8 Times Female Comedians Straight-Up Shut The Haters Down
Women in Hollywood have to deal with a lot of sh*t.
If you're successful AND have a uterus, that's just TOO much for our world to handle.
On top of that, if you also have a sense of humor, you're probably a robot because that combination is just impossible. Women can't be funny, remember? At least that's what our society tells us.
Personally, the people I look up to most are successful comedians who happen to be women. THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL AND FUNNY AND FEMALE. It's an actual equation that exists and works!
Women comedians are intelligent, hilarious and often use their fame to tackle larger issues they feel passionate about.
What's most admirable, in my eyes, is the way these women shut down anyone who tries to bring them down. They tell their haters to "suck it" (literally) and defend themselves against misogynistic Internet trolls who try to stand in their way.
In honor of International Women's Day, here are eight times women comedians shut down their haters in greatest possible ways.
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa opened up on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" about someone who attacked her for her looks.
She not only shut the hater down but refocused the conversation to talk about being positive role models for young women.
If you mess with Melissa McCarthy, you mess with me.
Amy Schumer
When online troll Jeff Wells wrote about how unattractive he finds Amy Schumer, she responded to his fat-shaming, misogynistic comments with one perfect tweet.
Take that, garbage man.
Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer from "Broad City"
During a "20 Questions with Playboy" interview, Jacobson and Glazer shut down sexism in the best way possible.
When Playboy asked about why the women, and several other "female comedians," are sneaky when it comes to feminism in their show, Jacobson responded,
We're both totally up-front and proud feminists. We're not being all secretive about it. I feel we're pretty blatant in our approach.
And Glazer gave the icing on the cake by adding,
I think it's kind of crazy that we're still calling comedians “female comedians.” That seems more like a sneak attack.
Mic = dropped.
Ellen DeGeneres
When a conservative pastor named Larry Tomczak published a column ridiculing Ellen for being married to another woman AND accused her of using celebrities like Taylor Swift to "attract young girls," Ellen addressed the remarks on her show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvQWMMz9DjE
In the clip above she says,
Larry, the only way I'm trying to influence people is to be more kind and compassionate with one another. That is the message I'm sending out. I don't have an agenda.
Bye, Larry. BYE.
Tina Fey
When Tina Fey won Best Actress TV Series Musical or Comedy for the Golden Globes in 2009, she closed her acceptance speech by telling her haters to "suck it."
Take that, Dianefan.
Leslie Jones
Jones was recently criticized for her role in "Ghostbusters" when the trailer was released.
Fans were upset that Jones' character played an MTA employee while the other three white protagonists, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon, all played intelligent scientists.
Jones fought back in a series of tweets defending her character's MTA worker position, saying it's an equally admirable job and she plays a hardworking woman.
She also shared a message with others who are dealing with online haters, too.
BACK OFF, BULLIES.
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham is a pro when it comes to silencing the haters.
She's dealt with more than a handful of Internet trolls who always have something to say about her body.
In particular, Dunham received a lot of hate for this Instagram post of herself in Calvin underwear.
The cyberbullying and hate thrown her way made Dunham want to quit Twitter because it just became too much, but Dunham is no coward when it comes to standing up for herself and women in general.
Not only is she a proud feminist and activist of women's rights, she doesn't let anyone get in the way of her showing off her body.
Like when she was criticized for having shorts that were just too short, Dunham responded,
I don't think a girl with tiny thighs would have received such no-pants attention. I think what it really was, 'Why did you all make us look at your thighs?' My response is, get used to it because I am going to live to be 100, and I am going to show my thighs every day till I die.
Preach, Lena. Preach.
Amy Poehler
In her book, "Yes Please," Poehler eloquently spoke about how to handle the people who try to bring you down. She wrote,
When the demon starts to slither my way and say bad sh*t about me I turn around and say, 'Hey. Cool it. Amy is my friend. Don't talk about her like that.' Sticking up for ourselves in the same way we would one of our friends is a hard but satisfying thing to do. Sometimes it works.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Thanks for the laughs, ladies, and most importantly thanks for empowering and supporting women everywhere. GOD BLESS.
Citations: Amy Schumer Responds To Haters (Pajiba), Interview with "Broad City" (Playboy), Ellen DeGeneres Shut Down Hater (Mic), Leslie Jones "Ghostbusters" Criticism (Slashfilm), Lena Dunham Quits Twitter (Variety)
