By Brandon Morse

May 21, 2021

-Red State

 

Everyone’s unwillingness to be offended is killing diversity in our society and it’s gotten to a point where we can’t even agree to disagree or humorously commentate on protected subjects. It’s gotten so bad that Boston’s most popular radio show host, Matt Siegel, walked off his show after he was told by his bosses that Demi Lovato identifying as “non-binary” was an untouchable topic.

The host of Boston’s Kiss 108 “Matty in the Morning” show quit the show live on air after he ranted on having been told he can’t seem to make fun of any sensitive topic, be it making Republicans angry by making fun of Trump, or making leftists angry by making fun of the gender-fluid trend.

A Twitter user captured the audio of Siegel’s rant and posted it to Twitter. In it, you can hear Siegel saying that despite being told he can’t talk about Lovato, he has nothing against his boss personally as he understands the decision was business-based, not personal. He then made it clear that he can’t win no matter what side he takes, be it making fun of the right or the left and that he only seems allowed to make fun of light topics.

“I can’t do what I really want to do which is just be a funny comic who tells it like it is,” said Siegel.

Siegel went on to say that he loves his listeners and that it’s been a “hell of a run, but I think it’s coming to an end.”

Further on, Siegel added that he thinks the whole non-binary thing is a joke and that he actually doesn’t care what Lovato does, but he can’t say anything because he might offend someone now. He complains that he’s only allowed to be a lighthearted show but points out that the market is already full of these kinds of shows and that his was different, and was the biggest because of it. He then ended the show with a parting shot to the people who told him he should stop offending people.

“I am the biggest of all time, and they said, ‘Shut up, Matt! Stop talking.’ Well, I hope you’re happy because I just stopped talking. Matty out,” he said before it cut to commercial.

Boston.com later talked to Siegel over the phone and he recounted what brought him to that point, pointing out that he’s against the non-binary trend and that Lovato is actually a troubled woman that too many young people are taking their cues from:

“I’m against her binary thing; I think she’s a troubled woman and a lot of young people are taking her seriously and it bothers me,” Siegel said. “But of course, it’s a comedy show, so I did it in the context of jokes.

“We were having fun with it, and my boss called up and said that I’d crossed the line and they didn’t want me talking about it anymore,” he continued. “I responded by saying, ‘If I can’t talk about what I’m thinking at this point in my career, I don’t want to be on the radio anymore.’”

After a conversation with his bosses, Siegel said that he’s decided not to quit the show and that there are no hard feelings between them:

“There’s no ill feeling between me and my boss or me and my company, none.” Siegel said. “They’re doing their jobs. I get it. They got a lot of heat this morning, people complaining about things I said on the air. He doesn’t want me to be fired. His heart was in the right place.”

Nevertheless, Siegel was still upset about what had transpired, saying that as a comedian, being told what to say or not say is “the worst thing you can say to a performer.”

“At some point, I hate to use this line, but you know the line from ‘Billions’ — ‘What’s the point of having f*** you money if you never say f*** you?’’” Siegel said. “If I don’t say it now, when? When I’m dead?”

Our society has too many sacred cows and everyone is afraid of speaking out against them, or even making light of them, because doing so may result in their cancelation. Comedians, especially, need to be able to make fun of pretty much any subject as anathema to us taking something, or ourselves, too seriously.

While every side does it to some degree, the left is by far the worst about it, especially when it comes to LGBT culture which has become so untouchable that PBS is literally teaching kids to be drag queens. It’s clearly gone too far, but too many corporate entities are too afraid to speak up against it. It’s either full reverence or its cancelation.

We need more people like Siegel willing to make fun of anything and everything. More Trey Parkers and Matt Stones. More Dave Chappelles and Ricky Gervais’s.