Gay Night on CBS

[TVBoy]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 10:07pm

Since so many of you are talking about stereotypes, what do you think of what David Letterman said about the Tonys?

Letterman: You know Sunday night, right here on CBS, is the night Broadway honors its best at the Tony Awards -- or as I call it, Gay Night on CBS.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 10:09pm

It's just a cheap, lame joke. That's more offensive.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 10:09pm

Well, that's what I call it too. I know it's not necessarily true, but it's pretty damn close.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 10:13pm

Well, he is right. It is gay night. However, that's sort of a mean joke.

[kyleorlando]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 10:51pm

Letterman should talk. Remember this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXSTzQEgoc8

[bwayboi4life42]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:09pm

Hahaha! I've never seen that before!!!

[harborlights]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 11:53pm

Letterman!
PL
------------
www.broadwayedition.org

[TVBoy]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 12:56am

ha... I saw that on the show, but the clip is certainly worth repeating.

[pc1145N2]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 6:49am

I wasn't offended at all by Letterman's comment. It's true! No where else on TV do you see so many openly gay couples. I think it's fantastic. We had everything from Cynthia Nixon to David Hyde Pierce. All very open. Most of the winners thanked thier partners exactly like married ppl would have thanked thier spouses...there was NONE of that phony pronoun switching that drives me insane. I thought it was great and I'm glad Letterman identified it for what it was.

Did he mean it as a joke? Sure! But is was a funny joke....and it was true. We need to own that reality.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 7:21am

If only EVERY night could be GAY NIGHT!

:)

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 7:30am

Well, for better or for worse, he mentioned the Tony Awards, which haven't even had online, or newspaper coverage.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 7:33am

We can't really say that his comment was wrong, when everytime I tell any gay person that I never miss the Tonys, what I hear is "You're so gay"

I think that listening to Madonna is way gayer, watching the Tonys is really being different from the rest, all gay people I know missed the Tonys, or didn't even know they were on.

Unless the BWW people, you see guys, that's why I like you!

[OrdinaryJukebox]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 9:19am

True, yes. Funny, not really. For example, if he said something about the BET awards being "Black night," African Americans around the world would be in an uproar, seeking apologies and money for "emotional distress." It's typical, no matter how true it is, it's not funny.

-Vincent

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 9:23am

oh please its funny and true

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 9:24am

It's a very old joke that really has no bearing on the contemporary gay community.

In the 1950s and 1960s, pre-Stonewall, a large percentage of gay men identified culturally through Broadway, Hollywood and popular song. (That also corresponded to the time when Broadway provided more material for Hollywood and popular song.) To be gay was SUPPOSED to be to talk about Judy and Marilyn and Bette and Joan and Ethel and Mary and all their vehicles and the ups and downs of their personal lives.

But this was an exaggeration even then. Lesbians were never as obsessed by pop culture as gay men were, and there plenty of gay men who came out of the military in WW2 and Korea who were never involved with or obsessed with the arts.

Even more to the point, since the 1980s and 1990s, the large majority of young gay men coming out know nothing of those camp references, and they probably never will.

So to call the Tony Awards a "gay event" because of the same-sex-spouse thank-yous has some validity; to call it a "gay event" because a significant portion of the relative small audience is gay is probably statistically correct; but to call it a "gay event" because Letterman assumes a majority of gay people watch it is just misguided and misinformed--and, ultimately, homophobic.

[JRybka]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 9:46am

I think what is more offensive is that he USED to be funny and now he is just an OLD TIRED MAN with lame jokes..... They should retire him.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 10:04am

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha can you say OVER REACTION!!!!

My god we hear gay jokes everyday on TV shows etc in the UK and the gay community finds them hilarious, i dont get this thread

[TVBoy]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 4:11pm

I agree with the person who said we should be thankful he at least mentioned the Tony Awards. David Letterman is a supporter of Broadway, often times showcasing musical numbers on his show. (You don't get that on Leno or Kimmel.) What he said was tougue-in-cheek and should be taken that way. Afterall, even Letterman admits he's the only show on Broadway with no talent!

Updated On: 6/12/07 at 04:11 PM

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 4:32pm

I'm not offended. It is an old joke with some truth to it.

It falls in the same catagory of Gerard Alessandrini's Forbidden B'way spoof of the Tony's.

"Straight people turn it off!"

PalJoey got me to thinking. I wonder now that is easier for younger people to be out... or at least find safer places to be "out."

I wonder if the safe haven for kids is school - The Theatre Dept - is as necessary for young gay people.

Just thinking...

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 4:49pm

How about in "Will and Grace" when James Earl Jones mentions his Tony Awards to Karen and she says something like "Please! They only created that award to keep gay guys off the streets one night of the year!"

[TVBoy]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 3:23am

"Oh, please! Thankful that he mentioned the Tonys even though he made a joke to his straight American audience about gay people? Letterman is a supporter of Broadway? And you work for TV, boy? How clueless can you be? Letterman is a supporter of whatever they tell him he's a supporter of. You think he books the talent for his show? He's just the freakin' host. Wake the **** up."

This screams credibility...

Updated On: 6/13/07 at 03:23 AM

[C is for Company]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 3:29am

Well you know, he has never been truly loyal to the Tonys considering he never wanted to put his fantastic hosting skills to the test after such a perfect job at the Oscars. Oprah-Uma! Oprah-Uma...

[TommyTunesSon]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 9:15am

Well, most of the winners & nominees were straight. But I totally enjoy the gayness of the Tonys! In the same way that Oprah Winfrey openly roots for black performers to win oscars, etc., I root for gay men and lesbians at awards shows. It's so refreshing to hear gay men thanking their partners on the Tonys - it makes me feel really good. When I win my Tony, I'll thank my partner, too!! (;

[kasim]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 10:13am

>>
How about in "Will and Grace" when James Earl Jones mentions his Tony Awards to Karen and she says something like "Please! They only created that award to keep gay guys off the streets one night of the year!"
>>

I dont know why but i find that much funnier than lettermans quip.

... btw i think his comment is more offensive to straight theatre lovers than anything else. Wtf is it juts cause you like musicals you are sexually questionable.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 10:29am

Talk to men under 35, Gay Night on Tv might just as easily be the Grammys. But one of my best friends had a huge super bowl party every year in SF, when the guest list was about 10% straight (if that). He would rather be shot than watch the Tonys, and he's lived in the Castro for years. Gay people watch DYNASTY ... and LOST, JERICHO and PROJECT RUNWAY, HGTV and ESPN. Logo and FOX--well, no, now I've gone too far.