I'm waiting for the feminist outrage over Sarah Silverman's jokes last night at the Movie Awards. The anger over the famous old double-standard: "A man who sleeps around is just being a man, but a woman who sleeps around is a dirty slut." How long have feminists been kicking that one about (and often rightfully)? It was there again last night, in a pair of jokes directed at people who otherwise should never be mentioned in association with each other for any reason: Jack Nicholson and Paris Hilton.
Sarah makes a joke about Jack having "been in all of her favorite actresses," and the crowd roars with approval (as Jack's trademark satyr's grin spreads across his face). Then Sarah unleashes her now-famous Hilton jail gag:
The judge says that it's going to be a no frills thing, and that is ridiculous. She [Paris] is totally gonna get special treatment. As a matter of fact, I heard that to make her feel like more comfortable in prison, the guards are gonna paint the bars to look like penises. I think it's wrong too. I just worry that she's gonna break her teeth on those things...
The crowd reacts to this too - but the tone is different. First they "ooh" at the ballsiness of the line - considering that Paris is right there in the audience - but then they begin to rain their derision down on Paris. A moment ago they cheered Jack's legendary horniness, but now they're growling and hissing at Paris the slut.
Not that it renders Silverman's joke any less funny - I just thought it needed to be brought up.
