Amy Schumer is everywhere, and it seems like the funny lady can do no wrong.
Right?
Well, not quite.
Despite her critical and commercial successes, there's a sketchy side to her famous sketch
comedy...
No Apologies
When Schumer landed her breakout set at Comedy Central's roast of Charlie Sheen in 2012,
she unleashed a brutal joke on Jackass star Steve-O about the death of his friend and
co-star, Ryan Dunn, in a drunk driving accident:
"But I truly am, no joke, sorry for the loss of your friend Ryan Dunn.
I know you must've been thinking it could've been me and I know we were all thinking why
wasn't it?"
When called out on what many regarded as an insensitive remark, Schumer shrugged it off
and refused to back down.
Steve-O's fans erupted.
He discussed everything on The Big J Show at KRSQ Hot 101.9.
He said Schumer's camp called to express remorse and ask for help soothing the hate mail.
Steve-O obliged:
"And I was like 'Hey everybody!
It was a roast ya know?
Where people say mean to each other, mean things, ya know, to each other on purpose
like, ya know, that's silly little whore was just doing her job."
Schumer insisted she had no regrets, telling Laughspin:
"I did ask that his fans stop with the threats of ending my life.
But I did not apologize for telling that joke.
I don't see the hypocrisy.
I'd like to continue being a comic and alive…But I absolutely, from the bottom of my heart,
continue to not give a s--- about this.
I wish him the best luck in his comedy career."
Sorry Not Sorry
So Schumer won't apologize for crossing the line—unless it might hurt her career.
Fast forward to the summer of 2015.
Some racially charged material from Schumer was called into question by The Guardian while
she was promoting her then-upcoming film, Trainwreck.
Schumer offered up a halfhearted apology on Twitter, writing:
"I used to do a lot of short dumb jokes like this.
I played a dumb white girl onstage.
I still do sometimes.
Once I realized I had more eyes and ears on me and had an influence I stopped telling
jokes like that onstage…I am evolving as an artist.
I am taking responsibility and hope I haven't hurt anyone.
I apologize [if] I did."
The "sorry you were offended" tone wasn't lost on anyone who knew Schumer's history.
To comedy fans, it read as selling out.
To her critics, it read as selling out, too—but in a different way.
Mixed Messages
When Glamour magazine included Amy Schumer in their 2016 "Chic at Any Size" issue alongside
plus-size stars Melissa McCarthy, Adele, and Ashley Graham, she expressed her dissatisfaction
on Instagram:
"I think there's nothing wrong with being plus size.
Beautiful healthy women.
Plus size is considered size 16 in America.
I go between a size 6 and an 8.
Glamour Mag put me in their plus size only issue without asking or letting me know and
it doesn't feel right to me.
Young girls seeing my body type thinking that is plus size?"
But a year earlier, Schumer proudly announced at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards:
"I'm prolly like 160 pounds right now and I can catch a d--- whenever I want, like that's
the truth."
Ashley Graham called out her hypocrisy in a Cosmopolitan interview:
"I can see both sides, but Amy talks about being a big girl in the industry.
You thrive on being a big girl, but when you're grouped in with us, you're not happy about
it?
That, to me, felt like a double standard."
She Ripped Off An Audience
In early November 2015, Schumer came under fire for ripping off an audience who paid
good money to see her do stand-up in Maine.
According to the New York Daily News, Schumer said she performed 47 minutes instead of an
hour because of a scheduling mishap, claiming that the stage manager told her she was only
supposed to be on-stage for 45 minutes.
But some attendees claimed she performed for less than 35 minutes and seemed to phone in
the performance.
When asked why she didn't go longer by Portland's NBC News station, Schumer blamed it on her
inexperience with performing in arenas:
"I didn't know I could do that.
It was a rookie mistake."
Rookie mistake or not, that crowd's still waiting for their refunds.
She Harasses Male Celebrities
Schumer has gushed about following around actor Bradley Cooper and screaming his name
on red carpets:
"Whenever I see him, I've seen him at a couple things, I always harass him, I'm just like
'Bradley' like to make my sister laugh, I shout his name."
But if the gender roles were reversed?
That wouldn't be considered cute—it would be creepy.
In GQ's Men of the Year 2015 issue, she detailed her intimate fantasies about Cooper, NFL quarterback
Tom Brady, President Barack Obama, and many more.
Again, if a guy did the same about, say, Glamour's Women of the Year, that would be viewed as
sexist and horrifying.
Because it is.
Let's not forget Jim Carrey's love confession to Emma Stone:
"And if I were a lot younger I would marry you, and we would have chubby little freckle
faced kids."
Even if it was a joke, that's probably the creepiest thing you've seen all day.
And that's not too different from what Amy's been doing to Cooper.
Joke Thief?
In January 2016, several comedians accused Schumer of lifting their material.
Kathleen Madigan said one of her jokes was worked into a sketch on Inside Amy Schumer.
"But Oprah you're a billionaire.
You have enough money to pay a man to stand there and literally slap s--- out of your
hand before you put it in your mouth."
"What's that?"
"It's a new weight loss program that takes the decision making out of the equation."
"How does it work?"
"First, one of Slap Chef's world class chefs makes you one of their signature dishes.
Then, before you can say Slap Chef they knock it out of your stupid mouth."
"Slap Chef!"
Schumer's own stand-up allegedly contained a word-for-word joke first told by Wendy Liebman.
"And maybe, maybe I'm old fashioned but I like it when the guy pays for sex, I mean
that."
"I think the guy should always pay on the first date for sex."
Those are just two of the comics who spoke up.
Fan-made videos showed more side-by-side comparisons of Schumer's material matching other comics,
including Patrice O'Neal, John Mulaney, and Marc Maron, as well as similar sketches from
Inside Amy Schumer appearing previously on Mad TV.
Madigan and Liebman later backtracked on their accusations.
Schumer, meanwhile, chalked the criticism up to jealousy.
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