u/popeyematt

I just saw Luis J Gomez Standup show at the Comedy Works South tonight, and I was turned off to his comedy to say the least. I want to warn everyone (especially women) who are considering seeing his standup - It is VERY out there, dark, racist, sexist, and may make you physically uncomfortable… I saw an older couple behind us get up and walk out early on in the show.

Not only does he make questionably immoral jokes aimed towards minority races and groups, I would say 90% of his material revolved around slut shaming women, judging Jews, hating on Gay people, and jokes about violence and killing prostitutes (also women). The overall undertone of his standup was a pretty dark, negative vibe. It was also funny, I laughed, don’t get me wrong - except when he crossed the line (Almost every other joke) - It was the first time I felt physically uncomfortable in a comedy show (And I’ve been to quite a few) because we all know every joke has a LITTLE bit of truth to it, and a lot of his stories were true / based on his real life.

At one point, he said a joke about a teddy bear sexually assaulting / raping his sister. He said he “should have bashed (her) skull in” when a higher end prostitute didn’t sleep with him. People (mostly men) laughed. His obsession with rape, murder, and incest was genuinely disgusting and concerning to me, especially considering how big of a following he has on his Legion of Skanks podcast. How much of his comedy is actually real / how he actually feels?

This made me wonder in a broader sense - Do we call out and shame Luis J Gomez for promoting violence, bigotry, misogyny, racism, and hate? Or, do we let it slide and laugh it off because it’s “just a joke”? When and where do we separate the comic from the comedy (An artist from his art)?

Also, Comedy Works or Luis J Gomez if you ever read this - Maybe cut back on the jokes that glorify violence against women, rape, incest, and killing women a little bit. It’s promoting a culture of misogyny and perpetuating violence because young men think it’s funny and therefore more acceptable.

Unless he wants to start a “Gentleman’s Only” comedy club (Which would probably go well for him considering it looked like 90% of Luis Gomez’s fans are single, incel looking, straight, women- hating men)…

Anyways - Let’s discuss. Can we take any comedic standup act seriously? If it rubs us the wrong way, do we have a right to say or do anything about it? It’s just comedy, after all… Or is it more, when you have a large platform / audience, and therefore power?