Conservatives should cut Daniel Tosh some slack for two critical reasons.
Yes, his Comedy Central showcase “Tosh.0” leans left, but it often mocks liberal hypocrisy along with shots aimed at Christians, conservatives, and GOP figures. Plus, it’s one of the most consistently inventive comedy shows around.
The current 12th season, the last to be shown on Comedy Central, may be leaning harder left than ever before. The show that once gleefully poked societal taboos with segments like “Is It Racist” supported the Black Lives Matter narrative.
Twice.
The Sept. 29 episode referenced Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who brandished guns when a BLM march approached their mansion. The couple were charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon and fourth-degree assault for defending their property and, potentially, their lives.
Tosh alluded to the McCloskeys while mocking a video of a husband and wife chiropractic duo. The husband brandished a gun-like device he used on his wife as part of his therapy.
“Those two look like they should be standing in front of a gaudy mansion pointing that thing at peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters,” Tosh said.
Here’s what Team Tosh ignored: Reality and damning facts.
The McCloskeys responded to a June 28 incident during which George Floyd protesters broke into their gated community while attempting to reach the house of St. Louis mayor Lyda Krewson.
“The group began yelling obscenities and threats of harm to both victims,” a police report stated. “When the victims observed multiple subjects who were armed, they then armed themselves and contacted police.”
Political jokes land when there’s a kernel of truth to them. Here, not only do the facts support the couple defending themselves and their property, the necessary context further backs them up.
BLM protests are routinely violent, even if mainstream media outlets cartoonishly depict them as “mostly peaceful.” We’ve seen George Floyd-inspired protests do millions of dollars in damage nationwide. Some directly attacked buildings where political figures live, like besieged Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.
Others threatened ordinary citizens at outdoor restaurants in several cities, including Rochester, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C.
Tosh and co. didn’t care about the specifics of the McCloskeys’ case or the bigger picture. They weaponized the moment to support BLM, not reality.
It’s sad to see because the joke promotes a false narrative. Equally sad? Tosh’s comedy often does what satire should do—strip away artifice and get to the truth.
Maybe that’s not as important during the show’s 12th and potentially final season.
Earlier in the Sept. 29th episode, Tosh mocked a family with an incorrectly spelled “White Lives Matter” slogan on their property. He called it a “white bigot fence.” He also played a clip of a dog defecating on a boat, saying, “this pretty much sums up the Trump boat parades.”
Later, he featured a curious voice mail.
“Rarely in Hollywood do you get to hear from the other side. So here’s another insane voice mail from my only conservative friend, comedian Greg Hahn.” The clip finds Hahn spouting a few non-sequiturs before hanging up.
Finally, the season debut wrapped with hashtags dedicated to Breonna Taylor, the black woman killed by police during a tragic incident, incorrectly dubbed a “no-knock” raid by the media, during which someone fired at the officers before they responded.
The hashtags #KeepSayingHerName and #SeasonOfMourning, the final “Tosh.0” run at Comedy Central, flashed across the screen below a “Rest in Power” sign.
A version of this article appears on HollywoodInToto.com