“I
don’t care if you think I’m racist,”
says the controversial comedienne in her 2005 stand-up
film, Jesus Is Magic. “I only care if you
think I’m thin.” Well, we think Sarah
Silverman is all-around awesome. While no social group
is safe and no subject taboo (even AIDS) on The
Sarah Silverman Program, her new scripted Comedy
Central series, she proves herself to be one of gay
people’s biggest allies—yes, even bigger
than Brad Pitt.
Your show satirizes some pretty racy topics. Did the
folks at Comedy Central ever try to censor you?
There were definitely days where I was like, Those
fucking assholes! But a lot of their notes,
even if I disagreed with them, made us come up with
something we liked even more. Plus, the precedent that
South Park alone set makes it so hard for
Standards and Practices to have many arguments. That
show really opened so many doors in terms of what you
can get away with on that channel.
Yeah, I recently heard the c word on a Comedy Central
stand-up special.
You can say anything, even “cunt,” after 1
a.m. And there’s a lot you can also get away
with after 10 p.m., which is why we’re at 10:30 p.m.
We can’t say “cunt,” but
that’s OK.
What was the idea behind casting comedians Brian Posehn
and Steve Agee as your bearish gay neighbors?
We knew we wanted them to be together—roommates,
brothers, whatever—and it just organically felt
right that they were lovers. I just love them because
they’re obviously against any stereotype, but not
gratuitously. They both play it so honestly, and you really
feel like these two characters love each other. And
the comedy comes from the circumstances—it
doesn’t necessarily come from the fact that these two
big slobs are a gay couple.
Do you have a lot of gay friends in real life?
No, none! [Laughs] Yeah, of course. I have a lot
of gay friends, but my two closest gay friends are
both comedians. One is a woman, Tig Notaro, who
actually stars in episode 5, where I decide I’m a
lesbian and I’m in love with her. And the other one
is a guy, but the only time I can really tell
he’s gay is when we play video games, because
whenever he’s getting killed he’s like—
[shrieks].
Is the lesbian episode based on your own experimentation?
No, I never did. I’ll admit it’s so
exciting to think of, but I love boring cock.
Have you ever gotten any flak from gay groups who
can’t take a fag joke or an AIDS joke?
Nah, the gays have the best sense of humor. We actually
have an AIDS episode coming up where I wake up with a
case of the blahs and decide I need some good news. So
I get an AIDS test, because of course I don’t
have AIDS, but once I get the test I convince myself I have
it and start a whole AIDS awareness movement
that’s really based on my pictures on posters.
But I think that will go over well.
What would you do if your boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, came
out of the closet?
I’d be devastated! He’s my life
partner! I’d probably have to get a sex change
and try to woo him. If he weren’t my boyfriend,
I’d be totally supportive.
Is it true that you aren’t going to marry Jimmy
until gays in the U.S can marry?
Absolutely true. I don’t want this government to
be any part of our love, so I have no interest in
getting married. What makes it less wrong than when
interracial marriage was illegal? It’s fucking
barbaric.
Did you make that statement before Brad Pitt did?
I did say it before Brad Pitt. I said it a long time
ago. Actually, someone e-mailed to tell me when Brad
Pitt said it, and there was a part of me that was mad!
But then I was like, Why would I be mad? It’s a good
thing. I don’t have to own that.
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