Despite its longstanding commitment to fundamentally tired and unclever attempts at humor and political satire, The Borowitz Report, a column in The New Yorker written by Andy Borowitz, contained at least one confirmed funny joke in last Thursday’s post.
The joke in question took place in the form of a pun, which was later discovered to be a typo. In Bitter Scalia Leaves U.S., Borowitz depicts Justice Scalia quitting the Supreme Court amidst the DOMA controversy. The original text of the article is printed below:
“Throwing off his robe in a dramatic gesture, Justice Scalia reserved his harshest parting shot for his fellow-Justices, screaming, ‘Damn you! Damn each and every one of you to hell! You call yourself judges? That’s a good one. You’re nothing but animals!’
Breathing heavily after his tirade, he turned to Justice Clarence Thomas and said, ‘Except you, Clarence. Are you cuming with me?’ ”
The pun, “cuming” instead of “coming” was indeed a typo – The New Yorker corrected the spelling a few short hours later – but given that “cum” is a slang term for sexual orgasm, the error incidentally proved to be a funny jab at the conservative judge, implying a homoerotic romantic relationship between both Justices.
After the typo was discovered, Mr. Borowitz immediately released a public apology, but unfortunately, the damage had already been done for many readers.
David Remus, an avid New Yorker reader, expressed his concern at Mr. Borowitz’s newfound humor to The Gabbler directly.
“I tend to get aroused quite easily, and I rely on distinctly unfunny content and images to keep, er, myself in check. The Dow Jones, my grandmother’s ankles, The Borowitz Report. These are the things I need to read to take my mind to a dull, gray place. Imagine my surprise when I log in and there is a sexual, HUMOROUS joke? Christ! I know it was a typo, but how can I trust Borowitz again?”
Mr. David Remnick, Editor-in-Chief of the New Yorker since 1998, also expressed regret and agreed to correct the typo. “It seemed out of character, yes, but heck, I thought it was… funny!”
Follow us on Twitter
Join our RSS feed
Borowitz “tired and unclever?!!” No way….Borowitz do a public apology….also, no way….