Conan in trouble
- Thread starter Lager
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OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's government on Friday condemned a show by U.S. late-night television host Conan O'Brien that insulted people in French-speaking Quebec and seemed to suggest everyone in the province was homosexual.
Ottawa and the province of Ontario paid $760,000 to help O'Brien -- who appears on the NBC television network -- bring his show to Toronto for a week to boost the city's profile after a deadly SARS (news - web sites) outbreak last year.
But the federal government said O'Brien had gone far too far with the show broadcast on Thursday in which he went to Quebec, a province which has had separatist governments for much of the last 20 years and is a delicate political topic in Canada.
"We want to disassociate ourselves from the comments which were broadcast last night because we do not support them in any way," junior government minister Mauril Belanger told Parliament.
At one point in the show, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog -- a hand puppet that is a regular on the show -- said to a Quebecer: "You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English." It told another: "I can smell your crotch from here."
O'Brien's team were also shown replacing street signs in the province with those that read "Quebecqueer Street" and "Rue des Pussies."
Alexa McDonough, a legislator for the left-leaning New Democrats, described the program as "racist filth" and "utterly vile" and demanded the government seek the return of the C$1 million subsidy.
"There may be those who would say, 'Isn't this interfering with freedom of expression?' It's not interfering to say we will not publicly fund this kind of vile, vicious hatemongering," McDonough told reporters.
Belanger did not commit to asking for the money back. No one at NBC was immediately available for comment.
The complaints over the puppet's comments come on the heels of a similar uproar following criticism of European French-Canadian hockey players on CBC television by the country's best-known sports commentator, Don Cherry.
The "Late Night" show, which taped in Toronto all this week and featured guests such as Jim Carrey (news) and Mike Myers (news), was broadcast in Canada by CHUM television, which said it regretted any offense that may have been caused.
"We offer our apology and assurance that it is never our intention to air programing that offends any of our viewers," the station said in a statement.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog has landed in trouble before, most famously when it had an altercation with rap singer Eminem (news - web sites) at a music awards show in 2002.
Ottawa and the province of Ontario paid $760,000 to help O'Brien -- who appears on the NBC television network -- bring his show to Toronto for a week to boost the city's profile after a deadly SARS (news - web sites) outbreak last year.
But the federal government said O'Brien had gone far too far with the show broadcast on Thursday in which he went to Quebec, a province which has had separatist governments for much of the last 20 years and is a delicate political topic in Canada.
"We want to disassociate ourselves from the comments which were broadcast last night because we do not support them in any way," junior government minister Mauril Belanger told Parliament.
At one point in the show, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog -- a hand puppet that is a regular on the show -- said to a Quebecer: "You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English." It told another: "I can smell your crotch from here."
O'Brien's team were also shown replacing street signs in the province with those that read "Quebecqueer Street" and "Rue des Pussies."
Alexa McDonough, a legislator for the left-leaning New Democrats, described the program as "racist filth" and "utterly vile" and demanded the government seek the return of the C$1 million subsidy.
"There may be those who would say, 'Isn't this interfering with freedom of expression?' It's not interfering to say we will not publicly fund this kind of vile, vicious hatemongering," McDonough told reporters.
Belanger did not commit to asking for the money back. No one at NBC was immediately available for comment.
The complaints over the puppet's comments come on the heels of a similar uproar following criticism of European French-Canadian hockey players on CBC television by the country's best-known sports commentator, Don Cherry.
The "Late Night" show, which taped in Toronto all this week and featured guests such as Jim Carrey (news) and Mike Myers (news), was broadcast in Canada by CHUM television, which said it regretted any offense that may have been caused.
"We offer our apology and assurance that it is never our intention to air programing that offends any of our viewers," the station said in a statement.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog has landed in trouble before, most famously when it had an altercation with rap singer Eminem (news - web sites) at a music awards show in 2002.
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
Damn French.
Originally posted by: conjur
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
there was some pretty bad stuff said..
it was definitely unacceptable..
That's hilarious. Conan kicks ass. Too bad I missed it. Seriously, what did they expect? Have they ever watched the show?
Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: conjur
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
there was some pretty bad stuff said..
it was definitely unacceptable..
So change the channel. Someone is always offended by anything.
Originally posted by: DBL
Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: conjur
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
there was some pretty bad stuff said..
it was definitely unacceptable..
So change the channel. Someone is always offended by anything.
dumbass.
Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: conjur
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
there was some pretty bad stuff said..
it was definitely unacceptable..
"You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English." It told another: "I can smell your crotch from here."
That's pretty damn tame.
Besides, it's not like people from Quebec don't snub their noses at non-French-speaking people...even Canadians.
Originally posted by: conjur
Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: conjur
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
there was some pretty bad stuff said..
it was definitely unacceptable..
"You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English." It told another: "I can smell your crotch from here."
That's pretty damn tame.
that is, but what about "celine dion sucks street"
"quebecqueer street"
that's blatantly making fun of Quebec and its people, and it's not right.
Actually it was perfectly acceptable.Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: conjur
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
there was some pretty bad stuff said..
it was definitely unacceptable..
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Actually it was perfectly acceptable.Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: conjur
So...it's ok for Canadians to make fun of Quebec but a comic CHARACTER on a talk-show can't???
Damn French.
there was some pretty bad stuff said..
it was definitely unacceptable..
sorry, it was wrong.. i KNEW as soon as i saw it there would be controversy... and sure enough, first thing this morning.
Gotta love someone who complains about being offended and then immediate offends someone else. Hypocrisy at its finest.
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Oh come on, that's funny
no, i'm not...and i thought it was funny as hell... but the fact is, it's not acceptable for him to come to canada and do it.... seriously.
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Oh, I see what you're saying. It IS funny, and yeah it probably was too far to come to Canada and do that. While he makes friends with some canadians, he at the same time offends the froggy ones!Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Oh come on, that's funny
no, i'm not...and i thought it was funny as hell... but the fact is, it's not acceptable for him to come to canada and do it.... seriously.
Of course nationality != race, so I don't know what those silly officials were going on about.
Originally posted by: CraigRT
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Oh come on, that's funny
no, i'm not...and i thought it was funny as hell... but the fact is, it's not acceptable for him to come to canada and do it.... seriously.
Too many people with their panties in a wad. Hell...people come to the States all the time from other countries, even Canada, and make fun of us and we laugh WITH them!
lol, watched the show last night and it was damn funnay. Oh comon Canada I thought you had a better sense of humor than that. I mean they gave us Mike Meyer, Jim Carey, micheal bolton......uhhh well we can forgive you for that one
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