rant · moment 12 of 18
The Autism Awareness Joke and the Angry Dad at the Open Mic
from Soak It Up · #93
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minTim tells the story of bombing an old bit about the autism awareness ribbon/jigsaw puzzle pattern at a Long Island open mic and getting confronted afterward by an angry father whose kid has autism, complete with a Burger King crown bit.
- 28:52Tim describes how audiences demand safety warnings at comedy shows, claiming they feel unsafe when comedians make callous remarks.
- 29:41The comedian's job is to make people laugh, not to anticipate every audience member's psychological makeup and avoid offending everyone.
- 30:10Tim argues that genuinely offensive material doesn't actually get laughs, and comedians who rely on it are just bad comics.
- 31:06Tim tells the story of an angry father confronting him at an open mic after a joke about autism awareness stickers.
- 31:20The autism awareness ribbon uses a jigsaw puzzle pattern, so Tim joked that it was odd to make the one thing autistic kids can't solve the pattern itself.
- 32:35The father told Tim the joke was terrible because his wife has breast cancer and his son has autism, then complained about why Tim was even performing.
- 32:50Tim criticizes the man for bringing his autistic son to a rough open mic wearing a Burger King kids club crown, saying the father was already ruining the kid's chances.
- 33:13When the angry father kept complaining, Tim just responded "cool, thanks" as if taking it as a compliment and offering to put him on his mailing list.
autism awarenessGirl with the Dragon Tattoo