Curb Your Enthusiasm star J.B. Smoove calls out cancel culture – as he fears backlash over ‘edgy material’ may lead to ‘comedy prohibition’

Curb Your Enthusiasm star JB Smoove has spoken out on the debate over whether or not political correctness is “ruining” comedy on television, admitting that it feels “disheartening” that comedians now have to be extra careful with their material.

During an appearance on The View on Thursday, JB – whose full name is Jerry Angelo Brooks – warned that stand-up comedy could eventually go “underground” if artists are forced to censor their acts.

Referring to Curb Your Enthusiasm, created by Larry David and running for twelve seasons, JB said, “I think certain shows have already established that they can get away with it, Larry has already established that.

“But I think in the comedy world we have to be careful because what we don’t want is comedy and stand-up to become underground, and we don’t want comedy to be banned.”

“We don’t want something like that to happen, we want our voices to be heard, we want that extension of the real world to be able to be broadcast to you by a comedian,” the 58-year-old added.

JB played the role of Leon Black in the beloved HBO series alongside the show’s creator, Larry David

When fellow comedian and host of The View, Joy Behar, asked JB if he thinks “wokeism is killing comedy,” he replied, “It can be very, very discouraging.”

Then he said, ‘Now, here’s what you need to pay attention to… you’re watching a stand-up special, you’re in the audience, you’re laughing, you’re having a great time, and you know, the camera stays on the screen the whole time. public-oriented.

“What if there’s edgy material on stage and you’re laughing your ass off and your boss happens to look at it and sees you, but it was edgy and something that’s controversial, do you get fired the next day if your boss sees you laughing? on that?’

“No, maybe not,” replied Joy, 81, while JB continued: “[What] if they say, “I noticed you laughing at something I found unpleasant?” that would be terrible, but what if it turns into that?’

The View cohost Ana Navarro then joked, “The moral of the story is that if you go to the taping of a Netflix comedy special, you should stay way in the back,” as the live studio audience laughed.

‘But you also have to know what you’re going there for and if you’re a fan, you’re a fan. And some people can separate reality from comedy and some people just can’t, but you shouldn’t be in that room if you already know what kind of comic that is,” JB then claimed.

His comments come after Jerry Seinfeld recently claimed that the “far-left” politically correct gang had killed comedy with their hypersensitivity.

“Nothing really affects the comedy. People always need it. They need it so much and they don’t get it,” he said on a recent episode of The New Yorker’s Radio Hour.

The View panelist Ana Navarro asked the actor about the debate that was ‘brewing right now’

Larry and JB pictured with their Curb Your Enthusiasm costar Jeff Garlin during an episode of the hit HBO show

Jerry Seinfeld, pictured here in March 2024, recently claimed that the ‘far-left’ politically correct gang had killed comedy

He fondly remembered the days when people would come home and turn on the TV to watch comedies like “Cheers,” “MASH” or “All in the Family.”

Seinfeld said that he believes no modern TV comedy can compare to the classics of the 1970s and 1980s.

“Well, guess what? Where is it? Where is it? This is the result of the far-left and PC nonsense and people who worry so much about offending other people,” he said.

70-year-old Seinfeld costar Julia Louis-Dreyfus responded to his comments during an interview with The New York Times and described them as “a red flag.”