NBC’s Saturday Night Live has been slammed after a skit, featuring Pete Davidson, mocked the appearance of a former Navy SEAL who lost his eye during a mission in Helman province, Afghanistan.
Davidson compared Rep. Dan Crenshaw to a “hitman in a porno movie” in the segment that even CNN went on to criticize.
“You may be surprised to hear he’s a congressional candidate in Texas and not a hit-man in a porno movie,” Davidson said. “I’m sorry, I know, he lost his eye in war, or whatever. Whatever.”
Even CNN blasts NBC's SNL for mocking wounded veteran & GOP candidate Dan Crenshaw. pic.twitter.com/YVMeCdg6AJ
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 4, 2018
Crenshaw was wounded when he was hit by an IED blast during his third deployment in 2012. His right eye was destroyed in the explosion and his left eye was badly damaged.
For a time, Crenshaw was completely blind and doctors did not expect him to regain sight in his left eye. After several difficult surgeries, Crenshaw miraculously regained sight, according to the head surgeon.
Crenshaw responded to the remarks by tweeting, “Good rule of life: I try hard not to offend; I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope @nbcsnl recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.”
Good rule in life: I try hard not to offend; I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope @nbcsnl recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) November 4, 2018
Crenshaw later shared a video saying, “I want us to get away from this culture where we demand apologies every time somebody misspeaks. I think that would be very healthy for our nation to go in that direction.”
“We don’t need to be outwardly outraged. I don’t need to demand apologies from them. They can do whatever they want,” Crenshaw said.
“But I would like him and ‘Saturday Night Live’ to recognize something, which is that veterans across the country probably don’t feel as though their wounds they received in battle, should be… a bad punchline for a bad joke.”
What a breath of fresh air in the midst of a perpetually offended culture.
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