The House of Mouse wasn’t happy with comedian Andrew Santino’s latest stand-up special… so they reportedly axed portions of it.
Santino, one of the biggest voices in the comedy and podcasting game right now, doesn’t typically hold his tongue when it comes to the world’s most hot-button issues. Though you might not realize it, the strange existence of “Disney Adults” is one of those divisive topics, and something that Andrew Santino hasn’t been afraid to target in the past.
Most of the time, the 41-year-old comic is packaging his takes within his podcasts Whiskey Ginger or Bad Friends with Bobby Lee. That’s the medium that most people have discovered Santino through, and the podcast world is naturally a little more free conversationally… hence why comedians love podcasting.
But Santino does still enjoy getting out in front of crowds and providing them with hilarious bits and topical, comical observations. That’s on full display in his upcoming comedy special White Noise, which he put together for Hulu. In case you didn’t know, Hulu is now owned by the Disney corporation (what isn’t really?), and I’m sure you now see where I’m going with this.
Santino sat down with Variety to talk about his new comedy special, and he was asked about making jokes about Disney adults for a streaming service that is owned by Disney. The stand-up comedian openly shared that Disney throttled some of the jokes, and what people see on his special is a modified, dumbed-down version of the joke that he told:
“They couldn’t wait to trim the fat on those jokes. Candidly, we went back and forth, and they didn’t really enjoy having that stuff in there. We found a happy medium, and I was able to keep the jokes in there, but (they) were manipulated. I’m not going to lie: They definitely changed the jokes.
I was not stoked about that. We got into a little bit of a war. They did not want those jokes in there. My argument was: I joke about a lot of other stuff in the special that’s controversial. I don’t think joking about people who like Disney as grown-ups is a controversial take, but they disagreed.”
Disney was afraid to get their feelings hurt by a little joke about a very specific, niche group of (kinda weird) people? Can’t say that I’m surprised…
The worst part about it? Santino says the way the Disney corporation cut down the bit made it less funny, and kind of neutered the entire point of going in on Disney adults:
“It was funnier. It peeled open a little bit more than what you saw, on people going to Disney without kids and adults who wear Disney clothing. But Disney is a massive corporate conglomerate, and they were like, ‘If you want it on here, this is how we want it. Otherwise we won’t be able to air the special. We have to cut the jokes.’
So we found a medium. We said we’d find a way to manipulate the jokes in a way that works for everybody. (Disney) got kind of what they wanted, and I tried to get the best of what I wanted. This is compromise in the modern world of media.”
That right there is why comedians prefer to do podcasts, which allow them to be more open (and typically aren’t owned by big, lifeless, sensitive conglomerates), or release specials on Netflix and YouTube, which have a little more freedom for comics.
Santino went on to say exactly that, and voice his frustrations with Disney not getting the joke… when they are the ones that chose him to do a stand-up special. He says that comedy specials should reflect how people talk in the real world, and has a serious problem with the higher-ups trying to silence – or at the very least soften – his views:
“Typically, we get free rein. This is the first time I’ve experienced this in making specials, where they were afraid of the narrative I was putting out because it was a reflection on their company. I reminded them multiple times that it was comedy, and I was kidding, and it’s not real. And that’s the point of comedy: You’re just mocking reality.
But they weren’t interested in it. So, again, we found a happy medium, but most of the time comedians are unfiltered. That’s why we love the podcast world and why we’ve kind of gone away from traditional forms of media. We got sick of being told, ‘You’re not supposed to say that.’
Quite frankly, it’s bulls***, because that’s not how people think and talk in the real world. Nobody cares. People speak their mind all the time, and they love when comics are able to say the things people don’t talk about much because they’re afraid to. That’s our job, to bring up the uncomfortable and talk about the topics people wince at. That’s the best part of the business.”
So when you go to check out Andrew Santino’s special, and you get to the point where he discusses Disney adults, just remember that the bits are a shell of themselves… thanks to Disney being afraid to get their feelings hurt.
Honestly, Santino should’ve walked. I’m obviously not privy to the details of their negotiations, but he really should have walked out. Go to Netflix and tell them Disney wanted to cut their jokes, and then go to the media and say “Hey, Disney didn’t like these jokes about their fans so I walked out on a big check.” And then point ’em right over to Netflix. People would show up just to hear what Disney didn’t want you to say… I guarantee it.
