Comedians often aim their jokes at conservatives, but not this time. Comedian Jim Norton attacked Al Sharpton, host of MSNBC’s “Politics Nation,” and his network for hypocritically promoting racial and homophobic vitriol.
Norton criticized Sharpton and MSNBC while on Nov. 19’s HuffPostLive. He claimed that MSNBC exhibits a double standard where they accept certain offensive behavior by individuals such as Sharpton, but censor contributors like Alec Baldwin. He also attributed a similar hypocrisy to Hollywood’s conception of political correctness.
Norton, known for his popular radio show "Opie & Anthony," slammed Sharpton, saying he’s “been an absolute pig for many years, and he gets away with it because everyone’s afraid just to tell him exactly what a complete a**hole he is.”
When asked about MSNBC host’s Alec Baldwin’s recent homophobic remarks, Norton said that he had “no problem with Alec Baldwin.” Instead, his problem is “with MSNBC and they mete out punishment arbitrarily.” He criticized MSNBC for punishing Baldwin, while ignoring the “jackass” Al Sharpton. MSNBC’s recent blind eye towards Martin Bashir is certainly an example of this double standard.
He elaborated on his criticism of Sharpton, saying “no one has said worse things publicly than Al Sharpton.” He specifically cited Sharpton’s comments about “white interlopers” in 2000 and “Greek homos” in 1994. Norton also brought up the incident where Sharpton lied while promoting Tawana Brawley’s rape allegations in 1987.
Norton did not stop at insulting MSNBC, instead continuing to attack what he called “language police” for attempting to enforce a double standard of political correctness.
According to Norton, liberals consistently impose a politically correct standard on everyone besides Hollywood actors: “Why is it OK for actors to use any language in any context they want?” He elaborated, saying “[liberals say] don’t say the n-word, that’s terrible, but if an actor screams that, it’s perfectly acceptable.”
Norton is no rabid conservative. During the same segment, he attacked social conservatives who oppose gay marriage as “kind of sh*t.”
