Need an icebreaker? Try a Catholic joke – works every time (at least for those late night comedians).
Adding to the barrage of late night Catholic “humor,” Comedian Seth Meyers joked that Catholics are “creepy perverts” after a reference to “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The jest aired during his “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on August 6. Video Below.
“Listen to this,” Meyers began. “A Spanish hotel inspired by ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ is having its opening delayed because officials are concerned that it's too close to a nearby Catholic Church.” He continued, "’We don't want to be next to all those creepy perverts,’ said the hotel.”
Meyers referred to [1] a “Fifty Shades of Grey”—inspired hotel with BDSM rooming set to open in Vilafranca, Spain. Town officials complained about the hotel’s proximity to a local chapel.
In reaction, The Catholic League’s President Bill Donahue called out [2] “Seth Meyers and his sick writers” as well as NBC in a recent statement [2]:
Meyers, of course, is under no obligation to use this material. If we substituted “gay bathhouse” for Catholic Church, he would reject the joke. For obvious reasons, no such joke would ever be submitted to him. So once again, bigotry and cowardice are at work at NBC.
As far as comedy goes, Catholics frequently server as humor fodder, from Conan O'Brien smearing Pope Francis [3] with a pedophile joke to David Letterman’s sketch on [4] priests having sex.
Editor’s Note: MRC President Brent Bozell serves on The Catholic League’s board of advisors.
— Katie Yoder is Staff Writer, Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow in Culture and Media at the Media Research Center. Follow Katie Yoder on Twitter. [5]