Judd Apatow: "I do think that comedians should be criticized"

The Daily Beast

Apatow tells The Last Laugh podcast that criticism of Louis CK mocking Parkland kids is justified because he was performing his act before a paying audience. "It’s an art form and a lot of comedians say, ‘I’m not done yet! Criticize me when I have the finished set,'" he says. "I don’t know, people are paying money, so if someone paid money, they’re allowed to have an opinion on what they just saw. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. If I make a movie, people are allowed to trash it. And it’s a little disingenuous to think that comedians, who criticize everybody, should not be the subject of criticism. And I want comedians to be kind-hearted and I want comedians to stand for something good generally. But some comedy is just meant to be dark and awful and some people really enjoy that. They like when people just say the worst thing you could ever say. I understand there’s a release to that and I enjoy that. But I felt like with the Parkland kids, they’re real. We know their names. And yes, you’re allowed to do it. But we’re allowed to say, I don’t like that you did it.” ALSO: Apatow reacts to fired SNL comedian Shane Gillis calling him "gayer than ISIS."