Tina Fey, Conan O'Brien Speak Out About Charlie Hebdo Attack

Tina Fey and Conan O’Brien spoke out in defense of parody and free speech, following a horrifying terrorist attack on a satire publication in France.

2015 has only been here for seven lousy days and already it’s a giant pile of garbage year. Today saw a terrorist attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France that left 12 people dead. Speaking in Pasadena at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, Fey, no stranger to send ups of political leaders on 30 Rock and Saturday Night Life, reflected on the need for free expression and the fight to protect it. Via Buzzfeed:

“You look at that and you look at the controversy surrounding The Interview, it makes you think about how important free speech is and how it absolutely must be defended. [We] cannot back down on free speech in any way. We all have to stand firm on the issue of free speech.”

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“I think the closest we ever got to that was doing Weekend Update [on Saturday Night Live], which was a long time ago,” Fey said. “But even that was a different era, because in a social media era where you make a joke on American TV and it can go worldwide, it’s a different environment.”

“But we’re Americans,” she continued, “and even if it’s dumb jokes in The Interview, we have the right to make them.”

O’Brien reiterated her sentiment during a somber moment on his talkshow, filmed earlier today. Via Mediaite:

“This story really hits home for anyone who, day in and day out, mocks political, social and religious figures,” O’Brien said. While Americans tend to take the right to satire “for granted,” the host said that today’s tragedy “reminds us, very viscerally, that it’s a right some people are inexplicably forced to die for.”

“All of here are terribly sad for the families of those victims, for the people of France, and for anyone in the world tonight who now has to think twice before making a joke,” he added. “It’s not the way it’s supposed to be.”