Just saw some snipets of it. Did anyone find that funny? I thought that was over the top even for them. They are basically just picking on the guy because he is blind right? Am I missing something
--------------------------------------------------------
Gov. Paterson not amused by 'Saturday Night Live' parody
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, December 15th 2008, 1:16 AM
Fred Armisen portrays Gov. Paterson on 'SNL.'
Gov. Paterson, whose lively sense of humor is well known, wasn't at all amused by a "Saturday Night Live" skit poking fun at his blindness and admitted drug use.
"I can take a joke. But only 37% of disabled people are working and I'm afraid that that kind of third-grade humor certainly adds to this atmosphere.
"Let's just say I don't think it helped," Paterson told the Daily News on Sunday.
The skit featured "SNL" cast member Fred Armisen doing a dead-on impression of the governor in the show's "Weekend Update."
Armisen, as Paterson, sat at a desk appearing confused about where the cameras were. "SNL" cast member Seth Meyers helped him turn his chair toward the camera.
Meyers then asked the fake Paterson what criteria he has for choosing someone to fill Sen. Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.
"It's time we get someone from Utica, Syracuse or Schenectady - towns where people have something a little off about them," he said.
"I mean, they don't have to be blind. I just need someone with like a gamey arm or maybe the giant gums with the tiny teeth."
The fake Paterson then points out that he only became governor because of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's prostitution scandal.
"Whoever is appointed senator must - like me - be caught totally off guard and be comically unprepared to take office," he said.
"Come on, I'm a blind man who loves cocaine who was suddenly appointed governor of New York. My life is an actual plot from a Richard Pryor movie."
Paterson admitted using cocaine and marijuana during his 20s. In the skit, the fake Paterson held up a chart illustrating job losses in the state - but it was upside down.
Later, he wandered in front of the camera during "SNL" cast member Amy Poehler's announcement that she is leaving the show.
A spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind also slammed the skit.
"The biggest problem faced by blind people is not blindness itself, but the stereotypes held by the general public," spokesman Chris Danielsen said.
"The idea that blind people are incapable of the simplest tasks and are perpetually disoriented and befuddled is absolutely wrong."
Paterson's spokesman Errol Cockfield Jr. said "the governor is sure that 'Saturday Night Live,' with all of its talent, can find a way to be funny without being offensive."
NBC declined to comment on Saturday night's show.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...gov_paterson_not_amused_by_saturday_nigh.html
--------------------------------------------------------
Gov. Paterson not amused by 'Saturday Night Live' parody
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, December 15th 2008, 1:16 AM
Fred Armisen portrays Gov. Paterson on 'SNL.'
Gov. Paterson, whose lively sense of humor is well known, wasn't at all amused by a "Saturday Night Live" skit poking fun at his blindness and admitted drug use.
"I can take a joke. But only 37% of disabled people are working and I'm afraid that that kind of third-grade humor certainly adds to this atmosphere.
"Let's just say I don't think it helped," Paterson told the Daily News on Sunday.
The skit featured "SNL" cast member Fred Armisen doing a dead-on impression of the governor in the show's "Weekend Update."
Armisen, as Paterson, sat at a desk appearing confused about where the cameras were. "SNL" cast member Seth Meyers helped him turn his chair toward the camera.
Meyers then asked the fake Paterson what criteria he has for choosing someone to fill Sen. Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.
"It's time we get someone from Utica, Syracuse or Schenectady - towns where people have something a little off about them," he said.
"I mean, they don't have to be blind. I just need someone with like a gamey arm or maybe the giant gums with the tiny teeth."
The fake Paterson then points out that he only became governor because of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's prostitution scandal.
"Whoever is appointed senator must - like me - be caught totally off guard and be comically unprepared to take office," he said.
"Come on, I'm a blind man who loves cocaine who was suddenly appointed governor of New York. My life is an actual plot from a Richard Pryor movie."
Paterson admitted using cocaine and marijuana during his 20s. In the skit, the fake Paterson held up a chart illustrating job losses in the state - but it was upside down.
Later, he wandered in front of the camera during "SNL" cast member Amy Poehler's announcement that she is leaving the show.
A spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind also slammed the skit.
"The biggest problem faced by blind people is not blindness itself, but the stereotypes held by the general public," spokesman Chris Danielsen said.
"The idea that blind people are incapable of the simplest tasks and are perpetually disoriented and befuddled is absolutely wrong."
Paterson's spokesman Errol Cockfield Jr. said "the governor is sure that 'Saturday Night Live,' with all of its talent, can find a way to be funny without being offensive."
NBC declined to comment on Saturday night's show.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...gov_paterson_not_amused_by_saturday_nigh.html
