Sense of humour failure

Thursday, 17th July 2008

It's not just The New Yorker that's in trouble over the use of clever satire. Gawker's gossip writer found himself being upbraided after posting these red-state thoughts about Angelina Jolie's much-discussed pregnancy:

Angelina Jolie wants to give birth, already, and leave the hospital like a tough American patriot. But her lazy, arrogant French doctors will make her wait in agony for three more days so they can celebrate cutting off rich people’s heads like communists and probably also so they can fornicate with their unbathed mistresses, get drunk and fantasize about terrorism. See what happens under socialized medicine?

As you can see from the comments section, Tate was still getting grief even after he explained that he had his tongue in his cheek. Perhaps his critics assumed he was one of those Americans who have no sense of irony.

Other Gawker writers, on the other hand, would be well advised to stay off the bottle the next time they go on TV to talk about sex. Did Betty Friedan throw herself under the King's horse just for this?

[Photo credit: Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images]