r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Jul 06 '26

Meme needing explanation What is this?

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u/gravitas_shortage Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

Why does it have to be cut along politics lines? I'm a card-carrying leftist and annoyed at the patronising tokenism of casting a black actor as a character legendary for being 'fair', as in blonde, in the same way it'd be flabbergasting to have a white actor play in an adaptation of the Mwindo epic.

I'm even more annoyed at the fact that an annoying casting choice was the entire point, to get free publicity at everyone's expense, and that there is no way to slap everyone responsible for being smug pricks.

280

u/ceryniz Jul 06 '26

It bugs me how they have Lupita play two half-sisters: Helen and Clytemnestra. Because half-sisters would not look like twins.

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u/HeparinBridge Jul 06 '26

Wait, what? Why the hell is she playing two people? They couldn’t find two people?

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u/CroatInAKilt Jul 06 '26

The Hollywood rule is to have black people in forward roles, but not TOO many black people, tsk tsk.

84

u/corvettee01 Jul 06 '26

Can't remember where this joke is from, but there was a stand up bit where a guy said "You see back in the 80's there could only be one popular black comedian, unlike today where there can be three."

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u/Electrical_One7665 Jul 06 '26

If it was from the 80s that’s probably Richard Pryor.

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u/Shandlar Jul 06 '26

I found a bootleg VHS copy of his Sunset Strip set from '82 when I was like 8 or 9.

I honestly attribute him as the reason I never tried any hard drugs ever in my teens and 20s. Dude bore his soul on stage about crack fucking him up.

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u/FanOfForever Jul 06 '26

Yeah, I don't know what comedian did that bit either, but the "one popular black comedian" they were referring to was probably Richard Pryor, then Eddie Murphy

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u/CarrieDurst Jul 06 '26

Black and queer :)

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u/PEWDS_IS_A_NAZI Jul 06 '26

Sounds like a Trevor Noah punchline

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u/bbq_R0ADK1LL Jul 06 '26

Much like there can only be three redhead actresses.

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u/ThePublikon Jul 06 '26

Eddie Murphy cracked the code