The natural consequence of being a dickwad

This clip has been getting around the Asian- and comedy-related corners of teh interwebz. (Hat tip: BigWowo.) Alleged comic Brett Eidman catches one upside the head after making one too many dumb racist cracks at Asian audience members, George and Rachel. Something about it looks fake, but I think it's probably real.



Now, I'm an anti-violence advocate (seriously, that's part of my actual job), but sometimes I have to admit that getting punched in the face might be the only way certain people learn to stop being such a douchebag.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with racial humour, but you need to be legitimately funny to pull it off. Dave Chappelle and Russell Peters can do it. Brett Eidman clearly has no idea. I mean come on, "Me so horny?" "Me love you long time?" You just know the next thing out of his mouth would have been "Suckee suckee" if George hadn't put his fist in it.

Likewise, it's one thing for a comedian to give members of the audience a little ribbing; anyone sitting in the front row of a comedy gig needs to be prepared for that. It's also common for comics to ridicule hecklers. But sexually inappropriate and dumb racist put-downs to a couple who were just minding their own business... it's a dick move.

A lot of the discussion about this around the web is about whether or not it's staged. Certain aspects of it do smell a little fake. But if it's an attempt by Eidman to get some viral publicity, as has been suggested, it seems odd. There's no way this could be good publicity, surely? Unless it's targeting that lucrative demographic of people with victimised-white-guy syndrome and no sense of humour.

Thanks to the wonder of social media, we can note that Eidman has been doing that same character as part of his shitty act for a while now. You can see it in this video at the 5:45 mark, if you really must. On his Facebook page, Eidman posts the clip of him being hit, and comments:

"I took one for the team and it goes viral. Thank you, I think." 

 and:

"Sometimes comedy really sucks. Rest in Peace Dom Fok. Thank you for being part of my set for so many years. I love doing this character, but it’s time to say goodbye. I was told many years ago by a couple of big time comedian friends that this was the kind of bit that could get me noticed. They were wrong. I also thought the stage was the only safe place to truly express myself. I was wrong. I will heal and regroup and hit the stage again soon. I’m just glad this ass wipe didn’t have a gun. Thank you and goodnight."

The fan comments there are quite interesting to read; they actually make it sound like the Dom Fok character was some kind of noble artistic expression.

Those "big time comedian friends" of his should have had a word in his ear that not only is that bit fairly offensive, it's just not funny to anyone who is not a moron. They were right about one thing though; it did get him noticed.

Hopefully Eidman learns something from this experience.

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See also:

Racial humour: is it ever okay?

"Tim Tam from Vietnam"... or how NOT to make jokes about Asians