If there’s one thing Emerson College does well, it’s promote famous alumni: the most frequently advertised are Jennifer Coolidge ’85, the Daniels—Daniel Kwan ’10, Daniel Scheinert ’09—and Bill Burr ’93. But Burr’s recent stint on “Saturday Night Live” seems to go against key Emersonian values like “critical and creative thinking that inspires audiences.”
The only thing Burr inspired me to do was write this piece.
For those unfamiliar with the structure of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL), each episode begins with a monologue from the week’s celebrity host. Burr, a longtime stand-up comedian known for his dark, raunchy humor, started with racist jabs. He talked about getting the flu and joked that he could have contracted it by walking past an Asian person.
Burr’s eight-minute monologue continued with jokes about the presidential election. He said that women were now “0 and 2” against president-elect Donald Trump, and that it was time for women in politics to “whore it up a little.”
“You don’t win the office on policy, you know?” Burr said. “I’m not saying go full Hooters, but find the happy medium between Applebee’s and your dad didn’t stick around.”
While the jab seemed to target Vice President Kamala Harris’ and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s losses against Trump in 2016 and 2024, I felt a cold, angry jab of familiarity. Once again, women were the butt of the joke.
Burr’s simple-minded spiel mirrored comedian Jo Koy’s equally unfunny monologue during the 81st Golden Globe Awards last January. Koy joked that the female-directed and global blockbuster “Barbie” was simply about a “plastic doll with big boobies.” I’m disappointed, but not surprised; these types of jokes are popular with male comedians known for their “dark humor.” To be mad about such things is to be a sensitive, too-easily offended wuss who can’t take a joke.
But just as these comedians are apparently free to joke about whatever they want, the targets of said jabs are equally able to respond. Instead of laughing at Burr’s insults, I’m left wondering: why are we once again being reduced to sex objects who are inherently and eternally inferior to men?
In both of these instances, Koy and Burr pounced on the opportunity to hit women where it hurts. In Koy’s case, he belittled Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” right after the 96th Academy Awards snubbed her of a nomination. In the same fashion, Burr attacked women just days after Trump’s sweeping victory over Harris, adding insult to a very fresh injury.
I’m not surprised by the frequency of these insults—comedians need laughter to fuel their fire, and male audiences give them just that. I would’ve thought that Burr’s ill-timed offenses would result in a more stilted reaction from the SNL audience, but that was unfortunately not the case. The audience apparently found Burr’s barrage against so-called “ugly feminists” absolutely hilarious.
Once again, we’ll be expected to take this on the chin and move on. We’ll be expected to chuckle at the next mediocre male comedian when he makes these timeless jokes about female inferiority. Again and again, we’ll be expected to not take offense when popular figures like Burr are given a platform to teach young girls that this continued assault against women is funny and acceptable.
Burr’s standing as an Emerson alum prompts another question: will Emerson continue to tote alumni who disregard the morals and values of the institution? That berates 70% of the student population for the sake of recruiting more Comedic Arts majors?
Women shouldn’t be subjected to sexism and bigotry for the sake of comedy. It’s time to critique the system and ask more of comedians and reflect on the current culture and what is defined as humor. As Emerson students pursuing fields in the arts, we play a strong role in this culture shift. Burr may have graduated from Emerson, but he does not have to—and shouldn’t—be the defining totem of Emersonian talent.
