Quebec government blasts O'Brien for insults to locals

[Flagg]

Quebec government blasts O'Brien for insults to locals



Conan O'Brien
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By Etan Vlessing
TORONTO -- Canadian politicians on Friday criticized a comedy sketch from Thursday night's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" that apparently insulted Quebecers by suggesting everyone in the province was homosexual, even as the Canadian government underwrote the cost of the U.S. talk show appearance in Toronto last week in an attempt to help restore its tourism sector.

"The Conan O'Brien show does not speak for Ontarians," Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters at a news conference Friday.

The Ontario provincial government, along with the federal government, paid CAN$1 million ($750,000) for NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" to shoot four shows in Toronto last week.

During Thursday night's show, controversy was stirred when "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog", a sarcastic puppet dog and a series regular, joked about Quebecers attending the a winter carnival in that province.


"So you're French and Canadian, yes? So you're obnoxious and dull," Triumph told one passerby. "You're in North America, learn the language," he shouted at another.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2091358

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=d04015ec-2aa0-492f-8923-0b0ae6331f9c

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=857&ncid=757&e=10&u=/nm/20040213/od_uk_nm/oukoe_leisure_canada_conan

[Maccagirl]

1. Well, that's why he's called "The Insult Dog"

That's what he does.

[glarius]

2. What is being missed...if O'Brien went into an African American community

in the United States and made racist and insulting "jokes" of the kind made in Quebec, I think it would be quite possible he would be fired...at the very least NBC would demand that he appologize on the air....

[Flagg]

3. xenophobic and hateful anti french campaign by ''comedians''

500 000 died during WWII
but who cares ?
not these assholes, that's for sure

[glarius]

4. O'Brien was brought to Toronto to boost tourism which suffered since the

Sars situation a year ago....I watched all of his shows...He, personally is a nice I guy, I believe...although I've never found him funny....All he does is mug and jump around...No witty conversation...Anyway...the attack dog was offensive (see my answer #2),,,,The thing is his show did nothing to promote Toronto tourism...One would think a few of Toronto's features would have been shown; for instance Casa Loma, a real castle in the city which was built many years ago....and many other things that would make viewers in the States think about wanting to come up and see the city...One of his "Toronto things" was a schtick with Conan and Scott Thompson, in ridiculous fur hats supposedly sight-seeing....walking along railway tracks and ending up in a little bar....I'm sorry, but it was a waste of $1,000,000 to bring the show to Toronto, if the purpose was to promote tourism....