Ask A Genius 1297: Comedy, Self-Disclosure, and the Evolution of Porn Culture
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/03
Rick Rosner: So, to some extent, my career—my continued employment at Kimmel—has been shaped by my attempts to write about myself for decades. Eventually, I semi-gave up and started writing about another character with many of my traits. Writing directly about myself would inevitably involve throwing others under the bus. While I am forthcoming about my experiences, doing so was particularly risky—especially at Kimmel.
And last night, I was telling a story about how I pretty much lost my job because Fox News accused me of being addicted to porn—which is not true. But what does set me apart is that I’m not a stand-up comedian, though I listen to a lot of stand-up comedians. I do have a shtick, and my shtick includes talking about myself.
Some people, including certain stand-up comedians, talk about watching porn, whereas most people don’t—even though most people consume porn.
I’ve talked about shitting myself a couple of times. Not fully dumping in my pants, but sharting and having to go clean up. Stand-ups talk about that too. They’ll talk about anything from their lives if they think they can get jokes out of it, if they think they can make people laugh. To some extent, that’s my deal too.
I’ll talk about every aspect of my life that’s interesting. Porn has become ubiquitous in my lifetime. It went from being something difficult to find when I was a kid to something accessible on everyone’s phone and computer—if they want it there. So yes, the world has become more pornified. And yes, I’ll talk about it. That doesn’t mean I’m a porn-addicted pervert.
I’m just a person living in the world.
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