People Upset By DL Hughley Breaks The News
 Tuesday, October 28th, 2008  by Connie T.

Well, Darryl "DL" Hughley's new show premiered over the weekend on CNN, and I cringed so many times I'm afraid my face is going to get stuck that way. The variety / news show had Hughley discussing the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain, and attending a Sarah Palin rally--where DL commented there were a lot of "white people...white people with mustaches, and white women with visors...not the best spellers."

He had a guy dressed up in a fluorescent suit, purple hat, and leopard fur coat pretending to be Freddie Mac, the namesake of the mortgage-buying company that John McCain allegedly attempted to reform. But this Freddie Mack said stuff like "pimps up, hoes down."

He also brought on a universe expert to ask if the world would be hit by an asteroid and come to an end if America elected an African-American President.

DL Hughley Breaks The News uses race as a bad comedic crutch to segway between cheesy premises and bad jokes by DL. And by bad, we mean the Carlos Mencia kind of bad, where there is no shame in ripping off jokes just to get a laugh from the few who haven't heard it yet. For example, Hughley threw in a jab at a comment Sarah Palin made in the September Vice Presidential debate.

"I'm an expert on foreign affairs because from Alaska, I can see Russia," Hughley paraphrased of Palin. "Well, from my house I can see the moon, that don't make me an astronaut." We first heard this a month ago when Joy Behar said it on The View, and have been hearing it on TV ever since; yet DL presented "jokes" like this beaming, as if he'd invented them.

The mainstream media has put out hundreds of articles highlighting what they deemed positive points about Hughley's CNN venture since its debut. But when it comes to viewers, they are feeling differently. Since the show premiered, we've gotten a lot of feedback from readers on DL Hughley Breaks The News.

Tasha wrote,

D.L. whatever his name is, is a disgrace to African Americans all across this country. Was he that hard up for his own show that he chose this route? Somebody help the brotha.

Cheryl wrote,

I was very disappointed. He had a great venue to make a difference and he in turn made a buffoon out of himself...I hope he didn't cement those negative opinions even further in the minds of those who don't understand black comedy. That was not cool or funny at all.

Tammie wrote,

It's a wonderful thing anytime someone of color is given an opportunity to advance...Do you realize the impact your negative portrayal of black people can have on a populace of people so unsure of our race from the start? This is a very crucial time in history...What a surprise that CNN would offer you this opportunity now, instead of November 8th. It was all in the planning.

Dr. Boyce Watkins posted a review of the new show, and said, "I was really shocked. Really shocked and appalled. That show was full of a lot of really bad stereotypes...It's not to say this kind of comedy can't be funny in certain context. But you don't bring a gun to a baby shower. You don't put a liquor store inside of a church. CNN, on Saturday night - a few days before one of the most significant and sacred political events in American history - should not be airing this kind of commentary."

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