Louis CK is in disgrace in so many ways, and while comedians have often found humor in shocking and sorrowful current events, the combination of CK’s lack of credibility and the extraordinary tastelessness of his jokes about the activism of the survivors of the Parkland high school shooting are a bridge too far.
In December, CK tried out some Parkland-related material in a set that leaked onstage: “You’re not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot. Why does that mean I have to listen to you? Why does that make you interesting? You didn’t get shot, you pushed some fat kid in the way, and now I gotta listen to you talking?” Then, after a storm of public disapprobation, CK followed up in January with this joke: “If you ever need people to forget that you jerked off, what you do is you make a joke about kids that got shot.”
Manuel Oliver is the father of one of the students who was murdered at Stoneman Douglas High School. His son, Joaquin, was 17 when he died.
In a promotion for Change the Ref, a nonprofit founding in Joaquin’s memory to advocate for gun control, Manuel Oliver performs a set styled to look like the opening of CK’s TV show “Louis,” that responds with frankness and unflinching irony to CK’s jokes.
Hey, everybody, how’s it going tonight? Recently, I heard this great line from a comedian. He said, “If you want people to forget that you were jerking off, just make a joke about kids getting shot.” And I thought, “Jokes about kids getting shot? I can do that!”
You heard the one about the kid that walks into the school on Valentine’s Day? Skinny kid, wearing headphones, gets dropped by his dad. And he says, “I love you,” and gets out of the car and walks into the school. And then gets shot to death a couple of hours later. [Rimshot]
You guys ever heard dead baby jokes? I got a dead baby. His name was Joaquin Oliver. He was going to be eighteen. But now he’s dead. And that’s not a joke.
Parkland Dad Manuel Oliver Responds to Louis C.K. With a Brutal “Standup Set” About His Murdered Son [Matthew Dessem/Slate]
(Thanks, Kathy Padilla!)