Thanks to her brazen brand of ‘shock comedy,’ quotes from comedienne-actress Sandra Bernhard were no stranger to controversy at the height of her career in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Decades later, that same material is landing the 65-year-old in hot water as clips from a 1998 stand-up gig saw the award-winning comic refer to Pop icon Mariah Carey as the ‘N-word.’
Details inside:
Much like fellow comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon (as we reported here), Bernhard – in the wake of the brightened spotlight placed on racial and social injustice in the entertainment industry – is being burned on Twitter for resurfaced comedy clips that are being deemed racist.
Uncovered by a fan of Carey, the video (seen above) originated from the comic’s 1998 comedy special ‘I’m Still Here…Damn It!’ In it, she not only refers to the Pop diva as the ‘N-word,’ but she also suggested the GRAMMY winner was manipulating African American culture.
“…acting real n*****ish up there at the Royalton Hotel suite with Puff Daddy and all the greasy, chain-wearing Black men,” she said. “…’I got a little bit of Black in me, too. I didn’t tell you that,'” she continued (speaking as Carey in her joke).
Bernhard, now a star of FX hit series ‘Pose,’ has not addressed the recent hoop-la (as of time of this report). However, she did take to ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’ in 2019 to claim she was on good terms with Mariah despite such not being the case the last time Carey addressed the topic in an interview.
Referring to Sandra (who is a Jewish lesbian), she reportedly said:
*****
At the time of incident, Bernhard defended her joke to multiple outlets while promoting the TV special. She’s quoted saying:
“I have carte blanche to use that word from my friend Paul Mooney,” she said to New York Magazine. “I’m a card-carrying white-black girl. Plus, I have a huge Black following, so you know, it’s like a black person saying [n*****ish].”
Years later, she revisited it by stating:
“I think anybody Black who comes to my shows gives me carte blanche to say that because I’m really coming from their place,” she said to Seattle Weekly. “I’m not some cracker up there…It’s so obvious that I’m a part of that culture.”