Conan O’Brien is calling out comedians who have centered their jokes on being anti-Donald Trump and focus too much on anger rather than comedy.
The late night veteran spoke at a recent Oxford Union event, where he said comedians “always need to be funny,” as that’s their job and should be their first instinct.
“I think some comics go the route of, ‘I’m going to just say, “F Trump” all the time,’ or that’s their comedy,” O’Brien explained. “Well, now a little bit you’re being co-opted because you’re so angry. You’ve been lulled into just saying ‘F Trump. F Trump. F Trump. Screw this guy.’ And I think you’ve now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and you’ve exchanged it for anger.”
The Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast host suggested that comedians need to find a funny way to channel their anger, especially when it comes to topics surrounding serious life events and politics.
“Any person like that would say, ‘Well, things are too serious now. I don’t need to be funny.’ And I think, well, if you’re a comedian, you always need to be funny,” O’Brien said. “You just have to find a way to channel that anger, because good art will always be a perfect weapon against power, but if you’re just screaming and you’re just angry, you’ve lost your best tool in the toolbox.”
However, he also understands the challenges of comedy in this day and age, as comics don’t have a “straight line” to bounce off anymore with the current state of politics, such as trying to parody someone like Trump, whose real-life comments and decisions are unpredictable, controversial and already feel like a fever dream sometimes.
“We don’t have a straight line right now,” O’Brien shared. “We have a very bendy, rubbery line. We have a slinky. We have a fire hose that’s whipping around spewing water at 100 mph. So comedically, it’s been very challenging.”