It was just under a year ago that Terry Crews shared his heartbreaking MeToo story, and despite the disgusting, toxic response he’s gotten from people mocking him or victim-blaming him for his own assault, the actor continues to be a vocal supporter of the movement by speaking out against toxic masculinity and striving for change. In his continued amazingness (we, truly, truly, do not deserve Terry Crews), the actor went on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee to deliver a fantastic PSA about all the many things you can joke about that are not rape, Chad.
“I’m Terry Crews. You know me because I’m Terry-fucking-Crews”, he begins cheerfully. “Maybe this happened to you. You’re a funny guy. You’re telling a joke that’s real edgy. [Black-and-white video shows a man going, “So there’a a guy in a jail shower, right?”] Maybe it’s about prison rape. Maybe it’s about boys getting molested. Either way, it’s not getting the laugh you want! [Man goes, “Then he says, it’s not my soap!” Cue *wrong* buzzer.] I’m here to tell you how to solve that problem. Stop telling those fucking jokes.”
Bee enters, continuing, “They’re not funny. They’ve never been funny.”
“You’re a hack and everybody knows it,” says Crews. “But here’s the good news! Lots of things are funny that aren’t rape!”
The two proceed to act out some of these jokes, including spit takes, off-brand merchandise, and two kids stacked in a trench coat to get into an inappropriate movie, a pie to the face (full of bees). What a world of humor available to us!
The PSA was part of a longer segment about male sexual abuse, where Bee pointed out that men are more likely to be sexually assaulted than falsely accused of rape. The host began with a horrifying montage of how male victims are often the punchline of jokes, especially involving male prison inmates and teenage boys. You can watch the monologue that introduces Crews (and the watch Crews again because he is the best) here:
What are some of your favorite jokes that don’t contribute to the stigma and shame of assault victims? Personally, multiple-kids-in-a-trenchcoat will always get a laugh from me.
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