring in Political Communication. You can usually find him reading somewhere. If you can’t find him reading, he’s probably taking a walk. Contact Austin at Staff@Lawstreetmedia.com.

The post Comedians Sued for Pranking a Wisconsin Morning Show appeared first on Law Street.

Legal counsel is expensive, but your Twitter feed is free. Check out our round-up of some of the best tweets from #BestAdviceFromMyLawyer.

Well to Start Off…

#BestAdviceFromMyLawyer
When he finally tells you the truth:
Stop Breaking the Law! pic.twitter.com/FU0OhiDPU6

— R.E.Marsh (@eREM1600) June 9, 2016

Samantha Reilly

Samantha Reilly is an editorial intern at Law Street Media. A New Jersey native, she is pursuing a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. Contact Samantha at SReilly@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Top Ten Funniest #BestAdviceFromMyLawyer Tweets appeared first on Law Street.

Framed by two plotted plants, a conversation President Barack Obama had with comedian Zach Galifianakis in March 2014 might have provided the boost his Affordable Care Act needed to avoid crumbling after a botched rollout. The following day, healthcare.gov saw a 40 percent spike in page views. Obama’s appearance on “Between Two Ferns”–Galifianakis’s popular online sketch series–reflected his efforts to convey a vital message through viral means. And in the cozy, modern Knight Conference Center at Washington D.C.’s Newseum on Friday–a day before Obama’s final White House Correspondents Dinner–a collective of comics with experience working alongside Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, discussed outreach initiatives designed to connect with Millennials where they so often dwell: online.

“To some degree I wouldn’t know what people would talk about if we weren’t talking about talking about Millennials,” dead panned Mike Farah, President of Production for Funny or Die, which produces Galifianakis’s “Between Two Ferns.”

From left to right: Politico’s Mike Allen, Joanna Rosholm, Billy Eichner, Mike Farah and David Litt. [Image Courtesy of Alec Siegel Via Law Street Media]

The discussion, moderated by Politico’s Mike Allen, aimed to examine the “intersection of politics and comedy”, which, as Billy Eichner, host of truTV’s “Billy on the Street” and a participant on Friday’s panel framed it: “Pop culture and politics are one this year.”

And indeed they are. Presidential candidates in both parties are as big of fixtures on late night comedy shows as they are fodder for broadcast news and political pundits. While caricatures of candidates during an election year on “Saturday Night Live” are hardly a new concept, the proliferation and hyper-interactivity of social media platforms has heightened and intensified the playgrounds of politics and comedy. As presidential hopefuls make headlines, they make memes in equal or greater number to be spread like a forest fire on today’s popular community platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and Snapchat.

“With social media platforms, with everyone being active and engaged on those, its made everyone a comedian,” said Farah, who in 2010 The Hollywood Reporter named one of the top 35 executives in Hollywood under 35. “Someone can say one thing and literally there’ll be a meme about it two seconds later. It’s almost like a race to see who can say the first thing.”

The participants in that race tend to fall in the Millennial generation or younger–now dubbed Generation Z–people Obama and especially the First Lady have attempted to engage through viral videos, often produced by Funny or Die and disseminated via social media platforms like Twitter.

Eichner, who also stars on Hulu’s “Difficult People,” scoffed at the idea of pandering to a specific audience, especially Millennials.

“Can I be honest? I don’t care about Millennials at all!” he said to a room of nervous laughter. “I’m not going to dictate what I do by what a Millennial may or may not like.”

But the Obama Administration certainly does. The worlds of comedy and politics germinate from two very different cities, increasingly two poles of the same spectrum: Los Angeles and Washington, respectively. What the president and First Lady seem to understand is that to truly get their message to gel, Hollywood and the Hill must co-exist.

Two ways to watch: the new media world on display as the talk could also be live streamed via Politico’s website. [Image Courtesy of Alec Siegel Via Law Street Media]

David Litt recognizes the difficulty in merging message and meme.

“L.A. is really good at getting attention and creating things that people want to watch,” said Litt, the only Millennial onstage on Friday and the lead speechwriter on four of Obama’s WHCD speeches, which riff and roast on politics and the president himself. “People in D.C. are really good at figuring out what the message is and trying to get that message out. Sometimes It’s really hard to get those things to connect.”

The event’s four guests (Joanna Rosholm, Michelle Obama’s Press Secretary joined the three comics on stage) were in consensus about the primary challenge in connecting with today’s ultra tech literate audience: authenticity.

“[young people] know that if they tried to water down ‘Between Two Ferns’ everyone is going to say ‘that sucks, that’s lame’,” said Eichner. “We’re in an age of authenticity.”

To keep up with the never ending, content sharing Internet cycle while maintaining authentic content, they agreed, can pose a real challenge

“[The goal is] to make good stuff in that cycle and to not become beholden to the culture,” Farrah explained.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Challenge of Merging Comedy with Politics in the ‘Age of Authenticity’ appeared first on Law Street.

Fans who were excited by the prospect of Bernie Sanders appearing in this week’s episode of “Saturday Night Live,” also featuring Larry David, were not disappointed. Though he wasn’t in the cold open, nor did he pop up in the Sanders’ themed sketch, which poked fun at his campaign, Sanders did show up alongside David in a sketch about the tumultuous road to America on a ship in a rough storm.

The sketch subtly calls out some of Sanders’ political platform, as his character, Bernie Sanderswitzky, chastises David’s character for claiming to be more entitled to a seat on a lifeboat than anyone else, because of his wealth. “I’m so sick of the 1 percent getting this preferential treatment. Enough is enough!” Sanderswitzky yells out upon his arrival on the ship, as the live “SNL” studio audience claps and cheers. There is also a cute joke about Sanders being a socialist; Sanderswitzky has to clarify that everybody working together to get through a problem isn’t socialism, but, rather, democratic socialism.

In addition to the political humor, there are also some funny references to Sanders’ Jewish heritage and his New York accent. All in all? A great success and some helpful positive publicity for Bernie Sanders as we round the corner towards the New Hampshire primaries, where he is predicted to win with flying colors.

There was also a nice feature sketch on Sanders where Larry David played the Senator and joked about him losing by less than one percent in the Iowa caucuses. As an added bonus, the skit’s title, “Bern Your Enthusiasm,” is a great play off of David’s show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm!”

Overall, it was a funny night for Bernie Sanders fans everywhere, and a nice tension release in what has been a stressful month of election business. It’s always great to see guest stars with good senses of humor, and this sure hits the spot when it comes to making Sanders seem like a down-to-earth candidate willing to make fun of himself every once in a while.

Alexandra Simone

Alex Simone is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street and a student at The George Washington University, studying Political Science. She is passionate about law and government, but also enjoys the finer things in life like watching crime dramas and enjoying a nice DC brunch. Contact Alex at ASimone@LawStreetmedia.com

The post Bernie Sanders is a Hit on “Saturday Night Live” appeared first on Law Street.

The Iowa caucuses were on Monday and I, for one, am still experiencing a political hangover. It seems like so far the 2016 election cycle has been dragging on for a really long time, and we still have nine months to go before we actually even vote in the general election. It may be that general feeling of political exhaustion that inspired a hashtag to start trending today: #BetterWaysToElectPOTUS. The hashtag appears to have been originated by pop culture Youtube show Midweek Minute, hosted by a comedian named Will Presti.

While some of the submissions are serious, many are based on fantastic, non-sensical suggestions that really could spice up the 2016 race as it stands. Check out some of my favorite submissions below:

Buzzfeed quiz #BetterWaysToElectPOTUS

— Taylor Baxter (@itsTaylorBaxter) February 3, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post #BetterWaysToElectPOTUS: Has Campaign Fatigue Set in? appeared first on Law Street.

“Bob’s Burgers” is a show that boasts positive female role models with the “strong, smart, sensual” Tina, driven, witty, entrepreneurial  Louise, and determined, bright Linda. But, despite its feminist females, the show sometimes includes passing jokes alluding to sexual assault. The problem is that jokes like these encourage lax attitudes about sexual assault in a society that already ignores victims too often.

When a popular show goes on its winter hiatus, it’s time to fill the void by binge watching old episodes on Netflix. Revisiting past episodes reveals that the mostly feminist-friendly “Bob’s Burgers” has some sexist hiccups, which are alarming for such a progressive show. Season 2, episode 8 deals with Bob’s new found love for pat-a-cake. He convinces his friend, Teddy, to “cake,” and almost immediately Teddy begins to protest. He shouts that the hand game hurts him and he doesn’t want to do it anymore. But Bob continues slapping Teddy’s hands and yelling at him to keep his hands up.

The scene’s humor makes Teddy, a large, grizzly man, play the vulnerable role. The joke is that the dialogue (which would normally be spoken by a man and the woman he is sexually assaulting) comes from two men, who are friends, in a non-sexual situation.

Teddy’s line, “I don’t like it! I don’t like it! Stop!” and Bob’s aggressive behavior are meant to spoof an abusive relationship. But, what’s so funny about sexual assault?

The scene is fundamentally not politically correct, a concern that gained strength during last year’s discourse on trigger warnings. The New York Times and The Atlantic weighed in on collegiate trigger warnings this past fall to examine whether they encourage “coddling” or respect–and that debate will probably be continued in 2016.

But, trigger warnings and PC standards leave comics with a dilemma because jokes are designed to not be safe or appropriate. Should there be a line comedy can’t cross or does that ruin the art form? Jokes will push that PC line as far as an audience will allow. For example, comedy has evolved from eventual audience rejection of offensive practices like black face. In this case, the show has plenty of funny material so why can’t it evolve away from jokes like this one? For a show like “Bob’s Burgers” that is often heralded for its feminism, it may be time to consider that evolution.

Ruby Hutson-Ellenberg

Ruby Hutson-Ellenberg is a 2016 Hunter College graduate, where she majored in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. As a native New Yorker, Ruby loves going to the theater and writing plays, which have been particularly well received by her parents. Contact Ruby at staff@LawStreetMedia.com

The post Political Correctness and Comedy in “Bob’s Burgers”: Where’s the Line? appeared first on Law Street.

Jon Stewart, the host of the “Daily Show” for 16 years, and a quintessential late night presence was spotted on a few other hosts’ shows this week. Stewart went to visit both the “Daily Show” and the “Late Show” to advocate for a bill called the Zadroga Act that would extend the health care benefits of 9/11 first responders. Stewart may be retired from regular late night, but that doesn’t mean that his appearances are anything but a welcome presence, and in this case, for an incredibly worthy cause.

The Zadroga Act–its full name is the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act–is named after a now-deceased 9/11 first responder. It was first enacted in 2010, but has since expired. Stewart’s narrative is that its reauthorization is being held up for purely political reasons.

First, there was Stewart’s appearance on the “Daily Show,” now hosted by his successor Trevor Noah. Stewart stopped by on Monday to argue in favor of  the Zadroga Act. The “Daily Show” then aired footage of Stewart and some 9/11 first responders wandering around Congress in an attempt to ask various senators why they aren’t supporting the bill. In addition to being pretty entertaining, Stewart’s efforts were sort of successful–Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) signed on to the bill the very same night.

Then, last night, Stewart dropped by Stephen Colbert’s new “Late Show.” It was also a natural partnership given that Colbert essentially got his start in late night TV by being a correspondent on the “Daily Show” during Stewart’s tenure. In order to get viewers’ attention on the push to reauthorize the Zadroga Act, Colbert encouraged Stewart to imitate everyone’s least favorite headline-grabber–Donald Trump. Stewart sported a wig and let Colbert smush Cheetos on his face to get that signature Donald-glow.

So far, Stewart’s strategy seems successful–his reappearance on the Daily Show garnered tens of thousands of shares on social media, if not more, and plenty of media outlets have picked up coverage of his Trump impression last night. It’s nice to see that Stewart is still using his soapbox (albeit one borrowed from other great hosts) for good.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Jon Stewart Uses Late Night Connections for Advocacy Good appeared first on Law Street.

Thousands of people try to make it big in the comedy world each year. Whether you are making YouTube and Vine videos or you are working the comedy club circuit, what rights do you really have to your own material? Successful comedy builds on the human experience, so many jokes seem to be about similar topics, but what are the chances that the wording two comedians use will be the same?

Accusations are thrown from one comedian to another over who really “created” a bit, causing problems for everyone from the late Robin Williams to Jimmy Fallon. It’s important to keep in mind that jokes are in essence little stories or songs–it takes time to perfect the verbiage, and then it takes even more time to perfect the delivery. These jokes, theoretically, are the creative property of the person who initially tells them, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Read on to learn about different rights and controversies in comedy plagiarism.

Protecting Comedy

Legally, it can be very difficult for comedians to protect their content–much harder than it would be for writers, singers, or even actors. Most comedians don’t record their shows, especially when they are just starting out in the business. They also may change up their routines each night depending on the way they read the crowd. They might tell the same joke, but use different words or a different delivery, which makes it hard to prove that it was “their” joke. Many comedians are now recording their sets (made easier with the proliferation of smartphones) as a way to publicize their acts, but also in anticipation that there will be some way to copyright what they do.

Copyright in the Internet Age

Comedians who post material on YouTube, Vine, or other social media sources face an even higher risk of being infringed upon because often the videos get buried in the plethora of material found online. In the video below, check out the reactions of YouTubers who watch Jimmy Fallon sketches that many claim have been stolen from famous YouTube comedians or video-bloggers. The comments come toward the end of the video.

The Independent recently published a piece highlighting the trouble with plagiarism within the comedic community. In an article titled “Plagiarism is No Laughing Matter for Comedians,” Gary Delaney, a British comic, spoke about his own interactions with the internet and his material:

It used to be the case that a comic’s set would last decades. But now I’ve got jokes I wrote in May, June, and July that aren’t working by October because they’ve been absolutely trashed around the Internet.

There are some products currently available to comedians, including a piece of software called iThenticate, which is often used by students to check papers for plagiarism; however, it could also be used to help comedians determine if their jokes have been duplicated online. The catch is that it can only find jokes that have been plagiarized in someone else’s writing, not in another format such as audio or video.

YouTube is able to find duplicate content through a system called ContentID; however, this system only works for videos that are similar–so it won’t do anyone any good if it is someone different telling the jokes or doing a funny scene. It just catches people who re-upload someone else’s videos.

YouTube itself has plagiarism rules, but they tend to focus more on the “big” companies or figures. For instance, reposted videos from Jimmy Kimmel’s “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” series are more likely to be found and deleted than someone finding and re-posting a make-up tutorial from Gigi Gorgeous–even though she has well over a million followers. It all has to do with who brings in the most money, and that tends to be powerhouse comedians with television followings.

YouTubers, especially famous YouTubers like Jenna Marbles, Grace Helbig, Tyler Oakley, and Shane Dawson–have taken to doing “challenges” where they credit the original idea, but the question remains as to whether or not those will catch on.

So, can you steal comedy?

What exactly would the stealing of jokes entail? Since we are all living in the same world, it is important to note that the best jokes are often rooted in current events. This means that many jokes will have similar tones or topics, but the punchlines will be different. Take a look at this video of the late night hosts making similar jokes about ObamaCare.

Each one has a similar topic and each one has similar points–but they all tell the jokes a little bit differently with unique styles and takes on the topic.

Famous comedians, including Patton Oswalt, have admitted that sometimes jokes can be similar, even if someone has never heard the joke before. He also says that sometimes the joke slips out without thinking, saying: “Sometimes someone else’s joke sneaks into one’s brain without attribution, leading to an accidental instance of punch-line thievery. But the correct thing to do in that case is apologize and not do it again.” In fact, some of our most famous comedians have “stolen.” Milton Berle is a classic comedian, and even he has admitted to borrowing a joke or two.

But what is it that makes a joke original and someone’s property in the first place? That’s another problem that comedians have to identify and contend with. For example, “SNL” was recently accused of ripping off a “tiny hats” sketch. The two sketches in question here actually aren’t that similar, save for the fact that characters in them wear tiny hats as part of the punchline. Tim and Eric, the comedians doing the accusing, essentially claimed ownership over the comedic idea of tiny hats–but how could someone determine if that’s true? There’s no easy answer to these kind of controversies, or any real body of law to help comedians make these judgments.

Case Study: Carlos Mencia

One of the most reviled comedians of the last few years is Carlos Mencia, who was confronted at one of his shows for stealing jokes. A video of the confrontation is found here. It contains graphic language, and most likely is not appropriate for work, but shows the argument between the comedian and his accuser.

Mencia has been accused of stealing jokes from George Lopez, Ari Shaffir, and Bobby Lee. One of his more famous accused thefts comes from Bill Cosby.

Though there was really nothing that any of the comedians could do about the theft, Mencia still felt the repercussions after the accusations. His fanbase shrank and a comedian who once had a bright career now struggles to pick up the pieces.

But Mencia is just one example of comedians who have been accused of stealing jokes. “South Park”  came under fire over an “Inception” joke that was already written for College Humor. Future “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah was accused of stealing jokes from Russell Peters. In another instance, Howie Mandel was accused of stealing a  joke from an “America’s Got Talent” hopeful.

Conclusion

So is there a reason to create laws around jokes and the rights of comedians? The United Kingdom already has some select laws, including one that says that any joke that is recorded is the sole property of that person. In an age where almost everything is recorded, we might be getting there worldwide. Until then, it is up to comedians to hold him or themselves accountable for the material they deliver–it ought to come straight from them and their own mind. While the laws may not quite be there yet, public reception is still something for comedians to worry about.

 Resources

Independent: Plagiarism is No Laughing Matter For Comedians

Time: Patton Oswalt on the Unsavory Business of Joke Theft

Center for Journalism Ethics: Comedian Daniel Tosh Calls Out ESPN For Plagiarism… With a Bit of His Own

Comedy Clinic: BUSTED! Comedian Caught Stealing Another Comic’s Material During ‘America’s Got Talent’ Taping?

Cracked: Six Ways to Not Suck at Stand-Up Comedy

Mediaite: Comedian Russell Peters Claims Trevor Noah Steals Jokes: ‘You Don’t Borrow in This Business’

Mental Floss: Stop Me if You’ve Heard This Before: A Look at Comedy Plagiarism

Plagiarism Today: YouTube’s Copyright Problem

Plagiarism Today: The Copyright Frustrations of a YouTuber

Slate: For Sale: Milton Berle’s Complete Joke Files

Split Sider: Is There Ever a Justification for Joke Stealing?

Noel Diem

Law Street contributor Noel Diem is an editor and aspiring author based in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is an alum of Albright College where she studied English and Secondary Education. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, theater, fashion, and literature. Contact Noel at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Already Heard That One? Problems in Comedy Plagiarism appeared first on Law Street.

The White House Correspondents’ Association hosted its 101st annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday in a star-studded D.C. event. At the dinner, journalists and politicians alike got conservatively glammed up to rub elbows with celebrities like Jane Fonda and Laverne Cox for a night of entertainment. The association gives out scholarships too–but lets be real, it’s all about the celebs and the comedy.

The event is usually hosted by a comedian to liven things up a bit, and this year was no exception, as SNL funny woman Cecily Strong took center stage. But this year president Obama had something else pretty funny in store for his attendees–his new “anger translator” Luther.

Luther is one of the many characters played by “Key & Peele” comedian Keegan-Michael Key. In Luther sketches, Key usually stars opposite his co-star Jordan Peele’s mild mannered Obama impersonation. Luther is supposed to be the embodiment of everything the president wishes he could say. This time Key traded Peele in for the real life POTUS in a self-deprecating yet pointed exchange that mocked Ted Cruz’s campaign and compared Hillary Clinton to “Game of Thrones” character Daenerys Targaryen.

But it was the moment when Obama started to get a little heated himself, requiring his anger translator to intervene, that stole the show. After interrupting the president Luther emphatically stated: “You don’t need an anger translator, you need counseling!”

Key made sure to thank his absent co-star for creating a sketch that could so seamlessly incorporate the real POTUS, to which Peele responded:

.@KeeganMKey I knew it was only a matter of time before I was replaced by someone with a better impression.

— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) April 26, 2015

Key also tweeted his excitement over the event:

It seems POTUS and I both have bucket lists. But mine is finished. #thankyouwhitehouse

— Keegan-Michael Key (@KeeganMKey) April 27, 2015

If you missed the hilarious exchange, watch Key’s stint as an anger translator for Obama below.

I don’t think I’m alone in hoping that Luther can make a surprise appearance at all Presidential speeches from now on.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Obama Upstaged by Anger Translator Keegan-Michael Key at the WHCD appeared first on Law Street.

I was heartbroken last month to hear that Jon Stewart would be leaving his seat on “The Daily Show” for presumably bigger and better things after an impressive 16 plus years as the show’s host. Even though I was so sure that my girl Jessica Williams was primed to take Stewart’s spot, I was both impressed and excited when Comedy Central announced yesterday that South African comedian Trevor Noah had been awarded the coveted position. The world appeared to be geared up to embrace Noah and his international spin on politics, until fans of the show began to comb through his Twitter account and found some old tweets that have been deemed offensive to both women and Jews.

.@Trevornoah, new ‘Daily Show’ host, faces criticism for tweets http://t.co/K7QeoYNGQz pic.twitter.com/CWa34wcgI2

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 31, 2015

Some of the tweets in question include:

South Africans know how to recycle like israel knows how to be peaceful. — Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) June 2, 2010

So she gets fat? RT @missdanibagel: When a woman is loved correctly, she becomes 10 times the woman she was before

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) July 18, 2014

Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn’t look b4 crossing but I still would hav felt so bad in my german car! — Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) September 18, 2009

This one is a gem.

A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you’ll probably never get to ride it.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) November 28, 2011

His comments have been called both anti-semitic and anti-feminist, but we need to take a second to remember one thing–Trevor Noah is a comedian. He’s not a politician, school principal, or “real” news correspondent. He makes a living telling jokes and making people laugh, and while humor is in fact subjective, these tweets appear to have been intended as jokes.

He’s not the first comedian to have his social media taken out of context, and he won’t be the last. As a top source for televised comedy, Comedy Central likely understands this and doesn’t seem to be putting too much stock in the controversy. I doubt Noah will lose his new position over this, but how he handles the situation will be telling.

Noah seemingly acknowledged the controversy Tuesday, sending out a tweet just before 9 a.m. Eastern time that read, “Twitter does not have enough characters to respond to all the characters on Twitter.” The tweet was deleted shortly after. Maybe he’s already learned his first social media lesson, at the very least: don’t fuel the Twitter trolls.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Trevor Noah: First and Foremost a Comedian appeared first on Law Street.

This past weekend “50 Shades of Grey” actress Dakota Johnson showcased her comedic roots while hosting “Saturday Night Live” for the first time. However, it’s not Johnson’s acting range that everyone is talking about now, but rather a controversial skit she appeared in poking fun at the Islamist terror group ISIS.

In the skit Johnson and SNL cast member Taran Killam parody a tear jerking Toyota Camry ad, where a father drops his daughter off at the airport to presumably join the military. SNL’s version had a twist, though, as this time the daughter’s ride was none other than a truck full of armed ISIS members. Their arrival is followed by this hilarious exchange:

Father: “You be careful, ok.”

Daughter: “Dad, it’s just ISIS.”

Father (Looks at ISIS member): “You take care of her.”

ISIS Member whispers:  “Death to America.”

The truck then pulls away with guns blazing while the slogan “ISIS. We’ll take it from here, Dad” appears in the lower right corner.

If you haven’t yet seen the skit in question check out the video below.

It singlehandedly became the most talked-about skit of the night, with many people debating whether the comedy was offensive or not. Below are a few tweets from people on both sides of the debate.

Absolutely floored that anyone would find the #SNL ISIS skit funny. Nothing funny about it, it was tasteless.Desensitized much? #OrangeRoom

— Rebecca (@becca76) March 1, 2015

I’m still sick to my stomach about that ISIS skit. God I hope friends/family of those burned alive or decapitated weren’t watching. #SNL

— JayhawkMama (@JHawkintheSouth) March 1, 2015

Thought the ISIS skit on #SNL was funny as hell. We’ve mocked terror and evil throughout history. Remember this? pic.twitter.com/HurKEvhdqF

— Obnoxious Boston Fan (@realOBF) March 2, 2015

Seriously? SNL is being criticized for mocking Isis, and the people who join it? There’s no group more deserving of ridicule. Thumbs up #SNL

— Katherine Morrison (@kmorrison) March 1, 2015

By turning ISIS into a punch line, SNL openly challenged the group’s ideology. As it turns out, it seems like more people did like it than find it offensive. This morning, the “Today Show” decided to ask its viewers if they thought SNL went too far with the skit. So far the poll has over 12,500 votes, with over half of the voters (54 percent) picking “no.”

Some found the faux ad particularly distasteful after the recent death of 26-year-old American aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was kidnapped and held ransom by ISIS members in August 2013. However, the skit wasn’t mocking Mueller, it was mocking ISIS as an organization and the people who choose to join it.

Personally, I found the skit funny and wasn’t at all offended. SNL has parodied several controversial American enemies in the past including Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, making this terrorist-themed joke neither its first nor most likely its last. There’s something to be said about the ability to take something tragic and scary and find humor in it, thus alleviating its power. As SNL celebrates its 40th anniversary, here’s to hoping they continue to push the envelope and keep us all laughing.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The evil United States, a terrifying and corrupt country hell-bent on wreaking havoc on our world and threatening everything for which North Korea stands is on the offensive again. Our authorities recently uncovered a sinister, in-depth plot by an overweight Jewish comedy actor and his pretentious, marijuana-smoking sidekick. With a team of United States-based terrorist filmmakers, Seth Rogen and James Franco are maliciously plotting to create and release a comedy movie later this year telling of the fictional assassination of our fearless leader, Kim Jong-Un. We must take action immediately by threatening the entire country with bloody warfare, a threat on which we shall never take action! Doing so won’t make us seem too sensitive and prone to overreaction at all!

We must continue to perpetuate the stereotype that North Korea runs by shoving propaganda down the throats of its citizens. To maintain the enormous facade that our country is a complete utopia despite our detention camps and atrocious living situations, we must threaten the other countries who criticize us! No more will we stand idly by while world leaders and American actors insult us! Yes, it is time to take a stand and use our best weapon against these demons among humanity — our empty threats!

Rogen, Franco, and their companions in crime plan to release The Interview, a clearly fictional comical story about journalists assassinating our esteemed leader, this October. Not if we have anything to do with it! We shall release a public statement informing not just the United States but the entire world of our war plans that will never come to light.

Our fearless leader and I spent all morning concocting the perfect statement. We are pretty thrilled with it. We intend to tell the media that we will respond mercilessly and resolutely unless the United States bans the release of this film. We know that all of you are simply outraged by this provoking act on behalf of our enemy country, and that if you are not, you will at least pretend to be to avoid punishment. We have not actually seen a trailer for the film, but know with our mystical powers that it will be offensive. We just know it. The ring-leader of this operation, Seth Rogen, even Tweeted that he hopes our beloved leader will like The Interview. What’s Tweeting, you ask? Um, nothing… forget I said anything.

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Marisa Mostek (@MarisaJ44) loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Zscout370 via Wikimedia]

Marisa Mostek

Marisa Mostek loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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