Indiewire.com, like most entertainment sites, is hopelessly, consistently liberal.
That means progressive movies, themes and celebrities get the rock star treatment. And, as a result, Indiewire is part of the Social Justice Warrior Borg.
That’s true even when their hard-left positions diametrically oppose their own readers’ views. And Indiewire fans are hardly MAGA hat types.
The latest example comes as the site clutched some boulder-sized pearls over the most recent “Saturday Night Live” episode.
No, the site’s scribe didn’t fault “SNL” for punching down at President Donald Trump’s base in the cold open. Instead, the focus fell on a single joke told during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment. Here’s the headline:
‘Saturday Night Live’: Michael Che’s Caitlyn Jenner Joke Wasn’t Funny, It Was Hate Speech
The “hate speech” canard is a critical part of the modern left, used as a cudgel against, well, anyone who doesn’t abide by its groupthink.
In this case, here’s the joke in question mocking Kanye West for daring to embrace his Christian faith and President Donald Trump:
“I mean, he used to be one of the coolest black dudes on earth. Now he’s showing up to events in sweatpants and orthopedic sneakers, listening to Kenny G, and trying to get black people to like Trump. It’s like, how long before this guy changes his name to Kathy?”
That part is A-OK with Team Indiewire. After all, it’s attacking a President Trump fan, albeit a very high-profile one. The next line, though, is all kinds of wrong, we’re told.
“Now, you might think that I’m crazy, but about five years ago, there was a fella named Bruce Jenner, and he moved to Calabasas…”
Che’s comments are the same as perpetrating violence, Indiewire says.
He misgenders her, dead-names her, and actively calls her a word that it’s safe to assume she would never use to describe herself. As a refresher, using a trans person’s birth name is referred to as “dead-naming,” and is considered an act of violence.
By whom? Was there a vote?
Only select, Indiewire-approved jokes can be leveled against Jenner now, even if Jenner herself is a good sport about it, as proven by her appearance at the recent Alec Baldwin roast.
It’s the same argument woke protestors use when trying to shut down voices they disagree with. You can’t say that … it’s violence! And you’re a Nazi, by the way. So … let’s start punching!
It’s a pose even mainstream media organizations are actively embracing. Both The Washington Post (where Democracy Dies in Darkness) and the The New York Times, AKA a “former newspaper,” uncorked op-eds against free speech.
Far-left screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is on Team Stifle Speech, too.
Now, Indiewire leaps aboard said bandwagon.
It’s where much of the Left is these days, to be fair. Hard-left organs like The AV Club are aghast that a movie like “No Safe Spaces” would argue in favor of free speech. Hollywood, as politically active as any community, can’t spare a word in favor of open debate these days.
The media does its part to keep the suppression on the back cultural burner, leaving it up to documentaries like “No Safe Spaces” and “The Rise of Jordan Peterson” to fill the gaps.
It’s ironic that “SNL,” a show desperately trying to be woke, would share that Jenner joke in the first place. Perhaps a semblance of its old DNA, where it told unpredictable jokes that inched near the cultural boundaries, reared its head.
Indiewire’s own readers rebelled against the article, overwhelmingly siding against the site.
He said there ‘was’ a fella. That’s a fact. Bruce Jenner’s name is literally a part of Olympic history. Also, comedians make jokes, that’s what they do. It was funny. There’s no story here.
I call BS. Stop this attempt to censor people saying things that are true. Trying to erase the past doesn’t help your cause. What Michael Che said wasn’t even remotely hate speech.
I was just re-watching the roast of Alec Baldwin. Caitlyn Jenner herself uses her dead name of Bruce Jenner. So it’s safe to say at least one supposition of this article is incorrect.
Will this stop Indiewire? Unlikely. The progressive march to control speech continues, and the site is one of many cheering it on.