The September 11 attacks were a series of terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed. Jokes based on the events have been made in print and other media since soon after the attacks took place.
A number of scholars have studied the ways in which humor has been used to deal with the trauma of the event, [1] [2] [3] including researcher Bill Ellis who found that jokes about the attacks began the day afterwards in the U.S., and Giselinde Kuipers, who found jokes on Dutch websites a day later. [4] [5] Kuipers had collected around 850 online jokes about 9/11, Osama bin Laden, and the Afghanistan war by 2005. [4] A notable early public attempt at 9/11 humor was by Gilbert Gottfried just a few weeks after the attacks. During a comedy roast for Hugh Hefner at the Friars Club the crowd did not respond well to Gottfried's 9/11 gag. One audience member at the club yelled out "Too soon!", a common response to jokes told in the immediate wake of tragedies.
In contrast to these early jokes about 9/11, late-night comedy shows and humorous publications did not appear for several weeks following the attacks. [4] The Onion , a satirical newspaper, cancelled the issue that had been scheduled to be released on September 11, 2001, and then returned to print with a special edition on September 26, 2001, which was devoted to the attacks.
The Zero (2006) by Jess Walter is a post-9/11 satirical novel which features a New York City cop who shoots himself in the head and forgets it minutes later; his brain damage accounts for gaps in the story. [6]
In 2016, comedian Billy Domineau uploaded a spec script to the Internet that he had written for Seinfeld , [7] which had aired its last episode in 1998, set in New York during the days after the attacks. He said later that it had started when he suggested "a 9/11 episode of Seinfeld" to a student as an example of "an exercise in bad taste" for a class. [8] In his episode, the show's four main characters follow plotlines typical of them, all related to the attacks: Jerry becomes convinced that dust from the fallen towers is contaminating his food; Elaine, initially relieved that she will not have to break up with a boyfriend who worked at the Twin Towers, finds herself engaged to him when he unexpectedly survives; George basks in the glory after he is mistaken for a hero who rescued people, and Kramer attempts to recover the high-quality box cutter he loaned to Mohamed Atta. Popular minor characters, such as George's parents and Newman, also make appearances. "[It] is indeed in bad taste, but it perfectly captures the self-obsessed way these characters would handle such a crisis," wrote The Guardian . [9]
Gilbert Gottfried was one of the first stand-up comedians to reference the 9/11 attacks on stage. Eighteen days after the attacks at the New York Friars Club Roast of Hugh Hefner hosted by Comedy Central, Gottfried said, "I have to catch a flight to California. I can’t get a direct flight. They said they have to stop at the Empire State Building first." The joke was met with gasps, boos, and scattered laughter, with one person shouting that it was "too soon!". The joke was followed by the telling of a version of The Aristocrats joke, which was well received. [10] In an interview with Vulture, Gottfried said, "I lost an audience bigger than anybody has ever lost an audience. People were booing and hissing." The Aristocrats joke, however, Gottfried stated, was "the biggest laughs I ever heard." [11] [12] [13]
Just a month later, George Carlin addressed the attacks, sarcastically claiming that "otherwise the terrorists win," which he claimed to be the latest mindless mantra. He went on to joke about how in this extreme time he's even willing to cooperate with the US government and "Governor Bush". Then he elaborates his plan for retaliation through the use of "fart warfare". [14]
One notable 9/11 joke was told by Joan Rivers in London in 2002. The joke concerned the widows of fire fighters killed in the attacks, who Rivers said would be disappointed if their husbands had been found alive as they would be forced to return money they had received in compensation for their late spouses. [15] The joke received condemnation from Harold A. Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters. [16]
Pete Davidson has incorporated several 9/11 jokes into some of his routines. His father, Scott Davidson, was a New York City firefighter serving in Ladder 118 who died in service during the 9/11 attacks; he was last seen entering the Marriott World Trade Center. On September 12, 2021, Davidson and Jon Stewart hosted NYC Still Rising After 20 Years: A Comedy Celebration, a comedy special performed in Madison Square Garden, with proceeds going towards 9/11-related charities. Amy Schumer, Bill Burr, Colin Jost, Colin Quinn, Dave Attell, Dave Chappelle, Jay Pharoah, Jimmy Fallon, John Mulaney, Michael Che, Ronny Chieng, Tom Segura and Wanda Sykes also performed. [17]
To improve the chance of an Oscar award, a 9/11 joke was cut from Jean Dujardin's 2012 comedy film The Players . The deleted scene featured a man seducing a woman in a New York apartment while an aircraft crashes into the World Trade Center in the background. [18]
In The Simpsons episode "Moonshine River", aired in 2012, Bart tells his father he would desire New York now that his two least favorite buildings have been obliterated, but then quickly adds Old Penn Station and Shea Stadium, after a pause. [19] [20]
In November 2001, South Park released an episode entitled "Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants". The town is in shock following the events of September 11—for instance, children are sent to school in gas masks for fear of anthrax. Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny are locked into a military plane by mistake and they end up stranded in Afghanistan, where they are eventually captured and held hostage by Osama bin Laden. The boys are ultimately rescued by four local children, and Cartman kills bin Laden in a fight resembling those in Looney Tunes cartoons during World War II. [21] In October 2006, the episode "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce" aired, making fun of the conspiracy theories about the attacks. An outraged Mr. Mackey launches an investigation after an unknown person (later revealed to be Stan) defecates in a school urinal. Meanwhile, Cartman launches his own investigation into September 11, much to the frustration of Kyle, and ultimately comes to the conclusion that Kyle was behind the attack. [22]
In the Family Guy episode "Back to the Pilot", broadcast in November 2011, Brian and Stewie take a trip back in time during which Brian tips off his past self about 9/11 so that the present-day him can play hero and stop the terrorist attacks. This causes George W. Bush to lose re-election, meaning a Second Civil War starts that leads to nuclear attacks on the Eastern Seaboard. Brian and Stewie are then forced to go back and mend the situation, later noting that their celebratory cheers of causing 9/11 to happen again would sound really bad if taken out of context. A Time critic wrote of the episode, "It sounds custom-made for a 'too soon' label, and it probably is. But avid Family Guy viewers live for 'too soon' moments, no matter how sensitive the material." [23] Other news organizations, including Aly Semigran of Entertainment Weekly , also thought the show had gone too far with the reference. [24] Deadline also commented that it "squeaked past the Fox standards and practices department but is sure to raise as many eyebrows." [25]
Meanwhile the Season 16 episode "Boy (Dog) Meets Girl (Dog)" saw Stewie make an off-color about how the 9/11 planes didn't land, which he immediately acknowledged was in poor taste. Brian then stated that he was supposed to be on one of the planes, alluding to the fact that Seth MacFarlane, the voice of Brian & Stewie, was supposed to fly on American Airlines Flight 11, but had missed it because he was late in getting to the airport by 10 minutes. [26]
However, perhaps reflecting how the acceptability to mainstream broadcasters of jokes referencing the 9/11 attacks has evolved only gradually, the DVD release of the earlier season five Family Guy episode "Meet the Quagmires", first aired in 2007, contained an extended scene which was removed from the episode as it was first broadcast. In the deleted scene, while traveling in time back to 1980s Quahog with Peter, Brian is confronted by the boyfriend of a woman he has been hitting on. In response to the boyfriend's challenge that he will fight Brian 'anywhere, any time', Brian invites the man to meet him "On top of the World Trade Center, September 11th, 2001, at 8am", to which the boyfriend replies "I will be there, pal. You think I'll forget, but I won't!". [27] Additionally, the season seven episode "Baby Not on Board" features a scene in which the Griffin family visits Ground Zero, which Peter erroneously believes is "where the first guy got AIDS" Brian corrects him, informing him that it is the site of the September 11 attacks, and Peter responds, "So Saddam Hussein did this?" Brian explains that it was a group of "Saudi Arabians, Lebanese and Egyptians funded by a Saudi Arabian guy living in Afghanistan and sheltered by Pakistanis." Peter responds asking "So you're saying we need to invade Iran?" [28] The season six episode "Back to the Woods" had Peter committing identity theft against a fictionalized James Woods, in retaliation of him doing the same and ruining his life. Peter appears on the Late Show with David Letterman proving he is Woods, promoting a comedy film based on the attacks. [29]
Satirical newspaper The Onion cancelled their Volume 7 Issue 32 of the paper, scheduled to be released on September 11. John Krewson, a writer for The Onion at the time, said "For one thing, distribution would have been a nightmare. Second of all, we just didn’t think anyone was ready for a bunch of wacky jokes that were no longer relevant." The paper also skipped the following Issue 33 as the staff went on a week-long break to reflect on the tragedy. Initially, the writing staff had considered not referencing the attacks at all in the following issue, with writer Todd Hanson saying "Our normal, irreverent, edgy, cynical, dark humor wasn’t going to be emotionally appropriate with this situation." Multiple employees threatened to quit if the paper ran an issue focused on the attacks, but no employee left once the paper was released. The paper went on to release Issue 34 of the paper on September 27, with most articles being in response to the attacks. The leading article was titled "U.S. Vows To Defeat Whoever It Is We're At War With", with other headlines such as "American Life Turns Into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Movie" and "Not Knowing What To Do, Woman Bakes American-Flag Cake". The Onion's Editor In Chief Robert Siegel later said of the issue "Everything in that issue either needed to make a point or express something people were feeling." Jokes that directly poked fun at the loss of life were cut, such as "America Stronger Than Ever Says Quadragon Officials", with the writers preferring to make jokes about how the American people were feeling at the time. No writers were credited with writing their respective articles, with all articles being credited to The Onion. The issue was well-received by both critics and the public. [30] [31] [32]
In the days before the 15th anniversary of the attacks in 2016, Miracle Mattress of San Antonio, Texas, briefly ran a commercial promoting a sale themed around the occasion. In it, the daughter of the store's owner, in conversation with two employees who stood behind her, explained how the store was recalling the Twin Towers' collapse by selling all its inventory at the price of twin-sized mattresses for the weekend with the slogan "Twin Towers, Twin Price". At the end of the ad, she inadvertently pushed the two employees into twin piles of mattresses behind her, one of which was topped with the American flag; both collapsed. After briefly expressing shock and horror, she turned to the camera and said "We'll never forget". [33]
The company soon pulled the ad, but copies were saved and uploaded to the Internet, where it and Miracle became the subject of intense and vociferous criticism. Entertainment Weekly said it "might be most offensive commercial ever". The Miracle Mattress Yelp! and Facebook pages filled with disparaging comments and calls for boycotts. Owner Mike Bonnano, whose daughter had, as the chain's head of marketing, conceived the commercial and starred in it, apologized profusely but eventually decided to close the San Antonio location "indefinitely" pending disciplinary measures and donations to the 9/11-related charity Tuesday's Children. [34] Miracle Mattress reopened a few days later. [35]
In Brazil there are bars and restaurants named after Bin Laden, inspired by their owners looking like Osama. [36]
Internet memes have become a common way of distributing jokes about 9/11, often lampooning 9/11 conspiracy theories with such phrases as "Bush did 9/11" or "jet fuel can't melt steel beams." An example of this can be seen in viral videos on Vine and other platforms that feature fictional characters, celebrities or other notable people appearing to be responsible for the attacks; these videos typically feature said characters or individuals throwing an object, or perhaps flying an aircraft, before cutting to footage of the planes hitting the Twin Towers (mostly Flight 175 hitting the South Tower). These videos are also sometimes accompanied by statements that said character or individual "did 9/11". [37] Following the popularity of Barbenheimer in 2023, some Japanese Twitter users made memes showing the Twin Towers with pink smoke or Barbie hanging out with Osama bin Laden; this was in response to the subject matter of Oppenheimer dealing with the creation of the atomic bomb, which is an extremely sensitive subject in Japan due to the fact that it is the only country to have been attacked with atomic bombs, though this backfired. [38] Images featuring George W. Bush learning the attacks while reading to kindergarten students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School, has been used humoursomely to have him learn about various pop culture events. [39]
Osama bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian-born Islamist dissident and militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, he participated in the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union and supported the activities of the Bosnian mujahideen during the Yugoslav Wars. After issuing his declaration of war against the Americans in 1996, Bin Laden began advocating attacks targeting U.S. assets in several countries, and supervised al-Qaeda's execution of the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001.
Family Guy is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois, their children, Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their anthropomorphic pet dog, Brian. Set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, the show exhibits much of its humor in the form of metafictional cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture.
StewartGilligan "Stewie" Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by the series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Stewie was created and designed by MacFarlane himself, who was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company, based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane featuring a middle-aged man named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve.
Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on Larry & Steve, a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. For the series, Larry was renamed Peter.
Wafah Dufour is an American singer-songwriter, socialite, and model.
"PTV" is the fourteenth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 2005. The episode sees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) censor the shows on television after a controversial wardrobe malfunction at the Emmy Awards. Peter starts to create his own TV network which he calls PTV, broadcasting classic shows unedited and uncut, as well as original programming. PTV is a big success, and Stewie and Brian join him, creating shows for the network. Lois calls the FCC to close PTV as she is concerned how children would be influenced by Peter's programming. Not only do the FCC close down the network, but they also start censoring the citizens of Quahog, so the Griffin family travels to Washington, D.C., and convinces Congress to have the FCC's rules reversed.
"Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants" is the ninth episode in the fifth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 74th episode of the series overall, it was the first South Park episode to premiere after the September 11 attacks, having originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 7, 2001. The story deals primarily with the aftermath of the attacks and the American invasion of Afghanistan, as the boys come to face Osama bin Laden when they are mistakenly shipped to Afghanistan.
"Road to Rhode Island" is the 13th episode of the second season, and the first episode of the Road to ... series, of the American animated television series Family Guy, and the 20th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 30, 2000. In the episode, Brian volunteers to bring Stewie home from his grandparents' house in Palm Springs, but the pair miss their flight and must embark on a cross-country journey home. Meanwhile, Peter becomes addicted to watching a series of marriage counseling videos hosted by an adult film star.
The American adult animated sitcom Family Guy has been the target of numerous taste and indecency complaints. The show is known to include offensive jokes including racial humor and violent, gory, and disturbing images.
Hamza bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian-born key member of al-Qaeda. He was a son of Osama bin Laden. On 25 July 2019, it was claimed by the American media that he was killed by a U.S. airstrike on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In 2024, unconfirmed media reports claimed that he was still alive and a senior leader of al-Qaeda.
Osama bin Laden, the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda, has been depicted or parodied in a variety of media. Notable examples include:
"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009, along with the series premiere of The Cleveland Show. In "Road to the Multiverse", two of the show's main characters, baby genius Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian, both voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, use an "out-of-this-world" remote control to travel through a series of parallel universes. They eventually end up in a world where dogs rule and humans obey. Brian becomes reluctant to return to his own universe, and he ultimately ends up breaking the remote, much to the dismay of Stewie, who soon seeks a replacement. The "Road to" episodes which have aired throughout various seasons of Family Guy were inspired by the Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, though this episode was not originally conceived as a "Road to" show.
"Dial Meg for Murder" is the 11th episode of season eight of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 31, 2010. The episode follows teenager Meg as she visits an inmate at the local prison and falls in love with him. She eventually ends up hiding the fugitive in the Griffin family home, however, and is convicted and sent to jail. After returning home, she becomes a hardened criminal, who continually tortures her family.
"Brian & Stewie" is the 17th episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 2, 2010. The episode features Brian and Stewie after they are accidentally trapped inside a bank vault over a weekend. The two try to kill each other, and are ultimately forced to reveal their true feelings about each other, and eventually go on to question each other's existence and purpose in life. Brian and Stewie become even closer to each other as time goes on, and climactically help each other survive being trapped inside the vault. The bottle episode breaks from the show's usual set-up and is the only episode of the show not to feature any music or use any cutaway gags with Brian and Stewie being the only two characters featured in the entire episode. In repeats of the episode there is no main title sequence, nor is any music played over the end credits.
Tere Bin Laden is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language satire comedy film produced by Walkwater Media and written and directed by Abhishek Sharma. In the film, an ambitious young Pakistani reporter, in his desperation to migrate to the United States, makes a fake Osama bin Laden video using a lookalike, and sells it to TV channels. Osama bin Laden was played by Pradhuman Singh. The film is a spoof on Osama Bin Laden as well as a comic satire on America's war against terror and the realities of the post-9/11 world. The film was released worldwide, except in the United States and Pakistan, on 16 July 2010.
The "Road to ..." episodes, also known as the Family Guy Road shows, are a series of episodes in the animated series Family Guy. They are a parody of the seven Road to ... comedy films, starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour.
"Funnybot" is the second episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 211th episode of the series overall. "Funnybot" premiered in the United States on Comedy Central on May 4, 2011, the first time a South Park episode has premiered in May since season 10's "Tsst" in 2006. "Funnybot" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker and was rated TV-MA in the United States.
"Back to the Pilot" is the 5th episode of the 10th season of the animated comedy series Family Guy, and the 170th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 13, 2011. In "Back to the Pilot", two of the show's main characters, Stewie and Brian, both voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, use a time machine to travel back in time to the first episode of the series, "Death Has a Shadow". Trouble ensues, however, when Brian tells his former self about the September 11 attacks, causing the present to be dramatically changed, and ultimately resulting in an apocalyptic second American civil war. The two must then prevent themselves from travelling back in time in the first place, but soon realize that it will be much more difficult than they had originally thought.
"Brian's Play" is the eleventh episode of the eleventh season and the 198th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States on January 13, 2013. It was written by Gary Janetti and directed by Joseph Lee. In the episode, Brian writes a play that becomes a hit in Quahog, but loses his confidence when he finds that the play Stewie wrote is better than his. But when Stewie sees how upset Brian is, he decides to make things right.
"Total Recall" is the nineteenth episode of the eleventh season and the 206th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States on April 28, 2013, and is written by Kristin Long and directed by Joseph Lee. In the episode, after Rupert is recalled, Stewie and Brian head on an adventure to reclaim Stewie's best friend. Meanwhile, due to illness, Peter is replaced by Lois in his bowling tournament. However, he begins to get annoyed by the brewing friendship between his wife and his buddies.
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