Chelsea Handler was a guest Monday on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
They talked about a previous appearance Handler made on the show, over a year ago, when Handler and Fallon had a "Martini race."
The two raced, running up and down the stairs of the aisles of the studio audience, carrying martini glasses. When Fallon made it back to the stage, he slipped, his feet going out from under him, landing flat on his back. He cut his hand on the broken martini glasses.
I remember that show. It was a really bad fall.
Here's a little bit of video:
So, Handler and Fallon were discussing this incident from March 2010, a memorable moment in the show's history. They watched a clip of the fall.
The problem: Handler made an unfortunate comment when describing Fallon's performance in the race.
Transcript
JIMMY FALLON: Last time you were here, I almost died.
CHELSEA HANDLER: You did! You had an injury. You sustained a big injury.
FALLON: Here's what we did. It's the dumbest thing ever. I don't even know the game we were playing.
HANDLER: Well, you wanted to race me making vodka drinks, which is not that original of an idea if you know me, but whatever, and I was sensible enough to put on a pair of nursing shoes. You...
FALLON: Nursing shoes?
HANDLER: Yes, because I had heels on, so I know how to run.
FALLON: What are nursing shoes?
HANDLER: They're...don't worry about it. They're private. But anyway, we ran and we raced. We had to race and make drinks, like martinis.
FALLON: Yeah, and I was just trying to do something fun and something different.
HANDLER: Right. And then you fell on your ass.
FALLON: It was horrible.
HANDLER: Yeah. You looked like you were in the Special Olympics, to be quite honest. Not the fun kind.
FALLON: I don't know what that means, but all I know is that I was bleeding. It was the last time we've ever used glass on the show.
Chelsea Handler is a comedian, and sometimes comedians say things that are offensive. It comes with the job. Making people laugh is likely to tick someone off.
However, the Special Olympics thing was really not cool.
Is it that hard to keep from mocking the mentally challenged, particularly referring to such a great program as the Special Olympics by name?
When Obama was Jay Leno's guest just about two months after his inauguration, Obama made a terrible remark about his bowling skills and the Special Olympics. More on that here.
When Leno was joking about Obama not being a very good bowler, Obama said, "It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something."
Obama was forced to apologize for his remark.
After comparing his bowling to the Special Olympics on "The Tonight Show" Thursday, President Obama called Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver to apologize before the program even aired.
“He expressed his disappointment and he apologized, in a way that was very moving,” Shriver said on ABC's “Good Morning America.” “It’s important to see that words hurt, and words do matter. And these words that in some respect can be seen as humiliating or a put-down of people with special needs do cause pain, and they do result in stereotypes."
Obama told Shriver he wants to have some Special Olympics competitors over to the White House for basketball or bowling.
I don't know if Obama ever made good on his promise to Shriver.
I do know that four months after Obama's cruel remark he hadn't found time to host Special Olympics athletes at the White House.
From The Guardian, July 9, 2009:
Previously an academic specialising in the social and emotional factors of learning, Shriver probably knows better than most that it can be counterproductive to preach — particularly when addressing your country's new commander-in-chief: "It was a tough experience for all of us in the field of intellectual disability, and Special Olympics in particular, because nobody wants to be in a situation where we're scolding, or perceived to be scolding, the president of the United States or a major political figure."
Obama offered to have some Special Olympic athletes to visit the White House to play his favourite sport, basketball, or bowling, one the president has perhaps had enough of — but to date nothing has happened: "We have not had a specific event yet where the president can interact with Special Olympics athletes yet, but we're hopeful. He has been busy."
Obama hadn't been too busy to find time for his excessively publicized "date nights" and to host several events highlighting celebrities performing at the White House, but he was too busy to host Special Olympics athletes.
That was really a terrible misstep by Obama.
Now, comments disparaging Special Olympics participants made by Chelsea Handler certainly don't carry the same weight that such comments made by the president of the United States do.
Still, I am troubled by the ease with which some people use the Special Olympics to ridicule others.
It's wrong. It's cruel. It's not funny.
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Here's Video.
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