So there we were minding our own business in our this tiny little island in the cybersea giving our heartfelt beliefs about CNN giving a show to shuck and jivester, DL Hughley (aka "Black Imus") and some contributor to the National Ledger decided to quote a few passages from out mildly stated post, CNN Gives New Show to Black-Woman-Hating Comic DL Hughley.
This is how the National Ledger described our quaint little cyber paradise:
Is this a risk for CNN or a natural fit? What About Our Daughters has a detailed article noting what they believe are many of the shortcomings of D.L.'s comedy (including video) and wonder aloud on the decision by CNN. National Ledger
Um, we aren't "wondering" we are saying OUTRIGHT, D L Hughley is an inferior comedic talent and I want to see the list of Black comics they considered before they settled on him. Again, we aren't wondering. We're stating emphatically, CNN could have done BETTER than DL Hughley.
We are not alone. 73% of the readers of TV Newser which caters to media insiders say they will not be watching the show.
To Hughley's Family, Friends, and Fans ( all five of y'all) descending on our tranquil oasis in attempt to provoke some type of controversy, we will not be moved from our position that we are not going to assist D.L. Hughley's publicist as we inadvertently did in the past. You know, when y'all would call up reporters telling them about this blog and our contention that Hughley is a Black-woman-hating minstrel. You shouldn't need to stoke controversy to generate attention for this folly, Hughly should be able to rise and fall on his own merits...if he has any!
We'll just be watching to see which advertisers believe that Black women are "the ugliest women" Hughley has ever seen in his life. It's gonna be a blast!
Now with all the Black journalists floating around CNN, you would think that network would turn to one of them to be the new host of a new weekly show. Nope, they chose to go with a Black "comedian" and I use that word loosely.
CNN is diving into the increasingly crowded arena of news-driven comedy, tapping comedian D.L. Hughley to host a show that will offer a skewering take on news and events.The show, set to air on Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET beginning Oct. 25, will feature Hughley and guests riffing on politics, entertainment, sports and pop culture. Variety
Apparently, the show will be called "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News. According to CNN, they picked him because he watches cable news. This is Hughley's response:
"I am very excited for the opportunity to work with the network that I have watched for a very long time, and that to a large extent, has shaped my comedic view," Hughley said in a press release. "CNN offers the perfect blend of news and information on a local, national and international level. What more can a comedian ask for?" CNN.com
D.L. Hughley is one of the most popular and highly recognized standup comedians on the road today and has also appeared in several feature films and television projects. Hughley recently appeared in a one-hour stand-up special for HBO titled "Unapologetic" and hosted BET’s hidden camera show S.O.B., as well as the 2008 season of HBO’s Def Comedy Jam. Hughley also starred in the Aaron Sorkin drama series for NBC, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. TV Newser
Um all of those were CANCELED and has CNN actually watched episodes of Socially Offensive Behavior? IT was a dreadful show on an equally dreadful network.
Readers of this blog will likely remember Hugley for this appearance on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno where he declared that Don Imus was right and declared that the Rutger's basketball team were "some of the ugliest women [he] had ever seen in his life"
“There were some nappy headed women on the team and those are some of the ugliest women I have ever seen in my life.” DL HUGHLEY on Jay Leno.
What made Hughley's TOnight Show appearance so repugnant wasn't the fact that he attempted to get his laughs on the backs of Black women, that's nothing new, but Hughley going in front of a White audience to echo Don Imus' opinion. In other words, Hughley was basically saying "It's okay. I'm Black and I think Black women are ugly too--- in fact, they are some of the "ugliest women I have ever seen in my life!"" More After the jump.
This blog was one of the few places to condemn Hughley in light of radio silence from all those who had caterwauled in response to Imus' remarks. We took it a step further by daring our favorite pompadoured preacher to condemn Hughley as resoundingly as he had condemned Imus. He did.
WAOD readers being the entrepreneurial folks that they are then organized a peaceful demonstrationrespectfully disagreeing with Hughley's opinion that his own mother, daughters, aunts and nieces are "ugly. "
Now our point wasn't that Hughley should be carted off to jail. Our point was that Don Imus got his advertising yanked for basically saying the same thing, Hughley got a pass because it was Black on Black rhetorical violence. When confronted by protesters in Ft. Worth ( thanks to the work of WAOD readers), Hughley swiftly wrapped himself in the cloak of the First Amdenment. One small problem however. Hughley has no idea what the First Amendment says. He can't even quote the first five words. I know this because when his publicist contacted the Onion AV to notify them that my readers were demonstrating, I challenged the reporter to ask DL Hughley if he could quote the first five words to this amendment he was hiding behind. Here is his response.
AVC: Ms. McCauley has challenged you to recite the first five words of the First Amendment.DLH: Look,I don't know all the words of the Bible, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in God! [Laughs.] I don't know all the words of the Constitution—that don't mean I'm not entitled to it. I've got a GED, so there's a lot of things I don't know, but what I do know is, I'm one of the best comics in this country, and I'll keep being one of the best comics in this country. I challenge her to cite one example of me not loving black women in their natural state! Here's the truth of the matter: I know women, and I know hoes. I know black men, and I know niggers. I know bitches and I know friends. I do! And I won't pretend that I don't. My gig is to call it like I see it. So she knows the first five words, so what is that? What does that accomplish? AV Club
What it accomplishes is to demonstrate that CNN has hired an ignorant boob to cover political discourse. What else is new. I stopped hammering away at Hughley once his publicist started using this blog to drum up interest in his inferior talent:
“You should be aware that there is an internet blogger based in Austin who has started a campaign against D.L. in response to some comments he made as a joke on The Tonight Show back in early May. She is trying to get some kind of protest together of D.L.’s show at Cap City. Please feel free to ask D.L. about this, as he has quite a bit in response to it.” DL HUghley's Publicist
I’d actually never heard of the whole “DL Hughley controversy” until someone from CapCity Comedy Club, where D.L. is performing this week, called me about it. They were worrying aloud–in other words, fishing for coverage–that the same thing might happen here. It was their suggestion that it might make a good story for the Austin edition. SOURCE
Hughley wouldn't be nearly as annoying is he were indeed funny, but he is not. He possesses inferior comedic talent to that of his peers. A fact confirmed by all of his most recent television efforts being swiftly cancelled. IF CNN wanted to find a comedian who could intelligently skewer politicians and poke fun at current events, there is a laundry list of people who could do much better than Hughley.
"D.L. is a news junkie who is bursting with things to say about what is going on in the world -- most of them funny, all of them thoughtful, none of them predictable," said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. "When you watch as much news as our audience does, there comes a time you just want to stop and laugh -- and that time will be Saturday nights at 10 on CNN." CNN.com
He has to have naked pictures of somebody to continue to get television work failure after failure.
Call BET and ask them how badly it's hurt the show.... I dare her [ that would be ME!] to keep it up! Hurt me like she's been hurting me, please! DL Hughley
Um, DL, your BET show was canceled before I could pick up the phone to call. Sorry, you tanked too fast :)
To be clear, if DL Hughley were a White comedian saying the things he says about Black women, he would not have been hired by CNN. Would CNN hire Imus to host a show? No! SO why hire someone who basically did the exact same thing?
If he were a Black comedian of any substance that could speak knowledgeably about political issues of the day, he likewise, would not have been hired. Listen to Hughley's articulate explanation of "Freedom of Speech"
To Hughley's publicist who is reading this blog in hopes that I will create some new controversy to help her talent impaired client, alas I shall not help you this time. I did all I could to assist Hughley's last television endeavor and it was an abysmal failure despite my best efforts. Take a walk down memory lane and review my commentary on DL Hughley's misguided belief that he is somehow a guardian of the First Amendment.
Monday, October 20, 2008 at 8:32AM