Photo-illustration: Vulture, Getty Images and Shutterstock
In the light of the recent New York Times documentary Armando Britney Spears, an old clip of the dawn is circulating on Twitter. It’s Craig Ferguson on his CBS Late Late Show in 2007, delivering a monologue to the audience of his studio. In the clip, Ferguson notes a trend in comedy that we’ve all identified as “popping out” since then, but in 2007 it still represented the dominant tone in mainstream humor and celebrity news coverage. “I kind of had similar feelings when I used to watch America’s funniest home videos. You would be laughing at the falling child, and then you would, Wait a minute, drop the damn camera and help your son!“ The audience laughs; he continues. “I think we are kind of holding the camera, and people are falling apart. People are dying. That Anna Nicole Smith, she died. ”The audience laughs again. “No, it’s not a joke. Stop being funny. ”The clip is from February 20, 2007, four days after Britney Spears shaved her head in the middle of a public meltdown. Ferguson goes on to state that he believes the comedy should be about attacking “the Trumps”, rather than attacking the vulnerable and suffering:
I’m starting to feel uncomfortable making fun of these people. For me, the comedy must contain a feeling of joy. It must be about artists attacking powerful people. Attacking politicians, trumps and bucks. Go after them. We must not attack vulnerable people. This is totally a mea culpa; this is just for me. I think my aim was a little wrong recently. I want to change it up a little. So tonight, no Britney Spears jokes.
This clip is from a larger monologue in which Ferguson speaks openly about his own struggles against alcoholism and sobriety. You can watch the complete thing below.