Women In Comedy? No Sweat!
A Los Angeles landmark, a grainy photo, two named sponsors, zero named comedians, and a missing “S.” That, my friends, is all it takes to produce a bleak piece of cultural commentary. Stay dry, ladies! Choose Cecret!
Elizabeth Banks' New Website, 'WhoHaha', Fosters Funny Women
Earlier this month, Elizabeth Banks launched a new website, ironically and terribly named WhoHaha, which offers a digital platform for women in comedy. WhoHaha features original videos by women, both well-known and newly starting, as well as curated videos. “This is an opportunity,” Banks recently told AdAge. “There…
Leslie Jones: Fuck You, I've Been Funny
In 2014, Leslie Jones made headlines as a new Saturday Night Live member by delivering an incendiary joke about slavery. The bit received mixed reviews, but Jones, as it turned out, didn’t care; she’s funny, she knows it, and she spent decades fighting for her success.
Amy Schumer's Nice HBO Special Rescued by Wacko Dickplay & the 'Abraham Lincoln'
Amy Schumer’s set for her inaugural HBO special buttressed my confidence in a number of my recent decisions. First, any prickles of guilt attached to last night’s spicy beer nuts and prosecco alchemized into third-wave feminist defiance. She also confirmed my suspicion that moving to Los Angeles would mean certain…
Women Are 'More Powerful' in Comedy, Argues Male Comedian Trevor Noah
Perhaps you stumbled across a new and conspicuous Vanity Fair spread today. You know, the one featuring a photograph of all of the current late-night television hosts. You might even have noticed a striking similarity uniting said hosts. If you look closely, you’ll see that—I know this is a surprise—they’re ALL male!…
Will Packer to Produce New Female-Centered Comedy for Universal
It seems as if Hollywood might be getting the memo that we’ve been sending among ourselves for years: According to Variety, Will Packer is set to produce a female-driven comedy for Universal. The film is currently referred to as the “Untitled Girl’s Trip Project,” and it’ll be directed by Malcolm D. Lee.
Woman Hosts Late Night Talk Show, World Continues To Turn
Whitney Cummings, female, guest-hosted The Late Late Show last night. It would appear that no one died.
Letterman's Woman Problem: It's Not Us, It's Him
David Letterman will be leaving late night television soon, which prompted the Paley Center to organize a conversation with the writers of his show this weekend. During the discussion, head writer Matt Roberts tried to explain why The Late Show's writers room has historically been chock full of white men. He couldn't…
Clothing Company Ditches the Models, Uses Female Comedians Instead
Earlier this year BetaBrand, the clothing line with the funky items that make you seriously consider dropping $160 on a hoodie, used female PhDs to model their Spring Collection. Well, fall has arrived, and this time, BetaBrand is using women in comedy to model their wares.
The Newest Late Night TV Host Is Another White Guy
Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show replacement has been announced and I am happy to report that we're finally getting some diversity up in late night television. Just kidding, they hired another white guy.
Lizzy Caplan Gives Men the 'Are Women Funny?' Treatment
It's hard to be a man in comedy. Imagine it! So many people accusing you of using your looks and sexuality to get ahead, so many think pieces written on how evolution has left you unable to make a good joke and so many people dismissing you outright, simply because "men aren't funny. They're just not." Well,…
Saturday Night Live Ignites Shitstorm With Slave-Breeding Jokes
Saturday Night Live writer and stand up comedian Leslie Jones made her Weekend Update debut this week, and she did not waste time getting straight to the jokes about slave sex. Unsurprisingly, this was met with a mixed (but mostly negative) reception.
Chelsea Handler Really, Really, Really Wants a Network Late Night Show
Last week, CBS announced that Stephen Colbert would be taking over for David Letterman as host of The Late Show, ending a week of wild speculation and shortlist making. But for Chelsea Handler, who some suspected was angling for Dave's old job, it's far from over.
Amber Ruffin Speaks About Being 'The First Black Female Anything'
When Amber Ruffin was first hired to write for Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jezebel reported that she was the first black woman to write for a network late night show ever. That was news to Ruffin: as she told WNYC's Arun Venugopal this week, it never occurred to her that she'd be "the first black female anything."
Cosmo Celebrates Women of SNL by Dressing Them in Expensive Pajamas
This month's issue of Cosmopolitan devotes a sizable amount of ink to Q&A's with the women of SNL, complete with a photo spread of the comedians at a fake girly slumber party wearing girly pjs that cost more than most semi-successful comedians get paid to headline a half hour set. As with everything of or related to…
Kickass Ratings Show Amy Schumer Brings All the Boys to the Yard
On Tuesday, the second season of Inside Amy Schumer debuted on Comedy Central. Sketches tackled such fourth-wave feminist pet topics as the way male audiences objectify female comedians, avoidance of STD's, and the sexualization of female athletes. And it attracted a bigger audience of males from 18-34 than any other…
Tig Notaro's Breasts Were Unsatisfied, So They Tried to Kill Her
Tig Notaro is one of the driest comedians out there. She's also one of the bravest, able to make fun of everything life's thrown at her. For Notaro, that means cracking jokes about surviving breast cancer and enduring a double mastectomy, all right after her mother died and her girlfriend told her to kick rocks. But…
'Bad Boy' Shares Brilliant Observations About Women on The View
While I'm not particularly familiar with self-described "Bad Boy"/author Steve Santagati, he's apparently famous enough to have warranted a spot as a guest host on The View Friday. Santagati used his platform to expound on whether women are funny and to tell Susan Sarandon how miraculously hot she is for someone of…
Late Night TV Gets a Clue: The End of All-White Male Writers' Rooms
When NBC announced last May that their next late night host would be Seth Meyers, reaction ranged from Yay, I love him to Meh to Great, another white guy. While Meyers looks like most everyone who has hosted before him, the next generation of late night hosts are quietly ushering in diversity. We just don't see it…
BBC Bans All-Male Panel Shows, But Will That Help Female Comedians?
If there's two things we know for certain about the British, it's A.) that they're bad at keeping America and B.) that they love love love their comedy panel shows. While the medium of television has struggled to find its footing in the U.S. since the 1970s, TV series featuring panels of celebrities competing in…
