Comedian Nicky Glazer warns of the calm effect Donald Trump’s second season has had on the country’s comedy landscape. Glaser said there was a “real fear” among some comedians that political jokes, particularly those involving the president, could be “detained.”
“I’m scared of people who know, for example, that they’re getting blackmailed and Death threats, or where this is being held,” Glaser told Deadline Sunday.
“I don’t want to talk about politics, so I don’t want to alienate anyone, so I say, ‘I want to talk about it,’ and it’s scary right now,” Glaser said.
“To be honest, it’s not even a joke,” she continued. “It’s like a real fear. So it’s a shame, but it’s true, but I’m not going to lie. I don’t think about it sometimes. I hope it’s a defense.”
The comedian, known for her cruelly honest roast of celebrities, told Hill she no longer felt “safe,” including political banter in her routine. “I missed the moment when I could say that because I had a perspective and felt safe to talk to it,” Glaser said. “I went with the feeling of, ‘I want to talk about politics, so I don’t want to alienate anyone, so I went with the feeling of ‘I want to talk about it, but I’m scared right now.’ And that’s exactly where it is. ”
Glaser commented at Sunday’s ceremony for the American Humor Awards at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In February, Trump fired multiple members of the council and appointed chairman. Trump vowed to remove the centre of “awakening” influences, drug shows and “anti-American propaganda.”
Not all of Glaser’s fellow comedians avoided laughing at the president at Sunday’s ceremony. John Mulany joked that the Kennedy Center would soon be renamed “Leucone Pavilion for a big, strong man who loves “cats.” Will Ferrell said the event was distracting as it was “stopped off the Department of Education” instead of attending.
During his acceptance speech, O’Brien appears to have made a thinly veiled reference to Trump, praised the award’s name, saying, “Twain hated the bullies… he defeated them…and he resonated deeply, deeply, deeply… an expression of the power and self-importance of the golden age and the heartless America.”
“More than anything, Twain was a patriot in the world’s finest sense,” O’Brien added. “He loved America, but he knew it was deeply flawed. Twain writes, “Patriotism is always supporting your country and supporting your government when it deserves it.” ”
