His comedy, as Mulaney himself must have realized, was safe where others’ wasn’t, though it sacrificed none of the belly laughs. Over the years, they’ve disseminated his riffs in GIFs and memes, quoted him among friends and marveled that there was a straight, cis male standup who connected on a “gay” wavelength. Whether or not you believe that the queer community’s love for Mulaney has significantly amplified his celebrity, they represent a key demographic for him. he was basically a memeĪround that time comedians were starting to get some backlash for queer/transphobic jokes and people always pointed to JM for "non offensive humor"- yeen that bites May 21, 2022 In 2013 the only people i knew who quoted john mulaney bits were queer. The alternative was to sit there and endure the humiliation.
While part of the room went along with Chappelle’s casual bigotry, another part found themselves all but trapped, faced with the prospect of trying to exit a pitch-dark arena without the help of a phone flashlight (devices were surrendered at the door) and eating the cost of the ticket for the comedian they had looked forward to seeing. For Chappelle’s defenders, the line is always “Don’t watch him if you don’t like it” - but here he was, foisted upon an unsuspecting audience that had paid to see Mulaney’s not-so-hostile musings on modern life. Mulaney, who in his own sets rarely touches on the political controversies of the day, hugged him after the performance, which had occasioned some booing from the crowd.įor clarity: he told a joke about how he was attacked by a homeless man and thought it was a trans man at first, said he used a weapon that was confused whether it was a knife or a gun, then made a joke about two 17 yr olds in the crowd masturbating and then called them gay- maddie May 22, 2022Īs word of the show spread online, many more of Mulaney’s longtime supporters, especially LGBTQ people, described it as a kind of betrayal. At a Columbus, Ohio stop for his From Scratch tour, comedian Dave Chappelle turned up as a surprise opener, and indulged in his usual transphobic material - does he talk about anything else these days? - to the dismay of some attendees. Now, a year out from the divorce headlines, it seems as if Mulaney doesn’t know them, or never quite noticed how they made his star rise. After enjoying their favorite jokes and specials so many times, could it be they didn’t know him at all?
The meek and relatable awkward character he brought to the stage seemed incompatible with this kind of whirlwind Hollywood drama. When comedian John Mulaney finished a stint in rehab, filed for divorce from wife Anna Marie Tendler and confirmed a relationship (and pregnancy) with actress Olivia Munn in the span of a few months, his fan base was genuinely shocked.