For the most part, I like Patton Oswalt. His live specials and appearances on shows such as Tom Goes To The Mayor and parodies about The Room are enjoyable. He's also no stranger to social media, with his heaviest presence on Twitter. On Wednesday, in a continuing effort to use his comedy to "troll," Patton posted a series of tweets suggesting that he posted a joke offensive to some minority and then quickly deleted it, leaving only a half-assed apology for his supposed misstep:
Oops. Just deleted my last Tweet. & would like to apologize to seniors & sufferers of Lyme disease. I was out of bounds.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 7, 2014
Yikes. Had to delete another Tweet. I crossed a line on that one. Also, I thought 12 YEARS A SLAVE and THE BUTLER were brilliant.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 7, 2014
There are others I could post, but the one that seemed to gain the most negative attention from followers was a fake recall and apology for what we can assume was a joke about rape:
Forgive me. Previous Tweet deleted. Sorry. Yes, we all know what "grape", "ape", "tape" & "cape" rhyme with. I'm an asshole.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 7, 2014
Many of Oswalt's followers, and even non-followers, did not receive the series of tweets as he apparently intended. Patton was bombarded by replies chastising him for his poor attempts to bury a pursuit at ill-fated humor about sexual assault. Some of these he even re-tweeted, causing a handful of loyal fans to harass these offended individuals. Twitter participant @rachelmillman was one of the offended who's reply was re-tweeted by Oswalt, and her twitter account expresses her struggle with harassment for the remainder of the day (her original reply has been deleted).
To those who do understand that his "apologies" were actually part of a structured joke about offending minorities through humor, this is an interesting debate. Earlier last month Joan Rivers made a joke using a comparison to the living conditions of the three women held captive by now-deceased kidnapper Ariel Castro. Many have been calling for her to apologize to the women, but Joan stands defiant that she owes no apologies:
"I'm a comedienne," she told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I know what those girls went through. It was a little, stupid joke. There is nothing to apologize for. I made a joke. That's what I do. Calm down. Calm f——— down. I'm a comedienne. They're free, so let's move on."
Both Joan and Patton bring up a sore subject in the realm of humor. The treatment of minorities in the US continues to be an issue facing numerous individuals, sparking many debates over who is allowed to have hurt feelings and who isn't. A comedian may see a sensitive issue through a certain perspective, while a joke's recipient may see it differently. And when a terrible event affects the bulk of the population, such as 9/11, no one seems to know when it's appropriate for a comedian to introduce the sensitive topic to audiences.
For now, Patton continues to borderline-obsess over the fallout. I would assume he is just sticking by his actions but after awhile it almost seems mean-spirited. Maybe I am a victim of his ploy? It wouldn't be the first time he's expressed frustration over the internet.
Block quote from CBS News