Simpson Humor: Shades of Black, White and Gray

Reactions to the acquittal of O.J. Simpson were split sharply along racial lines, reminding the country that black and white Americans can have wildly different perceptions of the same event.

That’s been a constant theme for comedians who have exploited the criminal trial and its tortured aftermath for everything it’s worth. And, as it turns out, black and white comedians have wildly different perceptions of the Simpson affair.

It was evident during a recent weekend survey of clubs in West Hollywood and the Crenshaw district. But the perceptions weren’t predictable, nor as clear as black and white. And it was plain that the community of stand-up comics had gone through its own soul-searching over the matter.

“It was hard to do O.J. stuff right after the verdict,” said stand-up Steve Greenstein after a set at the Laugh Factory. “There was even a lot of anger among black and white comics. We were asking each other, ‘How could you believe that?’ It was very tense. . . .

“There was a point where nobody wanted to hear this. People were too upset and concerned with all the talk about racism . . . but those feelings have faded away, to the point where now everybody can find humor in the same things.”

Rather than digging into questions of Simpson’s guilt or innocence, Greenstein revisited the trial through a series of over-the-top vocal caricatures, getting a strong response both nights. Other comics were more blunt about assumptions of Simpson’s guilt.

“O.J.’s living up to his word and searching for the real killers,” Barry Sobel observed. “But apparently he thinks the real killers are on a golf course in Florida. He thinks it might be Chi Chi Rodriguez. ‘Hey, John Daly--where were you the night I murdered my wife?’ ”

At the Comedy Store, Eddie Griffin expressed some amazement at differing reactions to the verdict. “It baffled me. Whites and blacks lost their minds over two people they didn’t know.” He also corrected some white impressions that many blacks were cheering for Simpson. “Nope. We were cheering for Johnnie Cochran. I might be in court tomorrow, and I’d like to see Johnnie working for me.”

Across town in the Crenshaw district, Simpson was a constant, a thread running through nearly every comic’s routine. But the jokes focused less on his guilt or innocence and more on larger social issues surrounding the case: harassment of blacks by police, treatment of blacks by the legal system, the inevitable social fallout of black-white romantic liaisons. Simpson was taken most to task for what some performers called a disingenuous attempt to establish a presence in black communities in order to repair his all-American image.

“O.J. will come back to blacks,” declared Bo Peep, performing at the Comedy Act Theatre. “Next he’s gonna get Muslim. Watch, next week he’ll be selling bean pies on Crenshaw.”

Bill Hill was one of few comics who expressed an opinion on Simpson’s guilt or innocence. “They know O.J. didn’t do it,” said Hill, whose testy, confrontational style drew enthusiastic applause from the audience. “The law proved the stuff and whites are still mad.”

But Hill was the exception; other comics saved their ire for the American justice and legal systems, which they depicted as inherently racist. The problem, they said, is that whites refuse to see that fact. Honest John, the sole white comedian in the Comedy Act lineup, declared he was fed up with “watching white people on TV, whining and moaning. They lost one case in 400 years and they can’t deal with it.”

But similar sentiments don’t necessarily add up to a unified black slant on Simpson, comic Dannon Green said, adding that black comics reflect the same diversity of feeling about the case as the general black population. So while some comedians are as vocal as Hill, many others are ambiguous, or choose to ignore the topic altogether.

“[Black comics] have a bias both ways. We don’t think that [simply],” said Green, during a break between sets. “We’re not going easy on O.J. We’re not really convinced he’s not guilty.”

Green noted that Simpson is very much alive among white comics, but in a different way. “They tell one-liners, not stories,” he mused. “We tell stories, put things in a context [white comics] really can’t relate to. But as entertainers, we all are responsible for taking what’s out there and addressing it.”

A.J. Johnson, who regularly hosts evenings at Maverick Flats, agreed with Green. He said that comedians are most concerned with scouting for new material and sharpening their acts to get work. “They’re just looking for new jokes, trying to be funny,” Johnson said. “Some of them never watched the trial at all. They watch other comics and get stuff from them.”

Back in West Hollywood, Eddie Griffin echoed Johnson’s remarks. “It’s free material. And I don’t see different reactions among blacks and whites in the clubs anymore. They all get it when you let them know how crazy they’ve been, and they all crack up if you give them a good line. Some comedians got caught up in the race issue, but if you’re looking at the big picture, instead of through a prism, everybody can laugh.”