The world has always been teeming with xenophobia, misogyny, racism, and violence, but mankind’s cruelty feels especially ubiquitous as of late. A comedian’s job is to make us laugh through the tears, or at least to make us forget — if even for a moment or two. But even comics get worn down by the unfair and arbitrary.
Comics like Parks And Recreation star Amy Poehler, who was recently interviewed for The Hollywood Reporter’s “The 40(ish) Most Powerful People In Comedy” feature, a roundup of talent old and new making a mark in the world of comedy in 2018.
While stars like Issa Rae, Judd Apatow, and Chris Rock gave lighthearted answers to the magazine’s upbeat questions — questions about guilty pleasures, jokes they wish they’d written, their most memorable heckler experience, etc. — Poehler flipped the script, responding in a way that resonated with us all. The actress reminded us that the world, lest you forgot, is going to hell in a hand-basket at supersonic speeds.
In a burst of utterly anti-Leslie-Knopesque anguish, Poehler answered questions about dream product endorsements with, “A giant whale just died in Thailand after eating 80 plastic bags,” retorted that college comedy crowds are “kids that are afraid they will be shot in their own schools. What has happened to us?” and explained how her guilty pleasure is “Let’s not forget over 4,600 people have died in Puerto Rico.”
The kicker — THR asking what “the funniest thing about the Trump administration is…” was a four-word question that encompasses the notion that at some point, even a circus stops being entertaining. “Are you kidding me?”
Poehler’s savage honesty has friends and fans celebrating — including former SNL costar Rachel Dratch, whose phone battery percentage is giving me secondhand anxiety.
Many on Twitter prided the comic for using her platform to focus on things that actually matter.
Only a matter of time until the right feigns horror and outrage at another female comedian speaking her truth. In the meantime, can every single famous person who gives a sh*t about anything besides themselves respond to interview questions in the same manner as Poehler?