Comedians have pushed, rather than torn the envelope when it comes to touching social and political subjects. There are many such names in the arena, but very few women have earned their place. Among them is the comedienne Amy Schumer. She is a versatile woman and has done it all. Along with doing stand-up comedy, she has delivered the hit film ‘Trainwreck’, ran ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ for four seasons, and she has written a New York Times bestseller.
However, in recent years, she has been subjected to extreme internet scrutiny. Schumer has been accused of racism, insensitivity, and plagiarism. The far-right internet has always targeted her every joke, every comedy material, and statement. Amy has been at the center of internet vigilantism. Why have people started hating the comedian?
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Amy Schumer And Punching Down
Along with the accusations of stealing jokes, Amy Schumer has been attacked several times for racial jokes. In 2015, The Guardian ran an article that called out the instances where she exhibited her ‘tone deaf’ behavior. In the article, they said she “has a shockingly large blind spot around race.” In one of her stand-up routines, she discussed the men she sleeps with. She said, “I used to date Latino guys. Now I prefer consensual.”
But, Schumer cleared her stance and said, “Thank you so much for asking. I used to do a lot of short dumb jokes like this. I played a dumb white girl onstage and still do sometimes. Once I realized I had more eyes and ears on me and had an influence I stopped telling jokes like that onstage. I am evolving as an artist and taking responsibility and hope I haven’t hurt anyone. I apologize if I did.”
In 2016, Beyoncé released a fiery, positive, and uplifting video of her song ‘Formation’. Amy Schumer released a parody-like video of the song. But, it did not sit well with the audience. Clarifying herself, ‘The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo’ author said, “It was NEVER a parody. It was just us women celebrating each other. The video Beyoncé made was so moving and I wouldn’t ever make fun of that. There is absolutely no way to.”
He continued, “I make fun of myself a few times in the video as I do in everything I am a part of. I loved every second of working with those women to make this thing that lifted us up. If you watched it and it made you feel anything other than good, please know that was not my intention.”
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“I Think People Hate Women”: Amy Schumer On The Hate Train
In comedy, there is a thin line between punching up and punching down. When you do the latter, where you are making jokes about marginalized people at the expense of making people laugh instead of shedding light on their issues. Post the Will Smith Oscar slapgate, ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ alum weighed in about the slap.
She said that incident was upsetting and added, “People made fun of me for saying that it was traumatizing, but I don’t think it was traumatizing for me. I think it was traumatizing for all of us. … It was shocking, and it was a bummer.” The actress received online flak that being a white woman, she does not necessarily feel “triggered” by what two black men did.
In 2016, three female comics—Wendy Liebman, Tammy Pescatelli, and Kathleen Madigan accused the comic of plagiarism. In a series of now-deleted tweets, each comic justifies how Amy stole their jokes. Tammy claimed that despite her being a female comic, she only “steals jokes from other female comedians”.
Wendy accused her of stealing “one of her best jokes” for her HBO special. However, Amy denied doing any such thing. She said, “On my life, I have never and would never steal a joke.”
The actress and comedian appeared on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Comedy Actress Roundtable where she talked about why people hate women. She said, “I think people hate women. I don’t think they want to hear a woman talk for too long. A lot of people project their mom yelling at them. My career has been about tricking people into listening. I’m not saying all men hate women, but there’s such an aggression.”
However, Schumer’s success in Hollywood is undeniable as she has amassed massive wealth and fame. Her net worth is $25 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The comedian is involved in many projects and has vowed to bring interesting content for her fans.
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