When comedians joke about their relationships

What happens when a reporter I know writes a first-person column about comedians I know talking about making jokes about their ex-girlfriends, and in at least one case, each other? My head explodes? No. No it does not. Instead I blog about it. The column in the Boston Globe (still in business, but apparently barely so) advances this weekend's AltCom Festival.

It's pretty much a given that a comedian's personal life becomes fodder for his or her material onstage, even for those who specialize in strict one-liners. As with all art, though, the performer usually takes some liberties with the truth to sculpt it into something more poetic, more beautiful, more poignant, or more hilarious.

*And in fact, the oddest phrase in that Globe column, to me, alluded to a completely different relationship that went bad. Only the reporter didn't know she was pointing that out. (Trivia alert!)

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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