Jerry Lewis Uses the words "Illiterate Faggot" During Live Telethon

[AlphaGamDiva]

so i hadn't heard about this at all and just watched the 15 second video posted here. was it so much worse that what any other comic today says? there are people out there making fun of EVERYone....gays, blacks, whites, mexicans, the mentally handicapped, etc. to me, it seemed like he attempted to make one of those stupid kind of jokes...and instead of people laughing like they do at those comics, people became uncomfortable b/c it's J.L. and not the best forum....he picked up that he went a place he shouldn't have and moved on. i'm ready for the flames, but i don't think the man should be crucified. he's old, tried to be funny, didn't work. he apologized. what exactly should be done?

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamDiva

so i hadn't heard about this at all and just watched the 15 second video posted here. was it so much worse that what any other comic today says? there are people out there making fun of EVERYone....gays, blacks, whites, mexicans, the mentally handicapped, etc. to me, it seemed like he attempted to make one of those stupid kind of jokes...and instead of people laughing like they do at those comics, people became uncomfortable b/c it's J.L. and not the best forum....he picked up that he went a place he shouldn't have and moved on. i'm ready for the flames, but i don't think the man should be crucified. he's old, tried to be funny, didn't work. he apologized. what exactly should be done?

maybe he should call that rehab that Isiah went to but then even if he goes they still may fire him and replace him with Michael Richards....

[macallan25]

The whole going to rehab thing is funny to me.

It's kind of like having to go to AA meetings if you get a DWI.....because obviously if you get a DWI you MUST be an alcoholic.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by macallan25

The whole going to rehab thing is funny to me.

It's kind of like having to go to AA meetings if you get a DWI.....because obviously if you get a DWI you MUST be an alcoholic.

Yeah, I completely agree here - rehab is a hilarious cop-out for just saying (or believing) something stupid, and there's no "cure" or rehabilitation center for either.

With that said, I think most would agree that it's completely ridiculous to use a slur in anything resembling a hateful fashion on public TV (regardless of type), so I can understand where the outcry comes in. The "apologize/wash hands/rinse/repeat" cycle is not really proving itself effective, and while I'm not sure the outcry is effective either, I can see where interested parties would think they don't really have a choice.