You were expecting maybe Kamala Harris? All in good time, children. This week's cartoon had a deadline before Joe Biden announced his running mate pick, so I've drawn about some entertainment news instead.
Celebrities are tweeting out about allegations that there is a toxic work environment behind the scenes at Ellen DeGeneres's daytime talk show.
Actors Brad Garrett and Lea Thompson are among the few big-name celebrities vouching for the accusations. By and large, other recognizable names are tweeting up in defense of DeGeneres: actors Jerry O'Connell and Diane Keaton, singer Katy Perry and comedians Kevin Hart and Jay Leno, for example.
For her part, DeGeneres has expressed disappointment that some entity involved in her show has failed to live up to the "Be Kind" ethos she proclaims.
And if she ever finds out who is responsible, heads will roll!
Look, I realize that people generally don't rise to the top in the entertainment industry without stepping on some fingers and toes on the way up. I've seen "All About Eve" too many times to think that every star's public persona is mirrored in their personal behavior.
Is this a case where judging someone at their worst is justified?
I'm reminded of the time that my better half and I went to see a live performance by a comedian host of a popular talk show. We were seated up in the balcony area; up in the front row, there was someone with a very loud laugh. Sort of.
I mean, it seemed to be a laugh, but didn't quite sound like a normal laugh. I've known people who laugh loud and uncontrollably, like a deranged donkey, and this was kind of like that. But it also sounded like it was a wail of grief of pain. It was very weird.
The laugh didn't always start up promptly with the punch line of the comedian's jokes, and at times blared out of proportion to some set-up line. And it was throwing the comedian off his rhythm. So he started making cracks about it. Engaging the fellow as if he were a heckler. Making jokes at the fellow's expense. And people laughed along.
Then the comedian broke from his routine entirely to confront the fellow head-on.
At which point the woman the fellow was with — his mother — explained that her son, a lifelong fan of the comedian, had suffered permanent traumatic brain injury in a vehicular accident some years before.
Well, that sucked all the air out of the room. The comedian suddenly looked like the world's most insensitive asshole. He put his routine aside and desperately worked to win back the fan, his mother, and the rest of the audience.
The comedian eventually found his way back to his act, but the show was never quite the same after that.
Ask most people for their impressions of that comedian, and, after they've tried mimicking his distinctive voice for you, they'll probably tell you they think he's a nice person. And he probably is. But talk to enough of his peers, and you'll probably come across somebody who thinks he isn't funny, or didn't deserve his talk show, or was rude that one time, or cut them off in traffic, or whatever.
We got to see him at an inopportune moment. Everybody has them.
What's important is how many inopportune moments someone has, and how often. Is it a moment, or a habit?
The truth will generally out.
