Content warning: this article discusses sexual assault. To speak to someone about sexual assault, or for 24/7 counselling, contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Wildly popular comedian Amy Schumer is currently copping it over what some perceive to be a muted response to a series of tweets by one of her writers, fellow comedian Kurt Metzger, about sexual assault. Metzger has writing credits on Schumer’s show Inside Amy Schumer, and has been commentating on a recent controversy around sexual assault in the New York comedy scene.
As always seems to be the case, the New York comedy scene is melting down. What’s the deal this time? As reported by Mic, the controversy is around comedian Aaron Glaser, of famous comedy troupe Upright Citizen’s Brigade, who has been accused of sexual assault by several women in the scene.
Metzger wrote a Facebook post that has been described as
“mocking rape victims” and suggesting that the women are lying:
Jiff Dilfyberg is dangerous! So fucking dangerous that we can’t go to the police to report his many rapes! That would just be tooooo rapey, and the women are too brave for that. If we ask them to even merely also post a vague account of what happened before asking us to believe that would like re-raping their rape! These women are as BRAVE as they are sore! Now for the good news!
You can mosey on over to his
Twitter page and look at his tweets over the past couple of days to get the vibe. His contention is that if Glaser actually did this, the women would have gone to the police rather than communicating in online ‘safe spaces’. As we know, there are a whole stack of reasons why women might not want to go through those kind of legal processes, which can be humiliating.
The Daily Dot has reported
in the past about Metzger’s controversial comments about sexual assault, which bubbled up after the huge controversy around
Daniel Tosh‘s use of rape jokes in a standup set.
This has fallen back on Schumer because – according to IMDB – Metzger writes for her show, and has credits as recent as the last season finale. Her tweets on the matter have been accused of denying that.
It’s worth keeping in mind that IMDB isn’t necessarily the be-all-and-end-all for this stuff, but it’s a pretty good indication Metzger worked on the show. Some fans say they’re being blocked by Schumer for tweeting her about it.
Schumer has spoken out about sexual assault
in the past, and has revealed that her first sexual encounter was not consensual. Metzger’s posts are obviously not particularly helpful for anyone involved in this pretty fucked situation, but there you go.
To wrap up the situation, Amy clarified what she meant – her show is over, so no one writes for it. Makes you wonder why she’s been pulled into this specific issue at all:
Photo: Getty Images.
