Comedian Gets Canceled after Distasteful Kobe Bryant Rape Joke
While people around the world are mourning and paying tribute to Kobe Bryant following the unfortunate helicopter crash that also took the lives of eight other people, one comedian used the tragedy as an opportunity to troll those in mourning.
While in Charlotte for a comedy show, Ari Shaffir filmed himself outside the Spectrum Center (the home of the team that drafted Bryant) and mocked the death of the NBA superstar. He also used Bryant's sexual assault case in July 2003 as fuel.
"A guy who got away with rape got his today. Kobe Bryant is gone. I'm here in Charlotte, the home of the team that originally drafted him. Maybe he wouldn't have raped that chick in Denver if he'd stay with the Hornets," Shaffir said in the video.
Shaffir also tweeted, "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! #F---theLakers."
The comedian was referring to Bryant being accused of raping a 19-year-old woman in 2003.
Bryant denied all the allegations, and although he was charged with sexual assault, the case never made it to trial after Bryant issued a statement apologizing to the accuser.
At the time the tweet and video were published, it was not yet made public that eight others died with him, including Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
Two hours after uploading his thoughts, Shaffir went back online and tweeted that he was hacked, as reported by Heavy. Since then, he made his Twitter account private.
However, the conflict of his claim that he was hacked was that he also took to Instagram Stories to post a short video to his 433,000 followers.
While Shaffir posted a lengthy Instagram post claiming time-sensitive grave-dancing is a long-standing bit that his fans expect from him, it looks like not everyone got the joke.
"Every time a beloved celebrity dies, I post some horrible s-t about them. I've been doing it for years now. I like destroying gods. And right when a famous person dies they're at their most worshipped," Shaffir furthered.
Shaffir concluded, "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 hate any of the people."
The comedia also said that he posted his video before he found out that there were children on board on the helicopter and that the fans asked him for a "Kobe post."
While he described the incident as "horrible," numerous reports already claim that Shaffir's talent agency -- Aqua Talent -- has dropped him from their roster after uploading the now-deleted video.
The New York Comedy Club also canceled his performance on Tuesday, and according to Page Six, the Kips Bay venue received threats after his video went up.
The club canceled his performance and later filed an aggravated-harassment report with police over the threats. Owners of the club told the Hollywood Reporter that they would not be working with Shaffir in the future after learning of his comments.
