Canada Condemns 'Racist' Conan O'Brien TV Show

By David Ljunggren
Reuters

OTTAWA - Canada's government on Friday condemned a show by U.S. late-night television host Conan O'Brien that insulted people in French-speaking Quebec and seemed to suggest everyone in the province was homosexual.

Ottawa and the province of Ontario paid $760,000 to help O'Brien -- who appears on the NBC television network -- bring his show to Toronto for a week to boost the city's profile after a deadly SARS outbreak last year.

But the federal government said O'Brien had gone far too far with the show broadcast on Thursday in which he went to Quebec, a province which has had separatist governments for much of the last 20 years and is a delicate political topic in Canada.

"We want to disassociate ourselves from the comments which were broadcast last night because we do not support them in any way," junior government minister Mauril Belanger told Parliament.

At one point in the show, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog -- a hand puppet that is a regular on the show -- said to a Quebecer: "You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English." It told another: "I can smell your crotch from here."

O'Brien's team were also shown replacing street signs in the province with those that read "Quebecqueer Street" and "Rue des P**sies."

Alexa McDonough, a legislator for the left-leaning New Democrats, described the program as "racist filth" and "utterly vile" and demanded the government seek the return of the C$1 million subsidy.

"There may be those who would say, 'Isn't this interfering with freedom of expression?' It's not interfering to say we will not publicly fund this kind of vile, vicious hatemongering," McDonough told reporters.

Belanger did not commit to asking for the money back. No one at NBC was immediately available for comment.

The complaints over the puppet's comments come on the heels of a similar uproar following criticism of European French-Canadian hockey players on CBC television by the country's best-known sports commentator, Don Cherry.

The "Late Night" show, which taped in Toronto all this week and featured guests such as Jim Carrey and Mike Myers, was broadcast in Canada by CHUM television, which said it regretted any offense that may have been caused.

"We offer our apology and assurance that it is never our intention to air programing that offends any of our viewers," the station said in a statement.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog has landed in trouble before, most famously when it had an altercation with rap singer Eminem at a music awards show in 2002.

That's pathetic. :lol:

Send him to the Québec guillotine....along with Don Cherry!! :grr:

http://www.blackmaxpc.com/avatarsmiles/smiles/behead.gif

Jenya, love your avatar!!

You think maybe the Canadians don't have the same sense of humor as we kooky Americans?!

Originally posted by phoebe7165
You think maybe the Canadians don't have the same sense of humor as we kooky Americans?!

Some of the funniest people in the world are from Canada.

Sounds to me like there are some crybabies in the Canadian government who don't have much of a sense of humor.

Originally posted by AKA
Some of the funniest people in the world are from Canada.

Sounds to me like there are some crybabies in the Canadian government who don't have much of a sense of humor.

Really, the dog was just joking...and...it was a puppet lol. A freaking puppet. They can't take it? I'd be a little mad if they were making fun of Americans, I mean I can understand that they're a little angry...but jeez, it's not that big of a deal :lol:

Originally posted by AKA


Sounds to me like there are some crybabies in the Canadian government who don't have much of a sense of humor.

Exactly. My God, he cracks on America every night. We don't get pissed.

Originally posted by phoebe7165
Jenya, love your avatar!!

You think maybe the Canadians don't have the same sense of humor as we kooky Americans?!

Good question. I think a lot of hard-core Francophones in Québec aren't very humorious. Which is kind of funny, since one of the world's largest comedy festivals is held in Montréal. :(

Putin is a crackerhead- in my opinion by the way. ;)

Originally posted by Jenya
Good question. I think a lot of hard-core Francophones in Québec aren't very humorious. Which is kind of funny, since one of the world's largest comedy festivals is held in Montréal.

Exactly.

I was watching last night, and the Toronto studio audience was loving the Triumpth-Quebec segment (although, admittedly, the rest of Canada's relationship with Quebec isn't very rosy).

For those of you in the States who haven't seen it, it will be rebroadcast on Comedy Central at 6 pm EST/PST.

By the way, Jenya, it's great to see you back on the boards. I was worried about you.

Originally posted by AKA
Exactly.

By the way, Jenya, it's great to see you back on the boards. I was worried about you.

No need to worry, Brad. I was busy getting Russian guest visas last week for a few of my friends. My wedding will take place in St. Petersburg next month. So I had to make sure and certain that they won't have any problems when they enter Russia. :)

Originally posted by Jenya
No need to worry, Brad. I was busy getting Russian guest visas last week for a few of my friends. My wedding will take place in St. Petersburg next month. So I had to make sure and certain that they won't have any problems when they enter Russia. :)

Cool! Hope you don't run into Prime Minister Crackerhead.

I was watching it earlier and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was in Quebec insulting the people left and right. It was great. And whoever gets upset because of it needs to lighten up and get a sense of humor. It's not meant to be taken seriously.

That's just the way Triumph the INSULT comic dog is! It's all Robert Smigel doing that stuff! He makes the voice and started Triumph. He is insulting, but that's who the dog is!

I love Conan!!:heart:

They pay 760,000 dollars to get him into Canada and then they condemn his show? WHAT DID THEY EXPECT HIM TO DO???!!! :doh: He makes fun of canadians regularly on his show! As well as Americans, the French and about everybody else in the world! They knew what type of show they were dealing with and if THEY made a mistake in bringing him over than they should question their own judgement, not the shows. This is ridiculous in every sense of the word, haha the best part is that he's going to come back to America and really start bashing or making fun of Canada.

LONG LIVE CONAN!!patriot: :conan: patriot:

:rofl: Man, I was about to piss my pants lastnite it was so funny. Seriously, the old guy who kept laughing.. LMAO he had no clue.. no clue at all lol. I love Triumph, and I think this has by far been one of Conans funniest weeks ever. :conan:

I don't think that he is a racist at all it is just like somebody mentioned that Canadians and Americans have different sense of humor and comic timing!! $760,000 for a show seems expensive but if it was either Leno and/or Letterman, the price would be like in-between $4-10 million!!

Originally posted by AKA
Cool! Hope you don't run into Prime Minister Crackerhead.

Я убежусь, чтобы прогуливать его пути!!! ;)

Originally posted by Jenya
Я убежусь, чтобы прогуливать его пути!!! ;)

OK, Jenya, please translate. Not everybody knows Russian! :crazy:

It is Russian, isn't it?:p

Originally posted by phoebe7165
OK, Jenya, please translate. Not everybody knows Russian! :crazy:

It is Russian, isn't it?:p

I just basically said that I would stay out of his (Putin's) way.

Yes. It is in Russian. :)

It was a joke for God's sake. I thought Canada was open-minded. Americans make fun of themselves all the time. I bet Canada makes fun of Americans too.

Originally posted by Janice
It was a joke for God's sake. I thought Canada was open-minded. Americans make fun of themselves all the time. I bet Canada makes fun of Americans too. the Canadian government subsidized the event; they can't appear to be supporting anything that would openly mock Quebeccers - it would be like a white comedian referring to blacks with the "n" word at a White House function

they made a statement disassociating themselves from the skits and the show, is that too unreasonable too expect?

Originally posted by Janice
It was a joke for God's sake. I thought Canada was open-minded. Americans make fun of themselves all the time. I bet Canada makes fun of Americans too.

The province of Québec and the rest of Canada are basically seperate from each other. They never agree on anything....including patriotism. It even boils down to flag flying. You will never see the Canadian flag flying along with the Québec flag on provincial property or buildings in Québec. That's including ALL provincial government buildings in the province.

Originally posted by robyrob
the Canadian government subsidized the event; they can't appear to be supporting anything that would openly mock Quebeccers - it would be like a white comedian referring to blacks with the "n" word at a White House function

they made a statement disassociating themselves from the skits and the show, is that too unreasonable too expect?
Using the N word at the White House and the jokes the puppet made on a tv show are hardly the same.

I wonder if the Canadian government was unfamiliar with Conan's brand of humor?

Everyone on this thread thinks the Canadian government is overreacting, some very strongly, yet you quote my mild comment....and my post is the last one to boot. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Janice
Using the N word at the White House and the jokes the puppet made on a tv show are hardly the same.

I wonder if the Canadian government was unfamiliar with Conan's brand of humor?


It's not the Canadian government. It's the Quebec government who are overreacting. Québecers made the exact same stink over Don Cherry's comments in Toronto three weeks ago.

Originally posted by Jenya
It's not the Canadian government. It's the Quebec government who are overreacting. Québecers made the exact same stink over Don Cherry's comments in Toronto three weeks ago.
Honest mistake, really. I read the article and went from there.

Originally posted by Janice
Honest mistake, really. I read the article and went from there.

No problem. But keep in mind that these hard-core nationalists are trying to push other provinces and states like Vermont, New Hampshire, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia to join their so-called French Revolution. Will they ever be successful? Who knows. That's definitely a good topic for the Current Events/Politics Board. ;)

Originally posted by Janice
Using the N word at the White House and the jokes the puppet made on a tv show are hardly the same. to extremist Quebec separatists it may be - it all depends on your perspective

I wonder if the Canadian government was unfamiliar with Conan's brand of humor?
not the point - they can't afford to have a sense of humor with such a touchy political subject

Everyone on this thread thinks the Canadian government is overreacting, some very strongly, yet you quote my mild comment....and my post is the last one to boot. :rolleyes: i honestly didn't mean to single you out, but you did lump all Canadians into one statement

all I'm saying is don't condemn someone if you dont understand their point-of-view; the Canadian government HAD to condemn this or face tons of controversy from various political groups, with their statement this should all blow over as long as no-one else stirs it up any more

Originally posted by robyrob
all I'm saying is don't condemn someone if you dont understand their point-of-view; the Canadian government HAD to condemn this or face tons of controversy from various political groups, with their statement this should all blow over as long as no-one else stirs it up any more

I didn't see Conan, but I does seem like there are two sides to this. One is definitely what you said, robyrob. The Canadian government really did have to condemn what was said, because they'd be taking a lot of crap for it if they didn't.

But Canada did book the show, right? They shouldn't have if they weren't ready for some of Conan's humor. :D

~Lauren

:sheep

Originally posted by david&maddie4ever
I didn't see Conan, but I does seem like there are two sides to this. One is definitely what you said, robyrob. The Canadian government really did have to condemn what was said, because they'd be taking a lot of crap for it if they didn't.

But Canada did book the show, right? They shouldn't have if they weren't ready for some of Conan's humor. :D

~Lauren

:sheep i dont think that it was a mistake to have Conan do the show in TO, i don't even think that the show went too far at all, the problem is just how some people reacted to it

Originally posted by david&maddie4ever
I didn't see Conan, but I does seem like there are two sides to this. One is definitely what you said, robyrob. The Canadian government really did have to condemn what was said, because they'd be taking a lot of crap for it if they didn't.

But Canada did book the show, right? They shouldn't have if they weren't ready for some of Conan's humor. :D

~Lauren

:sheep

It's NOT the Canadian government that's making a stink about this. It's THE QUEBÉC GOVERNMENT that's making a stink over this. Like I said. THEY WERE COMPLAINING OVER DON CHERRY'S REMARKS.

Don Cherry is a CANADIAN. Québecers whined and complained over is remarks three weeks ago. He said that "All Europeans and Québec Hockey players are P*ssies when it they wear hockey gear on the ice." That comment pissed off Québecers.

And Conan 'O Brian's show pissed them off too.

Originally posted by Jenya
It's NOT the Canadian government that's making a stink about this. It's THE QUEBÉC GOVERNMENT that's making a stink over this. Like I said. THEY WERE COMPLAINING OVER DON CHERRY'S REMARKS.

Sorry...just a typo. :o

Originally posted by Jenya
It's NOT the Canadian government that's making a stink about this. It's THE QUEBÉC GOVERNMENT that's making a stink over this. Like I said. THEY WERE COMPLAINING OVER DON CHERRY'S REMARKS.

Don Cherry is a CANADIAN. Québecers whined and complained over is remarks three weeks ago. He said that "All Europeans and Québec Hockey players are P*ssies when it they wear hockey gear on the ice." That comment pissed off Québecers.

And Conan 'O Brian's show pissed them off too. at the risk of angering them even more, it seems like anything pisses them off, and they already get more rights and preferential treatment in the Canadian Constitution as it is

conan

conan

conan




HAHAHA
Conan O'Brien has got to be the greatest late night talkshow host of all time.


Canada is too sensitive.
But EVERYONE makes fun of Canada.
Even Canadians.


And to quote Canadian Bacon
"and their beer sucks"


hahaha
A war between Canada and the US would be kind of funny.
Actually -- it would be the ONLY funny war.

Originally posted by robyrob
at the risk of angering them even more, it seems like anything pisses them off, and they already get more rights and preferential treatment in the Canadian Constitution as it is

Exactly. :) They can get angry over anything. Look at Newfoundlers for example. They can laugh at ethnic Newfie Jokes and brush them off. Some people like Poles- from Poland cannot. Polack jokes to Poles, for example, are not funny at all. and you need to respect that. Because in a way, it IS ethnic discrimination. Believe it or not.

double post

Conan Apology Lost in Translation?

BY: VINAY MENON
Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1077059708341&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154)

February 18, 2004

In his first appearance since returning home to New York, Late Night host Conan O'Brien addressed controversy with bilingual satire.

In Toronto last week to tape four shows at the Elgin Theatre, the talk show ignited a national furor when Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, a recurring character on the show, tossed several barbs at French-Canadians accosted in street interviews during a seven-minute sketch.

On last night's show, O'Brien used an interpreter and issued a self-deprecating "apology":

O'Brien: "People of Quebec, I'm sorry."

French translator (with English subtitles): "People of Quebec, I'm an albino jackass."

O'Brien: "We meant no harm with our comedy piece the other night."

Translator: "The other night, I wet the bed like a little girl."

O'Brien: "I was a stranger in a strange land and I was very insensitive."

Translator: "I have a small penis."

O'Brien: "Quebec, your lively and rich culture is a treasure to Canada, and your unique heritage deserves only praise, not ridicule."

Translator: "I have never known the touch of a woman and I never will."

O'Brien: "Again, please accept my heartfelt apologies."

Translator: "Did I mention I have a small penis?"

The issue landed in the House of Commons on Friday with politicians of all stripes denouncing the material and the fact that nearly $1 million in tax money was spent to lure the late-night show to Toronto.

American news outlets pounced on the issue, with coverage of the incident getting an airing on Regis And Kelly and CNN and in USA Today, the Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times.

But Peter Soumalias, businessman and founder of Canada's Walk of Fame, said yesterday he has no regrets about helping arrange O'Brien's road show to Toronto.

He said he believes the national public response has been overwhelmingly favourable.

"I did not receive a single complaint, personally," he said. "As organizers, it far and away surpassed all our expectations ..."

Soumalias says some of the Late Night writers did express concern about being insensitive in their material, but he assured them Canada was mature enough in its comedy. "I encouraged them to do the segment," he said.

He says the O'Brien crew was surprised the skit ended up as a big deal to Canadian politicians.

"If politicians are upset about something, then clearly we know we did something right."

I don't think Conan meant at all to be racist but he just doesn't know the Canadian sense of humor. There are different ways that Canada and other countries joke around!!

haha
Conan is the man.

Originally posted by Jenya
Conan Apology Lost in Translation?

BY: VINAY MENON
Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1077059708341&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154)

February 18, 2004

In his first appearance since returning home to New York, Late Night host Conan O'Brien addressed controversy with bilingual satire.

In Toronto last week to tape four shows at the Elgin Theatre, the talk show ignited a national furor when Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, a recurring character on the show, tossed several barbs at French-Canadians accosted in street interviews during a seven-minute sketch.

On last night's show, O'Brien used an interpreter and issued a self-deprecating "apology":

O'Brien: "People of Quebec, I'm sorry."

French translator (with English subtitles): "People of Quebec, I'm an albino jackass."

O'Brien: "We meant no harm with our comedy piece the other night."

Translator: "The other night, I wet the bed like a little girl."

O'Brien: "I was a stranger in a strange land and I was very insensitive."

Translator: "I have a small penis."

O'Brien: "Quebec, your lively and rich culture is a treasure to Canada, and your unique heritage deserves only praise, not ridicule."

Translator: "I have never known the touch of a woman and I never will."

O'Brien: "Again, please accept my heartfelt apologies."

Translator: "Did I mention I have a small penis?"

The issue landed in the House of Commons on Friday with politicians of all stripes denouncing the material and the fact that nearly $1 million in tax money was spent to lure the late-night show to Toronto.

American news outlets pounced on the issue, with coverage of the incident getting an airing on Regis And Kelly and CNN and in USA Today, the Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times.

But Peter Soumalias, businessman and founder of Canada's Walk of Fame, said yesterday he has no regrets about helping arrange O'Brien's road show to Toronto.

He said he believes the national public response has been overwhelmingly favourable.

"I did not receive a single complaint, personally," he said. "As organizers, it far and away surpassed all our expectations ..."

Soumalias says some of the Late Night writers did express concern about being insensitive in their material, but he assured them Canada was mature enough in its comedy. "I encouraged them to do the segment," he said.

He says the O'Brien crew was surprised the skit ended up as a big deal to Canadian politicians.

"If politicians are upset about something, then clearly we know we did something right." :rofl: I saw lastnite oh man I was dying LOl.

Ahh I swear Im psychic! I went to get the paper today and something told me to read the Entertainment Page because a story about this would be in it.. and it was! Last time I told myself to read the back page, it was about Conan going to Canada. :ufo: That is all.

http://zone.msn.com/en/outsmart/triumph_default.htm

Hi

Does anyone have a copy of the Triumph Canadian rant, I havent had the chance to watch it, and they didnt repeat it the following week on nbc overnight like they usually do.

I have quite a bit of triumph stuff to offer in trade.

Sean

Duffaholic@hotmail.com