Craig Ferguson Praised For Saying ‘No’ To Britney Spears Jokes in 2007
- Funny
- Offensive
Ferguson Punches Up
February 9th, 2021 – Craig Ferguson is making 2021 headlines for his 2007 late-night segment. Following the release of the new Britney Spears documentary, people have gone through the archives to see how comedians and journalists covered the singer’s struggles over a decade ago. Ferguson’s decision to not joke about Spears during his Late Late Show monologue stood out among a crowded field of mockery.
The resurfaced clip shows Ferguson coming to the realization that his aim had been “off” around that time. Spears was among several female celebrities who were under relentless scrutiny and attack by the media and paparazzi.
“People are falling apart! People are dying! That Anna Nicole Smith woman died!” he said. When the studio audience laughed at the mention of Smith, Ferguson immediately replied, “It’s not a joke!”
Ferguson went on to explain his approach to comedy by punching up and why the target of a joke shouldn’t be those who are vulnerable.
“I’m starting to feel uncomfortable about making fun of these people. For me, comedy should have a sentiment of joy in it. It should be about artists attacking the powerful people. Attacking the politicians, and the Trumps, and the blowhards. Go after them,” he said. “We shouldn’t be attacking the vulnerable people. This is totally a mea culpa; this is just for me. I think my aim’s been off a bit, recently. I want to change it a bit. So tonight, no Britney Spears jokes. This woman has two kids, she’s 25 years old, she’s a baby herself. She’s a baby.”
Never forget when Craig Ferguson refused to make fun of Britney Spears. pic.twitter.com/r8AuiNPW0L
— Britney Fan 🌹 (@BritneyHiatus) February 9, 2021
The New York Times Presents Framing Britney Spears aired on February 5th on FX and quickly became a featured episode on Hulu. The documentary shows racy jokes from Jay Leno, invasive interviews from Diane Sawyer, and aggressive tracking from paparazzi while Spears dealt with a conservatorship battle from her father, Jamie Spears.
Ferguson noted that making fun of Spears while she was clearly under duress was similar to parents who record their kids to submit to America’s Funniest Home Videos.
“You’d be laughing at the kid falling over, and then you’d go, ‘Wait a minute, put down the damn camera and help your kid! What the hell is wrong with you?’ he said.”
While several magazines and pop culture personalities have been called out for their role in attacking a young woman in a way that no male celebrity had to face, Ferguson has been praised by fans and fellow comedians.
This you? https://t.co/Xci1xHT665 pic.twitter.com/s2I5MmKY39
— Joe Organa (@justsaynotojoe) February 9, 2021
So @CraigyFerg trending and I’ll say this:
— Cristela Alonzo (@cristela9) February 9, 2021
I watched his show every night and I remember watching that monologue of him talking about not joking about Britney Spears. It made me a lifelong fan because I saw respect. I was in the middle of my own terrible mental phase. Love him.
I remember seeing this & feeling relief that somebody powerful thought this way. We were luckier to have had Craig Ferguson on TV than we maybe realized. A decent voice.
— Caissie (@Caissie) February 9, 2021
There’s an entire South Park episode as well as a wonderful Craig Ferguson monologue about how messed up all of that coverage was
— Nate Hopkins (@JNathanHopkins) February 10, 2021