Last October, comedian Hannibal Buress performed a comedy routine that called out Bill Cosby’s enduring reputation. Buress thought it was ridiculous that Cosby refused to curse when whispers of his sexual assaults continued for decades. People were aware of Cosby’s alleged wrongdoings, yet his family-men success continued (and he played an OB/GYN on TV, which is gross). Cosby was about to star in another G-rated sitcom as “America’s Dad” until Hannibal unwittingly sparked a firestorm. It took Hannibal’s jokes to make people take the Cosby situation seriously, and Hannibal is still surprised anyone noticed.
Hannibal sat down with GQ to promote his new Comedy Central show, Why. He certainly didn’t ride Cosby’s coattails to get here, but that’s what the journo wants to talk about. So this feature isn’t really an interview, it’s Hannibal sitting with his own tape recorder out of understandable paranoia. Hannibal’s been harassed on Twitter for “outing” Cosby, and he wanted to make sure the GQ journo didn’t pull anything on him. The result is a messy few paragraphs written by the journo:
I asked him if he regretted that Cosby bit, and he said he didn’t, because “you can’t predict sh*t like that.” But I pressed him. Did he realize he was a feminist hero? I actually said that: “You are a feminist hero,” I told him, and meanwhile he smiled slightly and looked down and bobbed his head slowly like he was considering something. “People are going to put on you whatever they want to put on you. It is conflicting, because people think I’m like this amazing guy or something.” He laughs. “I’m a decent guy.” The thing is, though, he’s not in comedy to be decent—he’s in it to be funny. And he’s realizing how hard it is for people to think of you as funny when your name keeps showing up in sentences alongside the word rape.
He is too smart at this point to pontificate on Bill Cosby with a tape recorder running. He’s done enough interviews to know that a quote you never give cannot be taken out of context. Still, the net result is the same: You open up your GQ, and the Hannibal Buress story is about Bill Cosby. I hope Buress will like it, but if he doesn’t, I hope he’ll understand. He brought something we’d ignored to national attention. He helped begin the closure process for possibly dozens of victims. And he did all of it while being funny. What kind of comedian’s estimation of himself does not leave room for a random monologue to change the world?
[From GQ]
Buress closed the deal for his new show last June. He said Comedy Central hedged on Why because of Hannibal’s Cosby dilemma. They pulled press releases and hoped people would eventually stop associating Buress with Cosby. Finally, CC relented, and Buress can continue his own career. Buress says he now gets tweets like, “You f***ing sold out Cosby and now you got a show.” Poor Hannibal! He really didn’t think people would care about his Cosby jokes. He doesn’t regret telling the jokes, thank goodness. He just wishes people would let him get on with life.
Photos courtesy of WENN
He probably had no idea the extent of it when he made his jokes.
There had been rumors for years about BC, but the scope appears to be much more than probably any of us ever suspected.
It’s too bad “Why” isn’t a better show — it would counter any bad PR he’s gotten over Cosby.
He seems like he didn’t have anything to do with the writing or conception of the show, like he’s wandering through the set not connected to it.
He can be really good so I’ll hope it improves.
I adore him and his smartass sleepy stoner stylings and the fact he is indeed a decent guy, also I ADORE him in Broad City
I agree! He’s adorable!
I love him so much as Lincoln on Broad City- he’s the voice of reason yet he’s still a stoner children’s dentist.
I never heard of him.
FYI, the title of Buress’ show is “Why.” Comedy Central runs the promos for it every ten minutes during ‘The Daily Show’ marathon. “Get The F*** Out Of Here” is just what that particular episode on July 15th was called.
Fixed, thank you!
No problem. Another promo for it came on when I was leaving the comment, ha ha 🙂
are you also getting as much of JS before he goes? I’m obsessed!
I’ve kept the marathon going since it started on June 26th! It’s certainly interesting to watch the show morph over the years and you catch things that you’d certainly miss if you just henpicked old episodes to watch by who was being interviewed that night. Although where they are now (2009) was a bit of a slump in my book – Jon became too rah-rah for Obama and lost a lot of edge, except when he was going after CNBC.
But the promos in between, GAH. On the one hand, appreciate that the breaks are no more than thirty seconds (two minutes per episode) but good god Comedy Central: VARY THE SPOTS. Nothing against Hannibal but I’m at the point with the “Why” ad where it’s making me stabby – partially because it’s just not very good (the title alone seems so lethargic, and unfortunately he comes across that way too – like, “Eh, I don’t know – watch my show, I guess”). If I was ever tempted to watch “Another Period,” these ads have beaten the interest out of me. Comedy Central app? Not after listening to that spot 478 times. The only one they seem to switch up is “Key & Peele,” to match up to that week’s episode.
Edit: Oh my god and those “The Meltdown” ads. Make them stop. It’s killed my love for Kamail Nanjiani.
I don’t know if his joke just happened in the right place at the right time or what, because other people like Tina Fey and SNL (Chris Rock I think too or am I mistaken?) were shading Cosby’s rep a few years ago too. I get why he’d be uncomfortable with a lasting association with Cosby, but it’s worth it if it means that creep didn’t get to abuse another woman in his lifetime. I don’t remember what happened with the timeline, did the victims start coming forward right after his joke?
In response to your question about timeline, the answer is yes.
He made the BC comment and received an incredulous WTH? reception.
One of the victims publicly outed themselves to support what he said and then another one followed etc domino effect.
I’m not 100% about the timeline. I believe after the joke went viral a few articles were written about Bill Cosby being sued. Then victims started coming forward.
I think one reason is, that the Tina Fey shade wasn’t clear to people who didn’t know the rumors. People who didn’t know the rumors might have assumed for example, that the joke was supposed to be how absurd it is that anyone dislikes Bill Cosby. Or shading how white people assume all black people are alike and don’t realize that just because he’s black, Tracey Morgan might not necessarily like Cosby. Basically, unless you already knew that Bill Cosby is a rapist, you likely wouldn’t seen the shade in 30 Rock thrown his way. Hannibal Buress however, made it perfectly clear that he thought Cosby was a rapist.
30 Rock is just packed with jokes – literally not a second goes by on that show without some kind of joke. So it’s easy for even a few quick references to Cosby’s rapes to get buried. Whereas with Buress, “Bill Cosby is a moralizing rapist” is basically the punchline and the point of the joke.
There had been rumors but as far as I can tell Hannibal was the first to actually get specific about Cosby., publicly. Other people referred to it in a way that gave them a little deniability, out of fear of Cosby’s wrath maybe?
Loved Hannibal on Broad City too.
Buress was on the Players’ Award show last night on BET and got a good reception.
He just kills me. He had little cameos here and there on 30 Rock that were always hysterical.
Yes! He was so funny as the homeless guy.
I feel bad for him that he has had to endure a shitstorm.
He’s (re)launched his career over it though.
It figures people would harass him about it. Everyone should be thankful for him. Hannibal is the reason so many women finally stood up and said, “enough of hiding this, time to tell my story.” Bill Cosby is the scum of the earth and it boggles my mind how many people still want to defend him, even if it’s in quiet, sneaky ways like going on Twitter and chastising Hannibal for being the guy who started the conversation that brought Cosby down. I hope it doesn’t harm his career.
These victims weren’t always quiet. It was simply that they were either shut down very quickly or never believed. There have been ramblings for years.
It took Hannibal discussing it in his comedy routine for people to finally pay attention and to believe the victims.
Good point, you’re right. They were ignored.
He didn’t seem too pleased to be called “a feminist hero”.
In his situation, it’s kind of an awkward label to be given. It seems pretty clear that he didn’t add the material to his act with the intent of advancing feminism or the victims’ cases, but to call attention to Cosby’s hypocrisy in policing “bad” behavior in other black people (still very insightful comedy). It’s great that his act put a major spotlight on Cosby’s crimes, yet it also reinforces this pattern that the actual victims were ignored and/or dismissed for years but as soon as a MAN says something, even in the context of a stand up routine: “My god it must be true! Cosby is horrible!”
It’s a tall order. I wonder if he was thinking if he could live up to it. He did a good thing but people are often looking to kick a person off the pedestal so I imagine he’d rather not adopt the handle of being a saint. Better to manage other people’s expectations that he’s just a human being that did a good thing once.
This exactly. I would be incredibly annoyed if he did take it on.
That makes sense. Just to clarify a bit, I wasn’t accusing him of anything.
It was just an observation.
Yes, and also, I’m sure there’s the little voice in his head saying, I did the bit because it was FUNNY, not because I believed it would change anything. I love that he is honest enough to not take credit for something incidental and hope that someday he can accept that even if it was unintended, he truly helped people.
I didn’t get that. I think he just didn’t want to give any quotes regarding the Cosby situation at all. The fact that he believed the women over a comedy legend like Cosby speaks to his character, in my opinion.
No, he doesnt seem displeased. He didnt pull away but he was also careful not to depict himself as some kind of savior of women. He basically said the only thing he could say, which boils down to “I did this thing but I dont see myself as a hero”. Besides, he may well be familiar of how disjointed the feminist schools have become and the growing propensity to tear apart allies for sport.
That could be for a number of reasons. I think he simply didn’t want his “big break” to happen this way and for him to be associated with Bill Cosby the Unapologetic Rapist like this. He’s a comedian and worked hard to become successful so even if the label is “feminist hero”, it probably has very little to do with him. He lost control over his image as a comedian. That has to be frustrating especially when the association is such a negative one. “Oh yeah, the guy who outed Cosby.”
This also makes a lot of sense to me.
Thanks for the replies, C/Bers.
He might not have wanted to make it all about him. Calling yourself a feminist hero can also backfire, especially for a man. Like, can’t you imagine the comments:”some guy makes a joke he doesn’t think anyone will really notice, it goes viral and suddenly he’s a feminist hero?”
If that’s “selling out”, I can’t think of very many better reasons for doing so…
Hannibal is funny because he’s truthful, unlike that phony Cosby, and now with his new show, everyone will know it. (Come to think of it, though, too bad he isn’t the one taking over The Daily Show.)
However, I can understand the reluctance to accept himself as a “hero”; heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Buress may feel uncomfortable with ‘hero’ because Cosby’s actions were morally repugnant, period. And, Cosby spent years being a hypocrite, judging others for what he considered “improper” behavior, vocabulary, stand-up topics, etc.
One doesn’t need to be a feminist hero to feel outrage that Cosby not only got away with being a despicable person, but that he also has the nerve (somehow, cojones is just icky here) to present himself as this deeply moral person, publicly chastising others.
That wasn’t the first time Buress used that bit in a routine; he may feel that sharp social commentary just comes from having a critical mind & a moral compass. Also, as a black male comedian, he is part of a few groups that Cosby targeted with his harsh judgment & disdain. Buress called out Cosby’s predatory behavior & duplicitousness, and society’s willingness to turn a blind eye – it’s possible he feels that asking “why is it ok for Cosby to get away with all this” may not be worthy of being called a ‘feminist’ hero.
You have my appreciation, Mr. Buress.
I have found HB hilarious in his comedy routines, and I would love to donate to his income- come on tour my way! Or I could just send him a hundred bucks.
Actually, his “outing” of Cosby made me look for more of his stand-ups and shows.
Hannibal B, I hope that some of us have boosted your career because of this!
It’s hard to be the one to flip over the rock sometimes.
My son and I went to see a HB show a few months after the Cosby sh*t hit the fan. The guy is flat-out hysterical, and it felt good to support him after all of the Cosby fallout…win-win!
I think it’s really important to keep in mind that Hannibal is a massive introvert. He’s a comedian but watch/listen to any interview with him, and for the most part he’s a very reserved quiet guy. He describes himself as being very much in his own head all the time. So I think his hesitation/quiet demeanor is sometimes misinterpreted as “I don’t like what is being said about me/I don’t like how this is impacting me.” Truly, I don’t think he was really in comedy for fame–he just liked being a comedian. I think the Cosby thing kinda thrust him out there and I think he’s just not comfortable with that impact that it is has had on him personally (which is fine–he doesn’t regret it but it’s also put him in a position that he never sought and he’s not really all the comfortable with). Also, it sucks that people are blaming him for Cosby’s downfall — that’s on Cosby, not Hannibal.
Oddly enough, a lot of shy people are funny. It’s a way to make others happy and the attention goes to the joke instead of oneself. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly) the artless gq writer wanted to go all tabloidy and was only hoping to grab headlines. How disappointing for Hannibal to have what should have been an interview about him and his new show repeatedly dragged back to this awful topic. It does go to show that he was right when he said that if you google “bill cosby rape ” you get more hits than on “Hannibal Buress ” Sad to say . Also still true.
Bless you Buress. I wish I was on twitter if only to tell him so. And the fact that it cost him is the thing that really makes him courageous. So many sh*tty people in the world, and yet he did this very important thing. To someone way way way more powerful than him. He outed a living legend who was in fact a serial rapist. Bless you bless you bless you.
It shows the state of people’s mindsets today that a man could lose his career for bringing back into the spotlight the behaviour of a serial rapist.
Yes. Yes, it does.
I like this guy, because he could have tried to take advantage of the situation with the other majority of people who are again Bill Cosby, instead he just wants to work. He had no way of knowing his joke would be the one to create this. You have to respect people who don’t take advantage of a really bad situation, but he certainly shouldn’t be penalized. I am going to watch his show and support his effort.
Does the person you’re talking about have a name that rhymes with ‘Bludd Blapatow?
I guess sometimes it’s all about timing? I mean, the Cosby rumors have been around for YEARS. It was a poorly kept secret. Yet, he makes this joke and finally some traction occurs, people start taking the victims more seriously legally and in the mainstream media. I’m so glad that happened. I’m glad the victims of Cosby felt empowered and supported this time around but the way this all came about is really interesting from a sociology point of view.
I love hannibal buress! I remember when the story came out about his jokes, and I was like, yeah, why DID everybody kind of ignore that a few years ago???
Checking my local listings for his show. Intentional or not he has guts and I’m happy to support his career.
SNL joked about it 10 years ago – why are we so slow?
Funny, talented and courageous come to mind.
Good Man and wish him all the best of continued success.
He did a public service. The shame is that it took one man making a joke to get 20+ women heard and taken seriously.
Ive always suspected this was a double edge sword for him all along. So glad he spoke up though.
Thank you, Mr Buress
I loved this guy’s stand up for a while before the whole Cosby thing, which is just icing on the cake. His voice is sexy as hell (I watch a lot of standup on the radio. ), and he’s also funny as hell. his bit about dating in edinburg be hilarious
Dude is my kinda hot.
It’s so fascinating that it took someone recording a comedian who wasn’t that famous at a show for people to take notice. Women who spoke out as the victims were shunned and ignored, and many victims didn’t bother speaking out at all out of shame or fear. That says a lot about society right there. A man joking about it in his standup routine had more credibiliy in the eyes of many than all those women. Sad.