Whitney Cummings Is Not The Devil

In Defense Of Whitney Cummings

Whitney Cummings isn't my thing. I've watched clips of her stand-up on YouTube, and almost always closed the browser before she was done talking. Jokes about "women are [crazy] like THIS, and men are like THAT!" aren't my cup of tea, but I still tuned into the first two episodes of Whitney, in the same way I'll watch the first two episodes of any other TV show I have no personal interest in but whose existence is made into a cultural touchstone. I went in ready to hate it, but it was fine. The show and I could make a détente work -- I stopped watching, and Whitney Cummings (presumably) agreed not to care that I did.

Because of the fervor whipped up over her first two shows, it isn't surprising that Cummings' new-new show, a late-night talk show on E! titled Love You, Mean It, is inducing similar fits of rage. To some extent, this is a reasonable reaction: nobody enjoys seeing someone they perceive as untalented (or unlikeable) being rewarded for it. Nobody likes seeing a few familiar, disliked faces getting TV shows or film roles over and over again. The presumption, I suppose, is that you and I are flawless judges of humor and talent, and what WE want to see should rule the airwaves. I have no qualms with you on that. I've got a pen; let's write down a list of the actors we DO like and send it off to Hollywood post-haste. I can see this really making waves.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot