Craig Ferguson counters the comics that give up.
A clip that resurfaced in 2007 from the former host of “The Late Late Show” refusing to speak ill of Britney Spears went viral on social media amid the buzz about a new documentary that chronicles the tumultuous life of the pop star. At the time, the tormented “Baby One More Time” singer infamously attacked paparazzi with an umbrella while sporting a shaved head.
However, while many comics put Britney on high, the 58-year-old Scottish comedian refused to follow suit.
“Tonight – no Britney Spears jokes,” said Ferguson during the opening monologue. “This woman has two children, she is 25 years old, she is a baby herself. She’s a baby. “
In the emotional speech, he added that he had begun to “feel uncomfortable making fun of” celebrities at the bottom of the well and that the comedy should be about “attacking powerful people, politicians and trumps and bullying”.
“We shouldn’t be attacking vulnerable people,” lamented the comedian, who now presents the new game show “The Huslter” at ABC.
Ferguson expressed that he himself was guilty of hitting celebrities when they were down: “This is totally a mea culpa, this is just for me,” he said. “I think my goal is a little wrong recently and I want to change it a little bit.”
His emotional words are now being praised more than a decade later on social media.
“Craig was totally against the current of nighttime comics here,” tweeted a fan next to a clip of the monologue.
“Comedians must remember that when you make fun of a young celebrity with substance abuse and / or emotional problems, no matter how rich and famous she is, you are batting,” continued the fan.
“One more reason why I miss seeing Craig Ferguson every day … He was very decent,” posted another.
The documentary, entitled “Framing Britney Spears”, chronicles Spears’s ongoing battle for the tutelage of Spears, 39, with her father, Jamie Spears, as well as the singer’s performance in the media during her ups and downs under the spotlight of “Toxic ”.
Spears herself, while rumored to be “fed up with guardianship”, would not have seen the doctor.
Ferguson was ahead of his time, like many celebrities Tue watched the document – and are now joining the hashtag movement on social media in support of “Work B ** ch!” singer.
Celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Courtney Love and Andy Cohen tweeted #FreeBritney, #JusticeForBritney and #WeAreSorryBritney. Khloé Kardashian too tweeted her support, labeling the situation “so sad” while saying he was “praying” for “Queen Britney”.
Food Network star and actress Valerie Bertinelli declared the doc a “punch to the stomach”, observing “so many horrible men / leeches in your life”, including your father and Justin Timberlake.
“I finally watched“ Framing of Britney Spears ”on Hulu. It’s an understatement to call it moving ”, talk show host Tamron Hall tweeted, also adding the hashtag #FreeBritney.
However, the idea of ”just hitting” has been a point of contention in comedy circles, with some comedians praising the practice and others seeing it as a sale.
“The comedy is subjective and offensive, it really is,” said “Saturday Night Alive” alumnus Colin Quinn in a 2015 interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “And people are making these imaginary rules, like, ‘Comedy can beat up, but it can’t beat down.’ No, the comedy also diminishes, sometimes, sorry. “