A Safe Space for Taboo Comedy: OnlyFans Won’t Cancel Whitney Cummings
A Safe Space for Taboo Comedy: OnlyFans Won’t Cancel Whitney Cummings
“Instead of dirty photos, you’re gonna see dirty jokes”
Dear Readers,
I’ll be on vacation next week, but I can’t help but give you a little tease: I’ll be making a very exciting announcement very soon. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, thanks for making Shiny Herd a part of your day.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
All the best,
Ted
A standup comedian once told me about how her Netflix special was produced.
It was shot over the course of two nights. That way she and the director could select the best bits from both nights. The first night went really well, but there was one problem.
Netflix executives objected to her closing joke and told her to change it.
She did what the vast majority of comedians would do. Instead of jeopardizing her special, she changed the joke. The following night she closed with a different bit. Execs approved, and that’s the material that reached audiences.
She saved her special, but she sure did miss that joke.
Now another comedian has figured out how she won’t have to capitulate to The Man.
Not Dirty Like That
Whitney Cummings has five Netflix specials to her name, and probably could have returned to the streaming giant for another. Then again, if she wanted to do her comedy her way, she probably had no choice but to look elsewhere.
Her new special Mouthy found a home with a very popular distributor, but one known for something other than comedy.
“Instead of dirty photos, you’re gonna see dirty jokes,” Cummings said of her decision to partner with OnlyFans, the site best known for its visually explicit content.
Cummings told Variety that gatekeepers have narrowed the acceptable range of comedy and OnlyFans can provide a safe space for the kind of comedy she wants to perform.
After all, it’s not just the subscription streamers that struggle with chronic timorousness. Said Cummings, “If you say ‘QAnon’ or ‘Pizzagate’ in a YouTube video — and they don’t know the context of what you’re talking about — they instantly demonetize your channel.”
But on OnlyFans, Cummings won’t get demonetized, and she won’t have to submit to execs’ pre-cancelling process.
She definitely makes the most of her artistic freedom.
The comedian tackles women’s sports, transgenderism, and other topics that make suits sweat. She’s so unruly that The New York Times might call her a c-word. But Cummings is no conservative. She’s also not a myopic lefty like John Oliver.
No Sacred Cows
Cummings is more like Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle.
She plays her dangerous game with all sides. She needles one group, then another, and and reminds us that none of us should be shielded from the comedian’s tongue:
Does anyone want to win anymore? Who cares how. I'm literally at the point where I'm like, if you don't want trans athletes in the Olympics, you're not a Patriot.
And that's just a fact. Do you think we're gonna beat China with some white bitches from Connecticut?
Cummings even references the trans-centric controversy unleashed by Chappelle’s latest Netflix specials:
[Chappelle] is one of the best comedians in the world. He can say what he wants. Also, if you're upset about what Dave Chappelle said about trans women, wait till you hear what he's been saying about women for the past 30 years.
By refusing to step around modern taboos, she reveals how the howls from activist groups fall flat. Joking about people doesn’t degrade them, it humanizes them. Says Cummings, “Some [trans people] are cool, and some of them are annoying, just like any group of people.”
Those of you who frequent comedy clubs know what I’m talking about.
After fighting through subways or freeways, people of all kinds pile into an impossibly tiny space. And as you jockey for elbow room and an unimpeded sight line, you might not necessarily be filled with brotherly love. But after a couple hours, a few well drinks and many laughs, comics have jabbed at everyone’s sensitivities to the point where we’ve all gotten over ourselves—at least till we get home.
Cummings seems eager to bring the comedy club fellow feeling to the screen. And her trip to Dirtyville will give her the time to build that vibe. With OnlyFans, Cummings will also spearhead a series of anything goes Friar’s Club-style roasts.
And Cummings doesn’t just dish it out. She volunteered to get lashed first.
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Reckless or Wise?
On the one hand, Cummings’ new partnership with OnlyFans seems reckless.
She’s almost certainly reaching a much smaller audience than if she had stuck with Netflix. My guess is that the pay is worse too and I’m no brand manager, but associating yourself with a porn site might not be in the best interest of Whitney Inc.
Moreover, by so breezily flouting the monoculture’s sacred commands, she could still get cancelled. Just think of all the “punching down” pieces her stunt could launch!
On the other hand, audiences have been doing everything in their power to inform our culture creators that they’re not down with the new censorship. They tell pollsters they don’t like cancel culture. They support problematic comedians like Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr.
Maybe the c-suiters are starting to pay attention.
In the tug-o-war between fear and greed that plays out in the chest of every Hollywood exec, there are signs that greed might be gaining ground. The profit motive seems to have helped some companies realize the truth that was sitting in plain view all along: Social media isn’t real life.
So maybe Cummings won’t be giving up as big of an audience as it might seem. And maybe big bucks will eventually follow too. All that is speculation, but one thing seems quite certain.
OnlyFans is giving Cummings one thing she really wants—freedom.
Ted Balaker is a filmmaker, and former network newser and think tanker. His recent work includes Little Pink House starring Catherine Keener and Jeanne Tripplehorn, Can We Take a Joke? featuring Gilbert Gottfried and Penn Jillette, and a soon-to-be-released feature documentary based on the bestselling book, The Coddling of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt.
I feel like this is definitely an attention stunt even if that isn’t necessarily all bad. Isn’t there also Bitchute? But if it works I don’t fault her.