Did you hear the one about the comedian who was canceled?
Comedians are no strangers to controversy or crossing the line. But some things do change. Humorists the world over are no longer simply denounced in grouchy op-eds. Now comedians are being hounded by criminal investigations and civil suits, or forced off the airwaves. They are menaced by vigilantes and religious fundamentalists. Some have been forced into exile, imprisoned, or even murdered. In the age of social media and global digital distribution, the audience is everyone, ensuring that criticism can be as vicious as it is unavoidable.
With a flair for storytelling, Jacques Berlinerblau explores the high stakes of the low blow in this darkly witty examination of American comedians such as Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Shane Gillis, and Sarah Silverman as well as humorists in France, Denmark, Zimbabwe, and Egypt.
Jacques Berlinerblau, Rabbi Harold White Professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University, is author of The Philip Roth We Don’t Know: Sex, Race, and Autobiography and How to Be Secular. His writing appears in The Washington Post, MSNBC, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere.
"Jacques Berlinerblau’s examination of comedy’s place in today’s combative landscape is thorough and insightful, and also made me reconsider becoming a dentist."—Robert Smigel, creator of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, former writer for Saturday Night Live, and head writer for Late Night with Conan O’Brien
"In this timely work, Berlinerblau catalogs the key comedic controversies of our time with keen insight and unparalleled attention to detail. This book is both a compelling read in the here and now and a time capsule for future generations seeking to understand comedy in an age of rapid cultural change and extreme political polarization."—Matt Sienkiewicz, coauthor of That's Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them
256 pp.5.5 x 8.5Illus: 1 table
9780520403031$24.95|£21.00Paper
Mar 2026