In light of a situation where an older comic kept using the word “Oriental” to describe Asian people even after I explained to him that “Oriental” describes property, not people, I got to thinking about words that both me in comedy.  I hate that word in addition to the word “retard”.   Not only is that word hurtful, but it’s just such a hacky word to throw out to get a guaranteed laugh.  Anyway, I asked a bunch of my peers which words they don’t like when used on stage.  Check it out:

Mike O’Keefe: “In any context, I am not a fan of ‘bitch’. ”

Garri Madera: “Really”.

Ricarlo Flannigan: “Seriously”.  Very annoying.

PJ Jacokes: “Bitch”.

Jeff Conolly: “Faggot. It’s like cooking with truffles. Only the best chefs can do it because the flavor is so potent and easily off-putting if mishandled. “Faggot” is the same way, only the best comedians can handle it properly. Also, truffles sound pretty gay.”

Paul Gilmartin (Mental Illness Happy Hour/Dinner and a Movie): ” I can’t think of any word in particular, but when they use the same phrase over and over because they’re afraid of silence, I get annoyed.”

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