JamesG
02-19-2016, 10:54 PM
"30 Rock" Showrunner Says Bill Cosby Joke "Was Not an Accident"
by Oliver Gettell
2/19/16
"30 Rock" co-showrunner Robert Carlock has confirmed suspicions that a joke from a 2009 episode of the satirical NBC series was meant as a reference to sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby.
While the season 3 episode 'The Bubble' didn’t make waves at the time, Crushable writer Jenni Maier later took notice of an exchange in which Tracy Morgan’s character, Tracy Jordan, is asked a favor by a person purporting to be Cosby.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve getting on the phone with me after what you did to my Aunt Paulette!” Jordan shouts.
On Friday, Carlock told Uproxx that the scene was indeed an allusion to the accusations from dozens of women that Cosby sexually assaulted them.
Carlock said "30 Rock" creator and co-showrunner Tina Fey had been “grinding that ax for a long time,” since her days doing Weekend Update on SNL.
“That was not an accident,” he continued. “From my memory, the joke was more overt. And because he had not been found guilty of anything — and still hasn’t — we had to reword it to be a little more obtuse.”
Carlock also noted that one of the writers on "30 Rock" was Hannibal Buress, who brought renewed attention to the allegations against Cosby when he called him a “rapist” in a 2014 stand-up set. Buress “took it to the next level,” Carlock said.
Representatives for NBC did not immediately respond to request for comment about Carlock’s remarks.
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/19/30-rock-bill-cosby-joke-carlock
by Oliver Gettell
2/19/16
"30 Rock" co-showrunner Robert Carlock has confirmed suspicions that a joke from a 2009 episode of the satirical NBC series was meant as a reference to sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby.
While the season 3 episode 'The Bubble' didn’t make waves at the time, Crushable writer Jenni Maier later took notice of an exchange in which Tracy Morgan’s character, Tracy Jordan, is asked a favor by a person purporting to be Cosby.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve getting on the phone with me after what you did to my Aunt Paulette!” Jordan shouts.
On Friday, Carlock told Uproxx that the scene was indeed an allusion to the accusations from dozens of women that Cosby sexually assaulted them.
Carlock said "30 Rock" creator and co-showrunner Tina Fey had been “grinding that ax for a long time,” since her days doing Weekend Update on SNL.
“That was not an accident,” he continued. “From my memory, the joke was more overt. And because he had not been found guilty of anything — and still hasn’t — we had to reword it to be a little more obtuse.”
Carlock also noted that one of the writers on "30 Rock" was Hannibal Buress, who brought renewed attention to the allegations against Cosby when he called him a “rapist” in a 2014 stand-up set. Buress “took it to the next level,” Carlock said.
Representatives for NBC did not immediately respond to request for comment about Carlock’s remarks.
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/19/30-rock-bill-cosby-joke-carlock