‘Really sad, sad times’ for comedy, standup Gold says
Self-professed ‘big mouth’ believes the only thing that should matter is if a joke is funny
Judy Gold is the ultimate showbiz hyphenate. Though best known as one of the biggest stars on the comedy front, the New Jersey native is also an Emmy Award-winning writer, a dramatic Shakespearean thesp, producer and podcast host.
But in addition to the aforementioned qualities, Gold’s bio includes the somewhat curious tag: “big mouth.”
Those who catch Gold for the first time during her three-night stand this week at the Comedy Nest, will quickly realize why she has so labelled herself. Those who have caught her act at Just for Laughs or on the late-night TV circuit with Stephen Colbert need no explanation. Gold never pulls her punches, no matter who or what the target.
“Really, there’s so much to hate me for, apart from speaking my mind: I’m a comedian, a woman, a lesbian and a Jew,” Gold quips.
Gold acknowledges these are particularly frightening times for all of the above groups and many others as well. She fears for the worst in the comedy world, thanks in large part to political correctness and internet trolls.
“As the world gets smaller through social media, so do our senses of humour,” she says. “First of all, I’m a total believer in freedom of speech. I believe you can joke about anything subversive as long as it’s funny. But now people are just reacting to a word without taking time to find the intent of the joke. It’s beyond ridiculous.”
Gold isn’t shocked to hear
about the woes of Quebec comedy vedette Mike Ward, who is appealing a Quebec Human Rights Tribunal fine, ordering him to pay $42,000 in damages for a discriminatory joke about disabled singer Jérémy Gabriel going back to 2010. Distasteful though the joke was, Ward’s lawyer Julius Grey rightfully argues that Quebec comics will be afraid to tell controversial jokes if the ruling is upheld: “(These jokes) must remain legal in a free and democratic society.”
“Oh, shut up, shut up,” reacts Gold, upon hearing the details of the case. “That joke is not about the kid. It’s about a kid who got his wish come true to sing for the pope, because people thought he was dying. But he didn’t die. It’s a funny premise.”
Nor does Gold quite understand the fuss surrounding Zach Poitras, the local white comic who was barred from performing at a club because organizers felt his dreadlocks represented cultural appropriation.
“These are really sad, sad times,” Gold says. “Even the darkest comedians are now saying to me: ‘Do you think I’m going to get into trouble for this?’ Why are we going backwards? And why are we being held to a higher standard than politicians and religious leaders who promote hate and intolerance?
“Lawmakers who take rights away from people, government officials who put kids in cages … they can say whatever they want, but we can’t joke in a comedy club. I believe we’re the truth tellers. I’m not scared, but many comics are.”
Gold just had two gigs cancelled on her, largely because the organizers were terrified what might spring from her “big mouth.”
“One was for an LGBTQ festival. They heard this joke I did about ‘they/them’ and how confusing it is. I’m gay and I’ve been an advocate for gay rights and marriage equality since I was in my early 20s, but they can’t take a @#$%ing joke,” Gold, 56, says.
One of Gold’s better lines, in fact, dealt with her frustration about not being able to legally marry her partner, yet Charles Manson was allowed to tie the knot while in prison.
Surprisingly, Gold’s second cancellation came from a Jewish group, telling her, “we’re not singing from the same songbook.” That would be a Trump-loving songbook. And no question, the Donald has been a frequent target, and she has been getting a lot of blowback as a result from his base.
“His people have no sense of humour. We made fun of Clinton, Bush, Obama and Reagan, and few objected,” she notes. “I preface all my Trump stuff by telling audiences I don’t care what their political leanings are, that I’m talking about him as a person. You can’t deny he’s a liar, a cheat, a misogynist, lazy. But he has this cult surrounding him.
“It used to be all that really mattered for a comic was being funny, but that doesn’t quite cut it these days, especially when you’re gay, Jewish, loud and opinionated. Still, no one’s going to stop me from saying what I want to say.”