Didn't hear the whole thing, only snippets on Stern. What I heard was funny, LOVE Mooney's standup

Paul Mooney has always been a ferocious mouth!

Anybody who sits in Mooney's stand-up session won't be relaxing in his seat, let alone if one of the audience's parent is the target?

Ms.Traci Ellis just sat there at The BET Comedy awards and listened to her mother be talked about like a nothing ass dog and did not react. She held it together like a true class act.

I really, REALLY admire her oh so very looooong temper. Phew,,,,talk about a true PATIENT sista,,,,some of us(esp me) def doesn't possesse that quality. If my bestfriend just thought about my mother in a negative light, I don't know what I'll do,,,,let alone some stranger with a bunch of audience laughing on his jokes about MY MOMMA?

My oh my

Anybody got any quotes?

Harlepolis said:

Apparently she wasn't able to hold it together and left.

COMEDIAN PAUL MOONEY'S OUTRAGEOUS ATTACK ON DIANA ROSS AT BET AWARDS

TAPING: A Freaked out, Tracey Ellis Ross, was in the Audience

*What started out as comedian/writer Paul Mooney's questionable "***** Wake Up Award" turned into an all-out insult to Diana Ross last night at the taping of the BET Comedy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. For some reason Mooney thought the famed singer was deserving of being talked about like a dog because of her arrest for drunk driving from a year or two ago. Needless to say, Mooney's mean spirited tirade was met with disbelief, disgust and silence from the audience in the auditorium and members of the press in the media room covering the event. What made it more difficult to witness was the fact that Tracey Ellis Ross was in the auditorium while Mooney went through his attack. Actually Miss Ellis Ross couldn't take it and ran out of the auditorium, which we totally understand.

Backstage in the press room when EUR's Lee Bailey confronted Mooney about his bit on Ross being way over the top, the comedian defended his actions.

"How can somebody get arrested for (being under the influence) and go to jail and I be over the top? I think that's over the top, don't you? Agree or disagree, folks. No, comedy is not over the top," Mooney said. "When you are a celebrity and you do crazy stuff, that's the game." At that point Bailey asked him if thought about the fact that Tracey Ellis Ross was in the room while he delivered his diatribe against her mother.

"I didn't know ... her mama could've been in there, that's not the point. I didn't drive drunk," Mooney shot back. "Now I'm responsible for Diana Ross? If you scrutinize Jay Leno and David Letterman the same way you scrutinize me, then I'll agree with you, but if you don't touch them white folks don't touch me. They say what ever they want to say every night."

Record executive and member of old school group Club Nouveau, Jay King, was in the audience and was clearly disgusted by Mooney's comments. "Diana Ross' thing to me was just a personal demon she was dealing with, it wasn't something that he needed to go on record (talking about). If he'd have kept it light and funny it would've been fine, but he got down right dirty and divisive," King told us. "He said he says ***** a hundred times a day, well today he did ... he was a ***** a hundred times for doing that. Her daughter was in that audience. That's ridiculous. He was nasty and he was rude. Paul Mooney knows better than that. He knows where to draw the line and stepped over the line tonight.

I've seen him push the envelope, but tonight is the first time I've been offended by something he said, because with the Diana Ross thing, once he knew he was offensive, he just continued on ... he didn't wanna stop. At that point, he meant to hurt and damage somebody."

That raises the question of how BET is going to deal with Mooney's "moment." In fact, with all the "*****s," "bitches," "MFs" and other words that can't be said on TV, the network's producers and editors have got one hellava challenge ahead of them. The BET Comedy Awards air tomorrow night from 9 until 11 PM E/P. In tomorrow's EUR, we'll bring you more about the show as well as comedians Steve Harvey and Sheryl Underwood's reactions to Paul Mooney.


9/27 EUR Report

MORE REACTION TO MOONEY'S DIANA DISS: Underwood, Harvey weigh in on
situation; bit may be left on editing room floor forever.
*It's hard to say how much of Sunday night's BET Comedy Awards will actually make it on the air tonight at 9 p.m. As previously reported, there were more "*****s," "bitches" and "m*ther f*ckas" spat out that night at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium than in the entire career of NWA. But at no point in the evening did it get any lower on the class meter than when comedian Paul Mooney verbally eviscerated Diana Ross, as her daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross, sat in the audience.

You know you done messed up when Sheryl Underwood thinks you went too far. "I'ma tell you something. I'm from Arkansas. You talk about my mama, I'ma run up on the stage and whup ya ass. That's all there is to it," Underwood told reporters backstage. "You can't say nothin' 'bout nobody in my family; you can't say nothin' 'bout my step-mama, my pretend mama, my big mamas, my play mamas. You can't even say nothing about somebody who look like my mama."

Mooney's Diana Ross bit may not ever see the light of day. A source backstage overheard Tracee's publicist angrily dress down BET staff, who in turn reassured her that the segment would be edited out of tonight's telecast. "I'm not sure that the producers are going to do where that's concerned," BET publicist Michael Llewellen admitted to reporters in the press room. "If it came across as much of a grenade [to producers] as it did [based on] some of the expressions I saw on your faces in here, I'm sure they'll edit it."

Mooney not only mocked Diana Ross' drunk driving arrest, (an incident that happened nearly three years ago), but he also made fun of the Jan. 2004 mountain climbing death of Ross' husband and Tracee's step-father, Arne Naess Jr. The bit was part of Mooney's "***** Wake Up Awards" comedy routine, which last year targeted Michael Jackson.

Tracee, a star of UPN's "Girlfriends," left the auditorium during the segment. Host Steve Harvey, who feels Mooney has a right to say whatever he wants to say, later approached the actress in a show of support.

"I was just letting Tracee Ross know that all of us love her and her mother," Harvey told reporters backstage. "Paul Mooney did the thing about her mother getting that [***** Wake Up] award and then made that joke about her father disappearing on the mountain. This girl had lost her step-father in a mountain-climbing accident, and her mama is Diana Ross. Sh*t. That's big love, Diana Ross. I just felt like since she was sitting out there, just let the audience give her some love. Comedy shouldn't be f*cked up like that, especially at the expense of some people sitting there. You gotta let that weight up off her. The crowd wasn't laughing at that, either."

Meanwhile, other things did happen during the telecast. Martin Lawrence received the show's prestigious 2005 Comedy Icon Award for his "outstanding body of work." "It's a wonderful honor. I can't believe it's me they honored tonight like that, but I'll take it," he said backstage.

SexyBeautifulOne said:

-----
You act like Diane was not drunk off her ass. She could have killed someone.
I think a lot of you guys are to young to know about some of Diane antics back in the Motown days. She was known for being super bitchy and mean.

It is called Karma or what goes around comes around. I don't think Paul gives a crap as he talks about everybody and still manages to find work.

sonofblade said:

I'm not surprised that something like this went down. Have you ever watched BET Comicview? Nothing is off limits. They make fun of everyone. Celebrities, Gay people, Old People, Crackheads, Christians and even Handicapped people. Those comics will do and say anything for a laugh. I think Mooney should offer an apology to Tracy Ellis Ross. Hey if someone talked about his mama like that, he'd probably put his foot in their @$$.

I read that too fast and I thought it said "Paul Mooney or Diana Ross". Mooney all the way!

laurarichardson said:

The last time I checked being a bitch was not a crime or I'd have gotten life a long ass time ago and Paul Mooney would have been in the cell next to me. His talking about her being drunk isn't the issue, we all know she was drunk. The issue is how he deliberately went out of his way to humiliate her and her daughter. Had this been recent news, it might have been humerous, since this was real old news and no one else was even thinking about it, much less talking about it. It was a blatant personal attack not humor!

As for Paul Mooney finding work, as long as people were laughing, he was finding work. People were not laughing the other night! Things change when comedians stop bring in the chuckles!

40 posts and i still have no idea what he actually said

This bites. I really like Paul Mooney and oftentimes I think his comedy is pretty poignant where social messages are regarded. But how was he making us laugh or teaching us anything here? And drunk driving aside, what is funny about a death? He was out to hurt people... and was tactless enough to even publicly defend what he did when he found out Tracee was in the audience. That's just messed up.

rainman1985 said:

lol! same here

Well when it comes to Mooney, you'd better be prepared to be either entertained or offended...one of the two. I saw him at a comedy club back in February, and he said the N word so much that I was sort of getting offended. He says the N-Word more than any rapper could say in an album (I think NWA got Mooney beat though). Also some of the white people in the audience got up in the middle of his act and left. I don't see why he has to say it so much..he's funny at times, but he's doesn't have me on floor dying laughing.

For one thing he always talks about race (such a cliche' for black comedians on always talking about the difference between blacks and whites) and he repeats his jokes..some of the jokes he said on the Comedy awards show I had already heard back in February (where he did mention Ross then about her drunk driving).

JackieBlue said:

thats fucked up. he aint have to take it THAT far

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

it was hella funny! espeically the beginning w/ the george bush look a like

laurarichardson said:

it has nothing to do with karma. yes i know diana was a bitch back in the day and probly still is, but if karma is to come back on anyone, it should be her, not her daughter. children should not be penalized for their parents mistakes. its not fair. what goes around shouldnt come around to traci, she wasnt the one driving drunk, her momma was, she wasnt the one who got arrested, her momma was.

Moonwalkbjrain said:

-----
Sorry baby he was talking about Diane not Traci. Who from everything I have every heard about is a really nice person but, her mom has a long rep for being a bitch.

I can't help but,think that might have been Paul's reason for going after her.
He should not have included the husband because Diane's issues had nothing to do with Arne.

I think Paul got pissed off because of the audience's reaction and just went for the jugular. I saw him go off on a woman that heckled him at a show.

He has got a quick temper and obviously does not take any shit off of anyone.

laurarichardson said:

thats my point i know he was talkin about diana, not traci. u said its karma and my point is dianas karma should come back on traci. and if mr mooney gets pissed off easily than maybe he's in the wrong proffession, its not right to dog people just cuz ur not gettin the reaction u want

missfee said:

I've seen Mooney in clubs a few times. Never seen anyone leave his set, White people included. You gotta know what you're getting into when going to his show. It's heavy on race issues - not at all a cliche for him since he's been in the game a LONG time & has seen all kinds of shit, makes some really interesting observations. Dude is funny as FUCK in a nightclub, he's never disappointed me

Paul Mooney must be one baaaaad motherfucker to be the writer for many comedy greats such as Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy & Dave Chappelle.

His "Ask A Black Dude" segment in Chappelle's show is just outta sight

Moonwalkbjrain said:

-----
Traci must know about her mother's rep. She knows everybody is not a fan. She needs to get a tough skin if she is going to be in the entertainment business.

I think Paul is in the right profession he has been in it for over 40 years.
You need to go back and listen to some old Richard Pryor cd's if you really want to know what is on Paul's mind. He wrote some of Rich's best stuff and it is not for the thin-skinned.

laurarichardson said:

wow, so if i was a well known comedian and u were a famous something and ur ma was too, and if she drove drunk or was a junkie or something, then it would be ok for him to talk shit about her right? can u HONESTLY say u would be fine with me talkin shit about ur mother?

CalhounSq said:

well jokes being repeated always bores me.

To talk about the dead...I should say to "dog out" the dead is well beyond comedy in this case.

He knew good and damn well Diana's daughter was in the audience when he "went too far."

It was PLENTY of folks who got up and left during that segment and I don't blame them.

Black folks, we use comedy to walk through situations that would make a grown man cry....


But as much as I "respected" Paul...that shit was FLAT wrong...I hope his ass doesnt get a job again until the Jheri Curl comes back in style ....

sinisterpentatonic said:

I thought it was well known that he was gay. It's alluded to on Richard Pryor's Television show box set Pryor Roast portion. Sandra Bernhard is a guest-writer as well, so they know each other from back then.

Paul also has two older children, the Mooney Twins, a comedy act with social content.


.
[Edited 10/2/05 20:07pm]

Didn't one of Paul Mooney's sons, I think it was Dwayne Mooney, go to jail for murder back in the 80s? Since he feels no one who makes bad choices is exempt from being made fun of, I wonder if he's ever hit up on his own kid. Usually, comics get real over the top like that when they're no longer funny. I saw him a few years back on some show and he sounded like an old man just bitching other than saying stuff to make people laugh. Unfortunately, he feels he'll compensate for his lack of ability to make people laugh by being absolutely mean, callous and vulgar.

LQ

SexyBeautifulOne said:

Some words uttered by someone is not disrespecting my mother - she is above that. It is one of the most ignorant aspects of African American culture there is. We let silly childish things like that spur us to stupidity and violence - like the word nigger does. And the irony is your lame attempt to dis my mother by invoking initials that refer to her as a bitch. Now who is really a bitch here?

DiamondGirl said:

I have that box set and I dont recall any such reference to his sexuality.

DiamondGirl said:

I have that box set and yes Richard Pryor did allude to it openly during the Roast. I knew Richard was going to bring it up after some of Mooney's biting comedy, that was a classic roast. Pryor was killing Mooney, Bernhardt, Marcia Warfield and Robin Williams.