BACKSTAGE CONTROVERSY AFTER NBC DEPICTION OF LIMBAUGH
NBC's comedy depiction of talkradio king Rush Limbaugh passed-out in vomit from drug abuse ignited backstage outrage at SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.
The animated sketch left one senior production source stunned and outraged, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
"Would we have done this to [John] Belushi? [Chris] Farley?" the source said on Sunday from New York.
The source asked not to be identified fearing retribution from SNL's executive producer Lorne Michaels.
"We've had more fu**ing drug addicts on this show through the years... more tragedy. I have lost count. Did we ever have some laughs about Robert Downey Jr.'s serious drug addiction?"
The crass montage which aired on NBC featured Limbaugh vomiting from drugs on a bathroom floor, in an apparent overdose.
Last year, Limbaugh announced to his radio audience that he was seeking treatment for an addiction to pain medication.
Calls to Michaels office went unreturned late Sunday.
Developing...
With all due respect to your "journalistic integrity," Mr. Drudge, I would point out some issues I have with your news bulletin.
-- An unnamed source on SNL? Sounds like a perfect cover to spout your own opinion - which is actually a talking point handed down from your keepers. Your "story" is about a staffer who didn't like the skit?? No, of course not. Your story is about the skit itself, which you find objectionable because it reminds people of the hypocrisy of one of the poster boys for the right wing noise machine. Personally, I don't believe the "outraged" staffer even exists. But you can go ahead and hide behind that same curtain of source protection that has saved Robert Novak's fat butt so far.
-- The objection does have the slightest tinge of truth to it - which makes it all the more dangerous. In bringing up Belushi and Farley, you try to equate their tragedies with Limbaugh's addiction. On the face of it, this almost makes sense. But there is a problem here. As far as I can remember, John Belushi and Chris Farley never claimed to be paragons of virtue and certainly never used a national radio program (or their own movies, albums, etc.) to rail against the people who had the misfortune to become addicts. The thing that makes making fun of Rush - well - funny, is that he is a hypocrite of the greatest magnitude. All the time that he was screaming about addicts, he was one himself. That is pure comedy gold, baby:
"Too many whites are getting away with drug use, too many whites are getting away with drug sales, too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we're not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river"
"Send the people who want to do drugs to London and Zurich, and let's be rid of them."
"Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."
One more thing: depicting Limbaugh as a puppet in the skit is also a great touch, and much closer to the truth. He is a windbag of immense proportions, but all of his commentary and talking points come straight from the noise machine -- as do yours.
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