rant · moment 4 of 15

Southern Mama Bombs at Just For Laughs

from Montreal Mama · #107

Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.

7 min

Tim recounts in detail how Southern Mama (Darren Knight) bombed on the Variety Showcase in Montreal, using a stolen Marx Brothers joke and shit jokes, then arrogantly lectured the crowd about what comedy 'is about' before storming off amid boos, contrasted with Rocky Dale Davis' well-received New Faces set and Chris Redd's on-stage rebuke.

In this bit11 moments
  • 8:53Tim describes how Southern Mama has built a successful career—fills theaters, owns a big house, throws Gatsby parties.
  • 9:08Variety selected him for the Montreal Comedy Festival showcase over the festival's own New Faces program.
  • 10:11Tim's manager told him the entertainment industry comes down to laziness—someone looked at YouTube views and picked Southern Mama.
  • 10:50Southern Mama opens with a Marx Brothers joke about wives and girlfriends, material that isn't his own.
  • 11:22The set tanks: lots of shit and diarrhea jokes that don't land with an audience of comedy industry people.
  • 11:34Southern white guy Rocky Dale Davis murdered New Faces, so Tim won't accept excuses about identity holding him back.
  • 13:13Mid-bombing, Southern Mama says he won't talk about race and gender because that's not what comedy is about.
  • 13:59Canadians don't boo the way Americans do, but this crowd is actually booing him during the set.
  • 15:02Tim exits early when booed at a different venue to avoid killing the momentum for the next performer.
  • 15:43Southern Mama's closing line: 'When we owned them, we took care of them. If they were so unhappy, why are they making all that beautiful music?'
  • 15:58Southern Mama bombs hard enough to announce his own failure on stage during his exit.
Mentioned here

Rocky Dale DavisJFL (Montreal Comedy Festival)Darren KnightVarietyMarx Brothers

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