Michael Strahan Rape Joke: Did Twitter Laugh Go Too Far?

Michael Strahan enjoys a joke on Twitter every so often, but his latest foray into humor may have some people shaking their heads.

On Thursday Strahan retweeted the question, "If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?" He also added his own "LMAO" at the beginning, to indicate that he is laughing his ass off at the joke. Harmless humor, or did Strahan cross the line? Scroll down to see the tweet.

(via Sportsgrid)

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Comments

[dSco]

10:26 AM on 06/08/2010

All he has done is pose a hypothetical scenario in which there appears to be no clear classification for the action being described... plus it's amusing.

Now, if he was referring to a specific person or incident, THAT might be in bad taste.

[KLordsha]

06:54 AM on 06/02/2010

Innocent and very funny....but thanks for playing HP.

[copelli21]

04:54 PM on 06/01/2010

Somebody needs to tell him he's not funny....and he can't act....and to work on his NFL commentary....and to bring it all down a notch.

[JesusWasAZombie]

07:46 AM on 06/01/2010

Let he who hath never laughed at a catholic priest joke cast the first "Yes, it's completely inappropriate" vote.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

06:40 AM on 06/01/2010

In a free society, which we are thankfully, these things have to be allowed tolerated.

However, what some people don't understand is that in a free society people are also free to criticize these kinds of things; and sometimes there are consequences for saying, posting these kinds of things.

It cuts both ways folks.

Now, I have to admit that if someone is going to tell a distasteful joke, it should at least be clever and this one was. BUT there is a huge difference between reading it, hearing it and having one of those guilty pleasure grins and reading it and passing it on to thousands of followers many of whom are probably immature boys who may not have the ability to understand.

Thus, the consequences to posting this should be that he is discussed as the thoughtless moron he is. AND he should be taken t task.

[bullsfan120]

01:28 AM on 06/01/2010

Jokes often are in bad taste but with humor you can't censor otherwise jokes will always be politically correct and once that happens not being able to cross that line at times means jokes will get dull because we are afraid to offend.. I'm for freedom of telling a joke that may offend.. People will always be offended at something anyone says so don't worry about it so much.. When we live in a world where we have to worry about who we might offend when it comes to jokes, that is when we as a people lose our sense of humor..

[Margo Arrowsmith]

06:43 AM on 06/01/2010

Has anyone suggested censoring this? I read a few comments and didn't see that.

However, if people think they can post whatever they want and not be criticized that is merely another kind of political correctness.

And of course, if people are offended by those who criticize this man for posting something that will be read and maybe form the opinions of thousands of boys who will date girls, well then,

"When we live in a world where we have to worry about who we might offend when it comes to (criticizing) jokes, that is when we as a people lose our sense of humor..

[cliffhammond]

06:12 AM on 05/31/2010

I think it's hilarious!!! Is he planning to put out a CD?

[anastasialyrae]

11:30 PM on 05/30/2010

If you think this is a just a joke, then you've never spent sleepless nights shaking and cowering because nothing you do makes you feel safe. You've never been in the position of trying to comfort someone who can't feel safe, and everything you try to help never makes them feel safe. Even a comforting touch can make everything worse.

Rape is never joke. There is absolutely nothing funny about it in any context.

[monstermash9]

02:58 AM on 06/01/2010

Oh, boo hoo.

[tnlcallen]

02:53 PM on 05/30/2010

Just a joke folks. I think it's mildly amusing, some think it's in poor taste, but it is after all, just a joke.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

06:47 AM on 06/01/2010

You are correct, its just a joke, and for one in poor taste pretty clever.

However, it was posted on a forum of a man who has lots of followers, many of whom are impressionable boys who look up to him at a time when they are learning about women.

Yes, in a free society he should be able to post what he wants (well as long as it isn't the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater) but he needs to be willing to take the heat for what he says . THAT is the part of free speech that people forget. Say it if you want, but know you can get slammed.

[SirCoolBreeze]

07:43 AM on 05/30/2010

When the price is right it isn't rape, nor shoplifting, nor theft of goods/services. It's just STD roulette then.

[missygoose]

07:38 AM on 05/30/2010

The fact that nearly 59% of people think nothing of this 'joke' just further proves how womens' bodies are considered nothing more than playthings and something to laugh at in America. Wow, I'm so proud of my species.

[joselopez]

09:41 AM on 05/30/2010

The joke was originally posted by a fellow woman missy. Strahan found it funny and reposted it. Isthis like a black comedian using the N word. Only women can make jokes about rape? I find it tone low brow humor, but let's not now try to bring down Strahan for his sense of humor!

[Margo Arrowsmith]

06:33 AM on 06/01/2010

Who said it would be OK if a woman posted it? That was an Olympian leap you just made there.

[Buffington]

06:11 PM on 05/30/2010

Sorry, but that really doesn't prove anything.

[Raymond Soltysek]

04:46 AM on 05/30/2010

In the UK, we've just arrested an alleged serial killer who targeted sex workers in Blackburn. So is it okay to make jokes about raping "prostitutes"; nah, never.

[missygoose]

07:40 AM on 05/30/2010

Especially because the MAJORITY of prostitutes are not the 'Kristen's serving Client No. 9, they are streetwalkers addicted to drugs caught in a vicious cycle they can't get out of. Men who hate prostitutes hate something in themselves first, and any man who would exploit a human being's situation by either using them or making a joke about their abuse is not a REAL man, but a cowardly little boy. I challenge ALL men in America to grow a pair and start to respect women on ALL levels.

[amandab42]

03:48 PM on 05/30/2010

Relax, lady. The world is a hard place and nobody cares how you feel about their sense of humor one way or the other. Seriously, lighten up.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

06:34 AM on 06/01/2010

Faved and fanned.

[Ron Phillips]

01:12 AM on 05/30/2010

People make rape jokes all the time, with nobody batting an eye...as long as the joke is about a man being raped. Find any story about someone going to prison, and you'll find prison rape "jokes" in the comment thread. News sites that routinely remove offensive posts almost never touch these.

Which is sad, as studies strongly suggest that there are far more prison rapes of men than adult rape victims outside of prison (the ones in prison are overwhelmingly male victims, the ones outside overwhelmingly female victims).

Think about it the next time someone makes the inevitable, "I hope he gets it from some big cellmate named Bubba" type of comment. Rape isn't funny, and that doesn't change when the victim is someone locked up, who can't get away from their rapist and risks tremendous retaliation if the crime is reported.

[Raymond Soltysek]

04:50 AM on 05/30/2010

Excellent post. I've never understood those who see the prison system as an opportunity to brutalise, humiliate and degrade criminals. Quite apart from the immorality of it, all that happens is that you release much more dangerous people on to the streets. I know what I would think of "society" if it locked me up and failed to protect me from beating and rapes.

[missygoose]

07:43 AM on 05/30/2010

If you think for a second I'm going to feel sympathy for any man who goes to prison for raping a woman or a child and who subsequently gets raped himself, you couldn't be barking up a bigger, more wrong tree. That's called Karma. And let's put it out on the table here, a man getting raped is NOT the same as a woman getting raped. NOT. EVER.

[Raymond Soltysek]

09:05 AM on 05/30/2010

You must be joking. Because you're delighted to see a rapist raped, you're quite happy for kids who are sent to jail for stealing some CDs or for guys sent to jail for failing to insure their car to be raped too? What kind of inhuman response is that?

And let's really get it out on the table: rape is a violent act of degradation and humiliation in which the perpetrator exerts absolute control over the victim. Now whether that victim is male or female, the act is equally despicable. I know a guy who was anally raped by three other guys: would you really like me to describe the pain and anguish he lived with for the rest of his life? Your position is untenable and very, very offensive.

[OneWoman]

12:18 AM on 06/02/2010

Why do you think it's somehow different when the rape victim is male? Is the rape somehow less traumatic, then, in your eyes? One could argue the opposite, really, and say that it could be more traumatic for a man to be raped, because concepts such as masculinity and sexual orientation come into play and are questioned. We tend not to think of men as 'victims' and I would think that the average man doesn't spend much time worrying whether or not he will be a victim of rape--not like we women do; so it must be terribly shocking for a man to be forced into this role.

And by the way, do you think this applies to boys as well? Do you think a little boy being raped is different than a little girl being raped? If not, at what age does rape become 'no big deal' for the man??

[ibwilliamsi]

11:38 PM on 05/29/2010

Rape isn't ever funny.

[Ikkru]

11:53 PM on 05/29/2010

ACTUAL rape? I agree!

[ibwilliamsi]

02:14 AM on 05/30/2010

And those of us who have been get to decide whether jokes about it are funny are not, and they're not.

[missygoose]

07:44 AM on 05/30/2010

But what, simulated rape is?

[hey0there]

07:37 PM on 05/29/2010

its ok we've checked and he isnt white. pass issued