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“Comedy should have some joy in it.”
One of the many topics covered in the excellent documentary Coaching Britney Spears – which just hit Hulu last week – is the unnecessary cruelty and misogyny that Spears received during his professional struggles in the 2000s.
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FX / The New York Times / Hulu / YouTube / Via youtube.com
The media were brutal – and late-night hosts were no exception. Except, that is, for Craig Ferguson, whose monologue defending Spears in a 2007 episode The late show went around on the internet after-Framing.
@BritneyHiatus / Twitter / Via Twitter: @BritneyHiatus
The Scottish-born Ferguson hosted CBS ‘ The late show from 2005 to 2014 before being replaced by current host James Corden.
The entire nearly 13-minute monologue is below – and it’s worth a look, as Ferguson begins by expressing regret for his previous celebrity-based jokes before defending Spears against media scrutiny.
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“This has happened recently in the media and the press,” Ferguson said, comparing media scrutiny to observation. America’s Funniest House Videos: “You would laugh at the kid’s fall, then you’d be like, ‘Wait a minute, put the damn camera down and help your kid! What’s wrong with you?'”
David Crotty / Patrick McMullan via Getty Image
“People are collapsing! People are dying! This woman from Anna Nicole Smith is dead!” He said. The studio audience laughed at the mention of Smith’s name, to which Ferguson immediately responded, “It’s no joke!”
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Smith, actor and model, died at the age of 39 in 2007 after an overdose of prescription drugs.
“I’m starting to feel a little uncomfortable making fun of these people,” he continued. “For me, comedy should have a certain joy in it. It should be about always attacking the powerful – attacking the politicians, the Trumps and the blowhards. Go after them!
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“We shouldn’t attack the vulnerable!” Ferguson exclaimed before offering a “mea culpa” for his recent jokes. “I think my focus has been a bit off lately … so tonight no Britney Spears jokes.”
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images
“This woman has two children,” he said later in the monologue. “She’s 25. She’s a baby herself. She’s baby. “
J. Merritt / Getty Images
Ferguson was obviously right – the review and criticism Spears faced at this age was far from acceptable in any way. It was good of her to be on the right side of history when so many weren’t.
Jean Baptiste Lacroix / WireImage
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