Comedian and activist Chelsea Handler faced a wave of social media backlash over the weekend for her advocacy of European-inspired laws that restrict freedom of expression.
The star of Netflix’s “Chelsea” told over 7.5 million Twitter followers Sunday that America should adopt laws that penalize individuals who laugh at racist jokes — a comment that didn’t sit well with her audience, which noted the irony of an American comedian pushing for added restrictions on the First Amendment.
“2 Chinese guys were arrested in Berlin for making Nazi salutes. Wouldn’t it be nice 2 have laws here for people who think racism is funny?” Ms. Handler tweeted.
“Comedians Against The First Amendment,” deadpanned The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay. “Folks like @chelseahandler ride the legal coattails of freedoms won by folks like Lenny Bruce, then demand their contemporaries be arrested.”
“See, the thing is, you’re as much of a fascist as the guys throwing up the Nazi salute,” replied conservative author and pundit Ben Shapiro.
“Dumbest tweet on Twitter today. Congratulations,” added YouTube star and political commentator Mark Dice.
Others noted that Ms. Handler’s past comments would possibly run afoul of such laws, including a September tweet joking that actor Brad Pitt wanted “the China” in divorce proceedings with Angelia Jolie and that she wanted “[adopted Asian children] Pax and Maddox.”
“#sorrycouldnthelpmyself,” she wrote at the time.
2 Chinese guys were arrested in Berlin for making nazi salutes. Wouldn’t it be nice 2 have laws here for people who think racism is funny?
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) August 7, 2017
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.