You won’t find late-night comics mocking President Joe Biden’s obvious mental decline.
Nor will “Saturday Night Live” get too close to that radioactive reality. You have to look to an Italian TV show to see satirists take down the Commander in Chief.
This is what Italy thinks of Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/YnEi3MQx7Y
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 25, 2024
Now, we have a second, startling example of political satire created outside the country’s borders. This one comes courtesy of American actor/stand-up comic Michael Rapaport.
The “Beautiful Girls” alum has been one of the industry’s most vocal critics of Hamas’ barbarism on Oct. 7. Rapaport uses his social media platforms to rage against the horrific attacks and plead for the safe and swift return of the remaining Israeli hostages.
It’s a subject rarely brought up on late-night TV, “Saturday Night Live” or celebrity social media accounts.
The vast majority of Rapaport’s peers are either whisper silent on the matter or demand a ceasefire, which many predict will help Hamas rebuild to attack another day.
Rapaport has had enough, but he had to find a show outside the U.S. to get his message across. He found it courtesy of the Israeli satire show “Eretz Nehederet” (translation: What a Wonderful Country).
Haaretz called the comedy program “Israel’s answer to ‘Saturday Night Live.’”
Some of the sketches are aimed at English-speaking audiences, like this savage takedown of pro-Hamas college students.
The show’s most recent clip cast Rapaport as Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscar host replacement.
His monologue is an unflinching blend of comedy and political savagery. The video expertly splices existing Oscars footage with a digitally imposed Rapaport on the main stage.
It’s uncanny.
“Good evening to the millions of viewers at home and the 134 Israeli hostages who are watching us from the Hamas tunnels in Gaza.”
Big laugh from the faux crowd.
“[The hostages] have a lot in common with the beautiful audience we have here tonight… neither of you have eaten in almost four months. Next year the hostage diet will be bigger than Ozempic,” Rapaport said.
He mixes in some standard Oscar gags with more digs about Hollywood’s silence.
“God forbid Hamas would have raped the Gender Pay Gap. Oh, man. Julia Roberts would have run into Gaza herself with an AK-47.”
You get the idea.
What if I hosted the Oscars? I think it would be awesome! Thanks to @Eretz_Nehederet for giving me the opportunity to showcase my hosting skills! pic.twitter.com/jJgsmYJoAC
— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) February 28, 2024
He tried to feel the audience’s pain at one point, acknowledging how hard it is to defend Israel in certain quarters.
“You know that speaking up for [the hostages] could cost you some key fans in the demographic of 18-25 year olds,” he added.
Later, he announced awards for Jewish actors who have remained mum on the matter, specifically targeting comic actor Seth Rogen. He also zinged Hollywood’s MeToo contingent, similarly silent about Hamas’ shocking sexual assaults on women.
“Hamas makes Harvey Weinstein look like Peter Pan,” he cracked.
Any chance Rapaport will be part of the March 10 Oscar ceremony just went up in smoke.
We’ve seen multiple awards shows since the Oct. 7 atrocities. The hostages have yet to be mentioned in any of the speeches or monologues.
By comparison, pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted the Spirit Awards as well as the Sundance Film Festival.
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