After just three months and 10 episodes, Netflix canceled comedian Michelle Wolf’s late-night series, “The Break.” Wolf is a leftist, feminist comedian who became notorious after she skewered the Trump administration and conservative ideas at the White House Correspondents Association dinner in a way that was more crude than funny, more unhinged than insightful. Still, lefties and feminists alike have been jumping to the comedian’s defense, whining on her behalf that the cancellation is due to anything but her lack of humor.
This Hollywood writer claimed Wolf was canceled because of sexism.
Michelle Wolf’s cancellation goes to show if you’re a talk show host with great jokes and perfect sketches, it’s best if you’re not a woman.
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) August 19, 2018
It might be true that there are typically more male than female comedians — comedy has historically been a male-dominated field. But that has started to change over the years with the likes of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, and other women growing in popularity. Netflix boasts plenty of shows with female leads, though obviously outside the genre of late-night comedy. It’s ironic how much Hollywood elites want women to be recognized for their merits, because after all, those are the original tenets of feminism. Yet as soon as a woman’s talent or abilities comes up short, critics cry “sexism!”
The fact that critics of Netflix’s decision to cancel immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was due to sexism rather than the fact she may have been so crude and unfunny that nobody wanted to watch her show demonstrates just how little Hollywood understands what still drives a free market. Hint: It’s not sexism or political correctness, no matter how much they want it to be.
Wolf doesn’t even attempt to portray mainstream comedy whatsoever. At the White House Correspondents Association dinner, which the Washington Post’s Callum Borchers called caustic, Wolf said she was there just to make jokes, not push an agenda — but the reverse was true. She didn’t really tell any good jokes, and she certainly attempted to push an agenda. Wolf said casually about abortion, “don’t knock it until you try it.”
She’s not funny, she’s just vile. Who wants to watch a comedian, male or female, who is just angry under the guise of humor?
If Hollywood, and particularly the women in it, would focus on skill, talent, and hard work as much as they have focused on complaining about the amount of sexism in Hollywood, there might be female comedians worth watching.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
