Dear Readers,
As longtime readers know, I was reluctant to start this substack. I figured that as an inside-outsider who’s spent his career in entertainment and media I had access to information that would be of interest to those who care about free expression in our cultural institutions.
On the other hand, I knew it wouldn’t be the best career move to be completely forthcoming. That’s why I made the difficult decision to avoid certain topics. I even decided to pass up some bonafide scoops.
Then, when I finally introduced a paid option for subscribers, I realized something.
If I had an especially dicey take, I could sort of have my cake and eat it too. I could speak freely, but by restricting access to paid subscribers, I could mostly shield myself from professional trouble. Moreover, I could use these opportunities as a way to thank my paid subscribers.
Paid content won’t always address especially sensitive material, and don’t get me wrong, I poke the bear all the time with my unpaywalled writing. And today I’m not revealing anything earth shattering, though I do think it’s noteworthy.
But sometimes, especially when we’re gearing up to cast another feature film, I take a long, hard look at the benefit-cost calculation of addressing certain topics.
It’s times like these that I’m happy to have a way to restrict my readership.
That’s why I’m going to make an unusual request of my paid readers: Please DO NOT share this post publicly.
All the best,
Ted
There once was a famous funny man who never missed an opportunity to downplay, pooh pooh, or question the existence of cancel culture. He could have joined the ranks of Dave Chappelle, Whitney Cummings, Ricky Jervais, the South Park guys, and other funny men and women who stuck their necks out and dared the mob to lop them off, but he chose not to.
This person has a lot in common with Jake Tapper, the CNN host and author of the new book Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.
Like Tapper, this person participated in a laughably bad cover up, one that aimed to conceal a controversy that was common knowledge among the general public. Like Tapper, he ripped those who disagreed with him. And like Tapper, when the heat died down, he switched sides, and cashed in by highlighting the thing he used to regard as a preoccupation of cranks.
There is, however, one important way in which the analogy breaks down. Unlike Tapper, this person has yet to admit he was wrong.
This person’s name is …
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