I think I'm happy with that headline. Here are a few other options:
Adam Carolla Makes Bid To Win 'Adam Carolla' Search Term On Google
Adam Carolla Has A Book Out, Did You Know: Women Aren't Funny, How About Now?
'Man Show' Star Interviewed... No The Other One
In case you haven't heard the breaking news, here's where we are:
Adam Carolla has a book out called "Not Taco Bell Material," and it might be very good. I don't know because I haven't read it, although it is on my desk and I like the cover. From inspecting the jacket, I've gleaned that Carolla has led a fairly interesting life thus far, so much so that someone gave him money to write a memoir (though I wonder if he uses that word... it sounds a little girly).
Naturally, Carolla is doing a lot of press to promote said book, and one little bit of that press was with the NY Post a few days ago. In that interview, Carolla said this: [Chicks are] always the least funny on the writing staff. The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks.
He said other things, too, but that's the money shot.
Now, let's be fair and give credit where credit is due: Post writer Larry Getlen asked the question and Carolla answered it honestly. He even pointed out a few women he does find funny.
When Jason Zinoman of The New York Times interviewed former Letterman booker Eddie Brill, he also asked a few questions that could have been loosely translated as, "Would you like to step on this landmine I just placed in front of you?" Answering with an emphatic "Yes" doesn't make Brill or Carolla any less responsible for their regressive views of women and comedy, but when we talk about these things, we would be remiss if we didn't point out the writer's interest in a zippy headline.
In fact, in writing this post I bear some responsibility for keeping the "are women funny" conversation alive for another news cycle. I apologize. But I'm not writing this to argue against Carolla's opinion, rather to say once and for all, who cares? I know funny women. Funny women are friends of mine. Carolla is no funny woman. He's not even Jimmy Kimmel.
As annoying as his remarks are, that's really all there is to it; they're annoying. He didn't actually say, as the Post headline suggests that "women just aren't funny." He said he thinks men are funnier than women. I disagree, but only because I think trying to quantify the relative funniness of a gender is silly. But it's not particularly out of character, surprising or newsworthy that he said or thinks that.
The bigger problem is the glibness of asking and answering the question at all; it's a not-at-all concealed effort to foster hits and book sales. Meanwhile, young, funny women currently developing their craft just like every other comedian regardless of gender, have to endure another round of annoying backstage conversations.
Nevertheless, Carolla's entire career is based on being a regular dude with dude predilections and dude thinking. Translation: Who cares what he has to say about women?
And to put it in his terms, if Carolla weren't a dude, would we know who he is?