News / TV

Comedy Central cans Gorburger as T.J. Miller faces renewed sexual assault allegations

Coincidentally or not, we learned Comedy Central had canceled a weekly late-night series, The Gorburger Show with T.J. Miller, on the same day we learned of old accusations of sexual assault and abuse at the hands of Miller, including choking, punching and rape.

The Daily Beast reported on Miller’s treatment of a college girlfriend at George Washington University between 2001-2003, which led to a private hearing in a student court on campus and an undisclosed resolution. “He just tried a lot of things without asking me, and at no point asked me if I was all right,” the woman told The Daily Beast. “He choke[d] me, and I kept staring at his face hoping he would see that I was afraid and [that he] would stop… I couldn’t say anything.”

Women in comedy had privately whispered about Miller to each other for years, warning other women to watch themselves around him. The former classmate of Miller’s decided to come forward with her story, albeit still withholding her name, because of the way society has accepted the #MeToo movement.

Other comedians I know and adore have come forward even more publicly since The Daily Beast‘s publication.

https://twitter.com/JCcoccoli/status/943322810616655872

Miller, for his part, has run afoul of the law multiple times, including an arrest last December for getting into it with an Uber driver, two days before he hosted the Critics Choice Awards. Earlier this year, HBO’s Silicon Valley parted ways with the actor and comedian, who often boasted that his best credit was starring in the Yogi Bear movie in 2010, until he swapped that for his role in the similarly-maligned film, The Emoji Movie, this year. He also released an HBO stand-up comedy special in 2017. On or offstage, Miller enjoyed confusing audiences into wondering if he was serious or sincere.

As to the sexual assault allegations, Miller came out Tuesday with a statement written with his wife, Kate, that not only refuted their GW classmate’s story, but also called the whole matter into question.

Either way, the news let us in on Comedy Central’s decision not to move forward with Gorburger, which began as a Funny or Die webseries before hitting TV this year as a late-night talk show spoof with Miller voicing a monster.

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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