Several months ago, comedian Patton Oswalt, theretofore a favorite among the bien pensant Internet types, angered the online left with a plea for satire over self-victimization. After being accused of all manner of horribles, from “victim-blaming” to “victim-shaming,” he attempted to win back his former fans with some good, old-fashioned pandering. Oswalt went after Ted Cruz and even trotted out a hoary old chestnut about Dinesh D’Souza. (It was a bit surprising that, from what I can tell, he didn’t make fun of Dan Quayle’s spelling of potato.)
But now Oswalt has realized it: there’s just no pleasing the angry mobs of Twitter. And so, like an unhappy wife who realizes she’ll never be able to make her husband happy no matter what she does, Oswalt is striking out on his own–and loving it. In a long series of tweets this week, Oswalt mocked the hair-trigger left and defended the current subject of their ire: Trevor Noah, the South African comedian who has come under fire for “insensitive” tweets.
It seems, therefore, that Patton Oswalt has officially moved on from his former circle. At this rate, he’ll be headlining CPAC next year.
