Comedian Marlon Wayans is defending comedy, free speech, and laughter.
Jalen Rose wrote for the New York Post detailing his “Renaissance Man” interview and the “comedic genius” of Wayans.
Wayans told him, “I’m raised to tell jokes and I will never fear telling my jokes.”
“Most of the people on social media with these [negative] opinions aren’t even real people …They’re trying to strip us of the very thing that makes our country special: the freedom of speech,” he added.
Rose addressed the angry responses Wayans received after joking about a recent brawl on an Alabama dock.
He posted a video of the incident to his Instagram account on Monday, stating, “How ‘bout we NOT “try that in a small town”…. Sh*t silly bro… let’s all just be love NOT war.”
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This led to a series of angry comments aimed at the comedian.
On Wednesday, Wayans defended himself in another post. He noted that those offended by his comments were “misinterpreting my entire post.”
“Nobody knows irony anymore, huh?” he asked.
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Then he said, “I guess that just went out the window. It’s the irony of the song.”
Wayans also noted in his interview with Rose, “I think social media messed up socializing and we’ve got to get back to laughing and finding reasons to laugh and stop being so d**m sensitive.”
“All we’re doing is filling our airwaves, feeling out our kids with fear and hate – there’s no laughter and love. The only thing that’s going to bring us together is humor,” he went on.
He then stated, “It’s OK to laugh at things. I laugh my way through life and those that want to live in drama, y’all can find the drama and the tears while I find these jokes.”
Wayans also pointed out how comedians think. He said, “Our goal is always to make our jokes bring people together …The people we make fun of laugh the loudest.”
“We all live here in this country – mostly in harmony – laughing and making fun of each other,” he concluded.