I don’t watch 2 Broke Girls. As I understand it, this show is notorious for its bad taste. The writers delight in racist remarks and even rape jokes. There’s a running joke about the girls’ Asian boss and how funny it is that he’s short and cannot pronounce Rs correctly. They mock rap culture. It’s one of those shows that believes anything “offensive” must automatically be funny. The Guardian has long called the show “so racist it’s baffling.” What’s worse is that the show is so widely watched that it’s now in the fourth season.
The show moved on to poking fun at indigenous Australians. The episode, which already aired in the US, played down under last night. The joke people are talking about involved Han (the Asian character) musing about online dating. He remarked about a potential candidate: “She’s part Aboriginal but has a great personality.” Twitter is on fire with the #2BrokeGirls hashtag, and the Aussie media is really upset:
Australian fans of the American comedy show 2 Broke Girls responded in uproar over the racist joke about Indigenous Australians.
During the season four episode, titled And the Fun Factory, a male character is shown chatting up an Australian woman online before explaining, “She’s part Aboriginal but has a great personality,” to a friend.
Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Reddit have been swamped with angry people, and those defending the racial slur joke.
“How dare you make such a racist disgusting joke about Aboriginals. If it had been said about an African American it would never have made it to screen. Not impressed!” wrote an Adelaide-based fan posted to the show’s Facebook page.
“So, I like your show, but as an Aussie viewer, I was a little shocked by the ‘she’s half Aboriginal, but she has a great personality’ line. Being politically incorrect for the sake of comedy is one thing. But the only punchline of THAT joke is ‘aboriginal women are all ugly’. It was racist. It was clearly intended to be ironic, or ‘so racist it’s funny’. But it was not funny,” wrote another.
[From Sydney Morning Herald]
The article quotes showrunner Michael Patrick King, who (in 2012) defended the show’s offensiveness because the jokes are a hit. “People pull away from something if it’s not in good taste. More and more people are leaning in to 2 Broke Girls. It is ballsy. It is right in your face, and hopefully funny.” I don’t know how a show can claim to be funny when it heavily relies on a laugh track, but — ugh — people do tune in.
This was a dumb joke and the laziest form of humor. A casual remark by one of the show’s racist characters, which meant to incite controversy against another race. Why do people reward this nonsense by watching it?
Poster & promotional photos courtesy of CBS
I only watch this show when i’m on my 24 hour flight from Malaysia to Boston while eating my dinner. I’ve taken at least 5 of these flights in the last 3 years and this show never makes me laugh. The jokes are terrible and it’s just cheap, mostly racist stuff. That Han character is the worst. So poorly written and he is always the butt of everyone else’s jokes. I’m not surprised that they made another racist joke about another minority because this show is pretty much riddled with that.
I’ve never watched it…when it first aired, I assumed that the blond was supposed to be a parody of a Paris Hilton type who got “cut off” from Daddy’s money, or something like that. I mean, she even LOOKS like her.
that was enough for me to not watch it. anything having to do with Paris Hilton is a NO-GO for me.
Surprisingly enough, the blonde girl is the most tolerable one on the show. Kat Dennings can’t act whatsoever!
To be fair, we haven’t seen Kat Dennings TRY to act before.
All of Kat Denning’s lines are “one-liners.” It’s very tiring.
I love Kat Dennings, but not on this show.
I’ve been subjected to that show, and best I can tell the whole thing is dumb and lazy. It baffles me how half of CBS’ shows are still in the air.
Dumb and lazy is the perfect description of it. I tried it for 2 episodes and that was plenty.
Paris Hilton is far smarter than the blonde bimbo on this show. Paris plays dumb but she’s smart as a fox and has gotten wealthy playing that role. She’s never had a handout from her parents and has made all her own money. As for this show, it’s just stupid. I felt like I lost many brain cells watching it for only a few minutes as I flipped through the channels. They’re pushing the shock value card just like All in the Family did in the early 1970’s which got them huge ratings.
I beg to differ, Paris made her money off her family name and by being manipulated into doing a pr0n tape by the biggest creep that ever will be. And, lets face it, there isn’t a soul alive who would have given two cents for that pr0n tape had she not been a Hilton. After there was no turning back, she just flushed every last ounce of credibility and respect her family had down the toilet until the world had had a gut full and stopped paying attention. Now her family name is a joke and that’s why she got virtually nothing as an inheritance from her humiliated grandfather. She’s definitely manipulative, (in a extreme narcissistic kind of a way) but she’s nothing even close to being a mastermind.
Sorry, felt it necessary to set the record straight on the off topic rant.
On topic, I tried to watch the show once, cringed, then walked away.
Yes. I doubt very much anyone with an IQ over 65 watches this series.
There’s got to be some demographic that watches CBS (especially the sitcoms), but it’s not me!
I’m so Happy I have never sat through that show for more than 5 minutes.. One girl is bland like oatmeal left out in the cold and Tits McGee over there has Nails on a Chalkboard for a Voice
Preach!! Spot on.
Haha! Yes!
The show isn’t funny. It’s lazy and not clever at all. The amount of crap that’s still on t.v is mind blowing.
I cannot stand this show. I have watched a couple of episodes and not only is it incredibly offensive, it is painfully unfunny. Plus the lead actresses’ voices are some of the most irritating, grating voices on television. It’s just BAD all around. How it has survived this long is baffling to me. Hate, hate, hate it!
You’d think they’d be under fire more often for racist jokes, no?
As for why people watch it/it’s so popular when it’s racist -is it surprising?
Yeah, unfortunately it isn’t a surprise. Shows like this (not that I’ve ever seen it, but reading about it) make racists feel better about themselves. That means it has an in-built massive (racist) audience.
And probably a massive audience tuning in to stare at Kat, because she is stunning. Maybe they watch on mute?
Disgraceful. I enjoy offensive humour but this is just racist, stupid and wrong. I hope it gets pulled off air
I don’t get it at all. Bad jokes, bad plot, bad actors.
This show reminds me of two and a half men- I don’t understand why either of them are popular.
THIS!! But when Charlie Sheen and Ashton Kutcher do it, then no one bats an eye.
My thoughts exactly! Two and a Half Men repulsed me but worse yet I’m still baffled by its popularity amongst people I generally like and respect.
This is literally the worst sitcom I’ve ever seen, I can’t believe it’s still on the air. Admittedly I watch it sometimes when every show I like is on hiatus, NOT because it’s funny, just because I can’t believe how much crappy writing and directing these people get away with… The actress who plays Caroline is pretty good, shame she couldn’t find a better job.
90% of the lines are clearly meant to be offensive or racist, this isn’t news, unless Aboriginals are somehow more off-limits than, I’m guessing, every race, continent, subculture and social class on the planet. Don’t take the bait, they’re just dumb a-holes without a creative bone in their body who want people to feel oh-so-rebellious for laughing at their racist bigoted sh-t while the rest are “clutching their pearls” or whatever. I’m not against any kind of offensive humor, but it at least has to be funny and lighthearted, or else it just doesn’t work.
This is what they find offensive? How about the lame dialogue and the acting..both leads are clearly graduates of the Kourtney Kardashian school of constant- smiling-acting.
All these complaints & no one has mentioned Stifler’s mom yet? Even if I liked the show I wouldn’t be able to watch it because her voice is so irritating!
I shamefully admit to watching this show sometimes (I don’t even know why…it doesn’t make me laugh) but I do love stifler’s mom and her outlandish outfits. She’s my favorite character she’s so cute (the actress).
But that aboriginal comment is truly, truly offensive and I am SHOCKED! 🙁
I watched this show just once in hopes that it would prove to be a good female-led comedy. It turned out to be racist joke after racist joke after racist joke. It left me feeling disgusted.
How has this show lasted this long? Its horrible in every way possible. I wonder how many laughtracks they must go through because they shove laughs in everywhere. Their core audience must be drunk frat students and unmonitored preteens because no one over 19 could possibly find this monstrosity humorous.
I do watch this show regularly because it was funny, but every other joke my mouth just hangs open-I can’t believe they are allowed to say that in prime time!!
Urgh, I am seeing Tweets directed at the ACTORS. I hate when that happens. C’mon, internet. Your beef is with the writers. The actors have no control over what lines they are given.
They’ve been going for four years, do the actors still have no clout? I wonder what would happen if one of the main girls refused to say a line because it was too racist.
Augh. First I thought the joke was that Aborigines all have terrible personalities and this woman has a good one in spite of that. Now I find it’s one of those, ”Personality’? She must be ugly or a fatty. Run!’ jokes. So, evidently we all know that Aborigines are unattractive? Stupid. I guess this is What the Azalea girl writes in her spare time.
How is this POS show still on the air? So awful. So predictable. When a person watching the show can guess correctly at the next line delivered; it’s not a well written show. So bad.
This show is why I only watch British produced TV via Netflix. America does not know how to produce good TV and has taken to recreating European shows; poorly might I add.
So you’ve never seen Breaking Bad, The Wire, Homeland, etc?
I still watch a few network shows but cable TV series (like the aforementioned ones) are _usually_ better.
Some British TV is hysterically overrated. I think so many Americans like Sherlock because they think they’re learning something (because ACCENTS.) Meanwhile it’s sexist, homophobic, Orientalist BS.
Is it just me or are most of the “empowering women” shows a bunch of terrible wannabe-feminist bullsh*t?
Well my husband is Indigenous Australian and he is sexy as hell and has an amazing personality too so these mob have no idea what they are on about!
We live in remote Australia where 2/3 of the population is indigenous but there is still so much racism. Some days we feel like it’s a constant battle. That’s why it makes me so frustrated that this racist crap is accepted on mainstream t.v.
We watched the first season of the show and got so bored and annoyed. It’s terrible. I was shocked that it got renewed – and so many times!! Same jokes repeated over an over, stupid writing, terrible acting. Just ugh.