Comedian Ari Shaffir issues statement on his 'vile' Kobe Bryant comments, says 'it's just a joke'
Comedian Ari Shaffir isn't backing down after making "vile" jokes about Kobe Bryant's death — and his professional career is taking a hit.
Shaffir was set to perform Tuesday night at the New York Comedy Club, but the booking was canceled when the venue received threats. Yahoo Entertainment confirmed with the New York City Police Department there is a complaint report on file for "aggravated harassment." The midtown location "received multiple threatening phone calls," a NYPD spokesperson said Wednesday. "There are no arrests or suspect descriptions at this time. The investigation is ongoing."
Yahoo Entertainment reached out to the New York Comedy Club for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. The club told the Hollywood Reporter they will not be working with Shaffir in the future after learning of his inappropriate tweet. Shaffir is also an actor and writer who hosts the podcast Skeptic Tank. He's a regular guest on The Joe Rogan Experience.
The day the Lakers legend died, Shaffir tweeted a selfie video, saying, "Kobe Bryant died 23 years too late today. He got away with rape because all the Hollywood liberals who attack comedy enjoy rooting for the Lakers more than they dislike rape. Big ups to the hero who forgot to gas up his chopper. I hate the Lakers. What a great day!"
Shaffir, who hosted Comedy Central's This Is Not Happening, doubled down in another video on social media, calling Bryant's shocking death a "good story" because "the guy got away with rape." He deleted the post, but not before people took notice. TMZ reports Shaffir was dropped by his talent agency.
On Tuesday, Shaffir published a lengthy statement on Instagram calling the routine "dark comedy" and that he was just making "a joke."
"Every time a beloved celebrity dies I post some horrible s*** about them. I've been doing it for years now," he began. "I like destroying gods. And right when a famous person dies they're at their most worshipped. So as a response to all the outpouring of sympathy on social media, I post something vile. it's just a joke. I don't really hate any of the people."
He continued, "Some of them I've never even heard of and I have to look them up after I see all the RIP posts. Some of them I actually really admire and I'm bummed they've passed. It doesn't stop me from trying as quickly as I can to write some terrible s*** about them. They're all just jokes, though. And I would never tag anyone in them that's at all associated with the person. I'm not looking to hurt anybody mourning a loved one. Just looking to post some inappropriate jokes for my fans. They've come to expect it from me."
Shaffir said on Sunday, fans started "asking me where my Kobe post was." He said he was unaware at the time that other people were onboard, "let alone children."
"I never made fun of any of the kids on the helicopter. They're not celebrities. Kids dying like that, it's horrible. Obviously. All the other people dying, that horrible too. It's horrible he died. Really really sad. What a terrible thing that was that happened. But that has nothing to do with why I make these posts. They're just moronic inappropriate posts I make for the fans who signed up to see them."
Shaffir said "the only thing" he had against Bryant was that he "torched my teams over and over again. He made me hate the Lakers with all my heart."
He added, "with that background and my background of celebrity death posts, Kobe's passing was a perfect storm. I knew I had to come up with something really awful. And that's what I did. That's what I always do. If I knew the other people were on that helicopter, I probably wouldn't have posted anything and I woulda just waited for the next celebrity death."
Not many people are laughing. Shaffir disabled comments on his post and made his Twitter account private.
TMZ founder defends breaking the news of Kobe Bryant death:
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
