- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free.
As we noted in our collection of James Holmes memes, bad-taste attempts to mine chuckles from the Aurora theater shooting have been proliferating on the fringes of the Internet. But last week, Dane Cook, one of the country's best-known stand-up comedians, waded into this territory, too, via an on-stage joke that struck a false note with plenty of people beyond his immediate audience. Hear it below, and see a sampling of the Twitter backlash.
During a gig at the The Laugh Factory, a Los Angeles comedy club, as reported in the Entertainment Weekly post linked above, Cook said, "So I heard that the guy came into the theater about 25 minutes into the movie. And I don't know if you've seen the movie, but the movie is pretty much a piece of crap.... Yeah, spoiler alert. And I know that if none of that would have happened, I'm pretty sure that somebody in that theater, about 25 minutes in, realizing it was a piece of crap, probably was like, 'Ugh fucking shoot me.'"
Granted, some people at the Laugh Factory tittered, while others reacted more negatively -- and the latter response was amplified once word of the gag began to circulate. That prompted Cook to tweet the following statement:
I am devastated by the recent tragedy in Colorado & did not mean to make light of what happened. I made a bad judgment call with my material last night & regret making a joke at such a sensitive time. My heart goes out to all of the families & friends of the victims.
His mea culpa didn't win over this particular Twitter user:
@danecook Why & how for any moment of time did you think that was ok? it's disgusting
— Caitlin Power (@moderationlovin) July 27, 2012
Cook did get support from fellow stand-up Josh Homer....
@danecook I can't believe you apologized for a joke, that got laughs. It's never too soon if the people laugh.
— Josh Homer (@joshhomer) July 27, 2012
...but this tweet from New Hampshire radio figure Steve Boucher is more typical.
@danecook How hard is it for you to continue your streak of continuous years without causing a single person to laugh?
— Steve Boucher (@TheSteveBoucher) July 29, 2012
At one point, Cook seemed primed for mega-stardom. But that window no longer is as open as it once was -- and with this one failed attempt at humor, he may have slammed it down on his own fingers once and for all. Listen to the bit here.
More from our Tech archive: "James Holmes Facebook tribute pages: Should person behind largest be sterilized?"
Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.
