Chrissie Mayr fresh off her walking some audience members at a comedy show made an appearance on Newsmax. She was there to discuss the conservative manufactured Chick Fil A controversy. No longer content with eating Chick Fil A’s chicken they decided to eat their own and go after the conservative purveyor of fried chicken. Chick Filet A had the audacity to appoint a vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion which is a position a majority of big corporations have to either do the right thing or cover their ass. Depending on how cynical you are.
Newsmax which specializes in ginning up outrage and controversy where none exists to the majority of the country decided to bring on comedian Chrissy Mayr to weigh in on this topic. Why? Maybe because she is dreamy to the incels that watch Newsmax and the platform Mayr is on. Chrissy contributed to the conversation by adding this gem, ““I’m hesitant to make a fried chicken joke, but they sell fried chicken, I don’t know how much more inclusive we can get here,”” Ah, the sweet, sweet, sound of an overtly racist and not particularly clever joke. You get it? Because black people like fried chicken.
Host Eric Bolling let out an awkward laugh and moved onto the next guest. Why the awkward laugh Eric? Chrissy is now a darling to some for saying things that many people are offended by. She is doing her thing. She did her thing on your show. Were you expecting a thought provoking or reasoned take? If you were then you are not paying attention to who you bring on the show. You didn’t book Bill Maher. You booked Chrissy Mayr. You booked her because you thought her walking those women at her comedy show was her owning the Libs. And really isn’t that the most important thing for Newsmax? Not to report news or have an intelligent conversation but to own the Libs.
I am sure many people who discovered Chrissy and became fans of hers over that episode at Hyena’s comedy club love her comment. That’s fine.
As for Chrissy, I am not sure she helped herself. Clearly there is a niche audience who loves her type of comedy. As a comedian it is hugely advantageous to find your niche. It can make you a draw which can be lucrative. However, a good way to do that would be keep on making appearances on shows that your niche frequents. I think Newsmax is replete with those shows. I don’t know if Newsmax wants to get into the overtly racist joke business. They do need advertisers. I mean the My Pillow guy alone can’t finance a network. I think if Chrissy actually had an intelligent take she would have helped herself. I think if Chrissy had a joke about the situation that wasn’t overtly racist she would have helped herself. She did not come with that. Now it is entirely possible Chrissy came with what she thought was her best. It might be her best.
In comedy if you only play to “your audience” it can become very difficult very quickly to read the room and pull punches when called upon. You have conditioned yourself to appeal to what your most ardent supporters enjoy. When called up to a bigger stage with a broader audience if you are only playing to your most hardcore fans you might get what happened here.
I’ve done television news shows. It is not a comedy club setting. Being witty is enough here as it makes you stand out from most guests in this environment. You actually do yourself a disservice when you try to be outrageous here. Why? Because sponsors don’t want to sponsor a show or a network that features guests making racist jokes. I was witty and appropriate and I became a favorite of the producers.
I suppose Newsmax will continue to try and glom onto the next person that “owns the Libs.” I’m sure Chrissy will continue this style of comedy. It’s all fine. They should not be surprised though when they continue to appeal to a small niche while the rest of society looks elsewhere for news and laughs.