Sarah Silveman's Response To Sh*tty Ageism Jokes May Be The Best Thing She's Ever Done

By Joanna Robinson | Videos | September 16, 2013 |

By Joanna Robinson | Videos | September 16, 2013 |

Everything is fair game at a Celebrity Roast, right? That’s the whole point. And it’s not just the subjects of the roast who are under attack, it’s the hosts as well. That’s. The. Whole. Point. So at the recent James Franco Roast, Jonah Hill’s weight was fair game. Aziz Ansari’s race was…uh…fair game. And, apparently, Sarah Silverman being a super old hag of a lady who should probably just give up and get a bunch of cats is fair game.

She’s 42 people. Anyway, here are some choice words Jonah Hill flung at Silverman:

Sarah is a role model for every little girl out there. I mean, every little girl dreams of being a 58-year-old single stand-up comedian with no romantic prospects on the horizon. They all dream of it, but Sarah did it…People say it’s too late for Sarah to become successful in movies at her age. I again do not agree. It’s not impossible. I mean it’s not like they’re asking you to bear children or anything like that.

So yeah, that’s a sh*tty, stupid thing to say. But as I mentioned, that’s the point of a roast. Everything is fair game. So what makes Sarah Silverman’s response so noteworthy? Let me preface this by saying I’ve had issues with Silverman’s comedy in the past. I’m not a huge fan of her racial humor. And I haven’t kept up with her stand-up routines so I can’t speak to the her statement that she no longer does that kind of humor. And she certainly seems to think gay jokes are fair game. But I can tell you I’m in love with her reaction here. Why? Because she doesn’t whine about how the ageist jokes were out of line. She admits to being hurt, but she said she would defend anyone’s right to hurt her. She’s both honestly vulnerable and tough in this segment. And I adore it.

Money quote on ageism, gender, Hollywood and The “Real” Housewives: “Your heartbreaking attempts to look younger is the reason your daughter doesn’t dream about her future.” Age is fair game, I guess, as is race, weight, sexuality, etc. But none of the males would be called out for their age, would they? But I guess, to paraphrase Sarah Silverman, (42, not 58) is crazy for even talking after no one wants to f*ck her anymore.