The N-Word: Calculated Beaver Shot for the Male C-List?

Jeff Taylor | December 6, 2006

Is there no end to the horror caused by those pics of Britney Spears' c-section scar and denuded pudenda?

Seriously, when was the last time Andy Dick made news? A very long time before he jumped on stage at a Los Angeles comedy club to "parody" Michael Richards, that is for sure. Now, Dick is apologizing for n-bombing the audience. Might an audience with Leno or Letterman follow?

Speaking as a man so heterosexual I'm amazed every woman is not a lesbian, I would much rather endure pop-up Net shots of Dick ball-walking down Sunset than anymore of this cheap hot-buttoning of racial sensitivities.

Comments

|12.6.06 @ 9:01PM|#

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I thought Andy's use of the n-bomb here was actually pretty damn funny. I mean, he's a seriously unfunny guy. He's actually negative funny. He sucks the funny out of people and makes others in the room less funny.

But I thought that was pretty funny actually.

|12.6.06 @ 9:24PM|#

I like Andy Dick. I thought his parody of reality shows, "The Assistant," was hilarious.

|12.6.06 @ 9:27PM|#

At the risk of sounding pedantic, no-one's caught sight of Ms. Spear's pudenda. Pudenda are the private parts of the prepubescent of either gender. Ms. Spears is many things (loathsome, wealthy, dimwitted), but she certainly isn't prepubescent.

|12.6.06 @ 10:03PM|#

Never thought I'd contest this, besides Zappa used it in Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowing Witch but with lobsters, but:

Main Entry: pu·den·dum
Pronunciation: pyu-'den-d&m
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural pu·den·da /-d&/
Etymology: New Latin, singular of Latin pudenda, from neuter plural of pudendus, gerundive of pudEre to be ashamed
: the external genital organs of a human being and especially of a woman -- usually used in plural

cunning linguist|12.6.06 @ 10:08PM|#

Pudenda are the private parts of the prepubescent of either gender

Source, please? Every googled response holds otherwise.

|12.6.06 @ 10:18PM|#

"Seriously, when was the last time Andy Dick made news?"

OK, that is not a sentence I want to read ever again. Andy Dick never made news, is not making news now, and will not be making news in the future. Ignore Andy Dick. Do not talk to him, do not give him your phone number, and do not lend him money.

|12.6.06 @ 10:27PM|#

I don't understand why quentin tarantino gets to say the "n" word (or have his white characters say it for him) and nothing happens.

"Dead Nigger Storage", "Sicilians are really niggers" and the like.

I mean, I absolutely love every tarantino movie ever made. But when I watch Pulp Fiction, during the whole "The Bonnie Problem" segment I'm thinking to myself, "I wonder if he put this whole bit in to see how much he could ge away with by writing it off as 'acting.'

I mean people are really flipping out when a Michael Richards uses the word. So how real is it that only in a Tarantino movie can Samuel L. Jackson (of all people) stand idely by while a white guy busts out the n-word a dozen times in 5 minutes.

As much as I'm appalled by racism, this whole thing is starting to get a little ridiculous.

|12.6.06 @ 10:39PM|#

Sounds like he was making a topical joke.

Brett|12.6.06 @ 11:11PM|#

Jeff, that last sentence made my day. Funnier than anything ever uttered by Andy Dick.

|12.7.06 @ 12:50AM|#

this goes back to a george carlin bit from years ago about him being sick "bad words" or "bad language"...there should be no such thing. andy dick...while i have not seen the bit in question..was obviously making a joke in reference about the michael richards fiasco the same as any late night talk show host has been the last month. is he not allowed to even use the n word even if he's using it in a context which is OBVIOUSLY not racist or he's obviously not racist, just cause "just to use the word" is bad enough. i guess al sharpton thinks so.

|12.7.06 @ 7:07AM|#

Please. We are all adults here. "The N-word", "the F-word", "the C-word". Give me a break, folks. If you are talking about "nigger", say nigger.

Now you may want to be careful where you say it. It is a word whose use in public is intended to invoke an immediate response. And typically it does... which is why it continues to get used. Until the uproar dies down every time someone says nigger, people will continue to use it to get a response.

Cunt? Just another dirty word, intended to piss off the woman being referred to. Until women quit violently reacting to it, it will continue to be tossed out when a man (or another woman) is trying to "get under your skin". Ignore it.

Anybody been to Ireland? The word fuck over there means nothing. People there no longer take offense at it. It is used in place of "really" or "very" (as in "it's fucking awesome") or to simply mean "wow!" or "huh?" (as in "what the fuck!" or "what the fuck?").

Cracker's Boy.

R C Dean|12.7.06 @ 8:08AM|#

This whole thing is actually a huge public service, stripping all the power from the word "nigger." The less loaded and powerful this word is, the better off we all are.

|12.7.06 @ 8:11AM|#

from the linked article

"...a campaign of contrition..."

I just love that phrase...

|12.7.06 @ 9:08AM|#

I don't understand why quentin tarantino gets to say the "n" word (or have his white characters say it for him) and nothing happens.


Is it really that hard to understand that words mean different things in different contexts? Michael Richards was yelling it AT a couple of black guys. Tarantino said it while acting as a character in a movie.

To throw out a comparison, if you've seen "The Aristocrats" you know that Lisa Lampanelli (another comedian) uses "nigger" onstage all the time without repercussions. It's because she's honed her act over many years so that the word never comes out sounding racist.

I'm a little disappointed that Andy Dick apologized for an obvious spoof, but he probably didn't realize that the context he used the word in was no longer "comedy spoof" but rather "media feeding frenzy."

"Nigger" is a very, very powerful word for many obvious and non-obvious reasons. That doesn't mean you can't ever use it, but it does mean you have to be careful with it, because it will evoke a strong reaction. Look at it as like a gun.

Warren|12.7.06 @ 9:13AM|#

Andy is a dick, but he's grown on me a little bit over the years. Showing up in places like Penn Jillette's "The Aristocrats". I'm convinced he's a smart fellow, but he's still a dick. On the other hand he brought Sara Rue to my attention.
Rrrrrreow!

|12.7.06 @ 9:20AM|#

Dick hasn't started any wars or killed any spies lately, but for those of us who get half of our news from The Superficial, I can say that the last time Andy Dick made news was in August at the William Shatner roast where he showed up shitfaced and peed in front of a crowd at the afterparty.

Warren|12.7.06 @ 9:26AM|#

I'm a little disappointed that Andy Dick apologized for an obvious spoof.

You must not be familiar with the comedy stylings of Mr. Dick. His antics on stage were not a spoof, but the apology was.

|12.7.06 @ 9:36AM|#

The free subway paper noted that Damon Wayans also used the n-word a whole bunch at the laugh factory and was FINED for doing so. He left wadded up bills onstage and said something about how he'd be damned if a white guy was gonna be the last person to use the n-wrod at the LF.

|12.7.06 @ 9:36AM|#

This whole thing is actually a huge public service, stripping all the power from the word "nigger."

One can only hope. "Nigger." "I have a new roommate; he's a nigger." "BET is a nigger-controlled corporation." "I went to school with that guy -- no, not him, the nigger to his right."

he brought Sara Rue to my attention.

Nice cans!

Dan T.|12.7.06 @ 9:39AM|#

Hate speech is not free speech. Richards should have been prosecuted.

|12.7.06 @ 9:39AM|#

This whole thing is actually a huge public service, stripping all the power from the word "nigger."

you're being ironic, right?

|12.7.06 @ 9:45AM|#

Yawn.

This shit's getting old real quickly.

|12.7.06 @ 9:48AM|#

I think Andy Dick rules just because he seems to bug so many people. I think his work on News Radio helped make it one of the best sitcoms in years. His MTV shows both the fake reality show and his sketch show were pure genius. This bit on the Richards "story" just sounds funny to me. The act and the apology all sound like a joke.

As far as Richards goes the Kramer character was the only thing he ever did that was worth anything and we have Larry David to thank for that. His work on Fridays in the 80's was some of the worst television comedy ever "created". In fact that show was probably the worst network comedy show of all time. The only thing that saved it was the musical guests.

I. Self. Divine.|12.7.06 @ 9:49AM|#

All this Andy Dick bashing...does noone remember Newsradio?! Fucking genius. On an aside note, one of my stoner buddies from high school moved out to LA about a year ago, and supposedly took the Dick pretty hard on several occasions.

I. Self. Divine.|12.7.06 @ 9:50AM|#

Dammit Tim, I was determined to drop the first Newsradio reference.

|12.7.06 @ 10:08AM|#

Hate speech is not free speech. Richards should have been prosecuted.

Now everyone thinks they're a comedian...

Warren|12.7.06 @ 10:31AM|#

As far as Richards goes the Kramer character was the only thing he ever did that was worth anything

Wha-huh? Obviously you are not acquainted with Stanley Spadowski.

|12.7.06 @ 11:13AM|#

Yeah, Stanley was pretty much the Pre-Kramer.

brian423|12.7.06 @ 11:53AM|#

The lexical enemy of my enemy is my friend. I'm falling in love with the word nigger because of all the sanctimonious overreactions to it. I have no regrets about appearing in public yesterday in a T-shirt that says TEENAGERS ARE THE NEW NIGGERS (and I'm a 34-year-old white guy).

Sung to the tune of the "Meow Meow Meow Meow" song:

Nigger nigger nigger nigger
Nigger nigger nigger nigger
Nigger nigger nigger nigger
Nigger nigger nigger nigger

brian423|12.7.06 @ 11:59AM|#

I forgot to include a link explaining the T-shirt.

|12.7.06 @ 1:39PM|#

Oh dear. Seems Mr. T (no, not THAT one) concurs with Jesse Jackson that the word "nigger" is not protected speech under the First Amendment.

This is all very tiresome. Richards is meeting with these guys to apologize and the lawyers are saying there could be financial compensation. WTF? I can see an apology, but were it me, I would spit on his money.

As for Andy Dick, I was so annoyed he went and stirred it up again. And in his case, I can see no reason to apologize -- like Brian24 I see it as an obvious spoof.

|12.7.06 @ 3:41PM|#

So...apparently Andy Dick heckled some other dude trying to do comedy, then jumped on stage during his set and called the audience niggers. Brilliant satirist that guy. Rapier fucking wit on that guy. Since that clearly parallels and skewers Kramergate so well. His fake apology might be funny though...haven't seen that yet.

And yeah, Newsradio was titties, but mostly because of Dave Hartman. Andy Dick didn't contribute much as I recall, nor did that guy who now announces Ultimate Fighting. That guy who cared a lot about his stapler in Office Space was funny as the boss though. So was the dude from Kids in the Hall. My memory sucks.

Niggas!!

|12.7.06 @ 3:53PM|#

Brian423,

As a teenager and a nigger, I find your shirt offensive on behalf of...wait...I'm confused.

|12.7.06 @ 4:17PM|#

Sir, you are talking to a nigger!

|12.7.06 @ 5:20PM|#

I think you're talking about Phil Hartman, the guy from kids in the hall is Dave Foley

|12.7.06 @ 6:31PM|#

Yup. It was Phil Hartman that I meant. Don't know how I fucked that up. Apparently my memory is even worse than I realized.

|12.7.06 @ 7:27PM|#

I just don't get it. Didn't anyone's mother tell them "sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you?"

How can people get away with using N-word as a sub for nigger? Or any other curse word substitute for that matter. They are both the same. If you say, "You f-ing n-word!" does it take a genius to figure out you are not saying "you freaking Nobel Prize winner!"

It won't be long before uttering "N-word" is the same as uttering Nigger.

If a word has power over you then any word will do.

ed|12.8.06 @ 12:26PM|#

The recipients of the word are nearly as guilty as the offending speaker when they give a reaction that gratifies the speaker. A simple shrug would be more devastating to racist ideologies than anything shakedown artists like Jackson and Sharpton have done in their entire odious careers.