Comedian Nikki Glaser recently shared her shift in attitude towards political jokes, explaining that she went from feeling too “angry” to talk about politics to now being “too scared” to do so.
At the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Sunday, Glaser told the audience, “Now, if I don’t say something political, it’s because I’m scared to, not because I don’t feel like I have a right to.” She reflected on missing the opportunity to speak freely on politics in the past, saying, “I missed that moment where I could say something because I had a point of view and felt safe to do so.”
Glaser, who hosted the Golden Globes in January, explained that she once avoided political discussions out of fear of alienating people, but now she wants to engage with the topic, yet finds herself afraid to do so. “I went from, ‘I don’t want to talk about politics because I don’t want to alienate anyone,’ to, ‘I want to talk about it but now I’m scared to.’ That’s a s‑‑‑ty place to be,” the 40-year-old comic said.
When asked what she fears, Glaser admitted, “I’m scared of getting on some sort of list because I spoke in opposition to the powers-that-be. Who wouldn’t be? I’m not stupid. I see how this stuff works.”
She added humorously, “But I’m just joking. Everything I say is a joke. I’m a comedian.”
Glaser’s comments came after being asked if she still felt “too angry” to make political jokes, a sentiment she shared last year. At the time, she said, “I don’t do any political jokes. I just steer away from it.” She explained that while anger could sometimes make for funny material, it often made her “too angry to be funny,” which turned audiences off.
