It’s been a rough week for comedians. On Tuesday, TMZ.com published a picture of her holding a bloodied Donald Trump mask as if she were waving his severed head around. Then, on Friday, Real Time host Bill Maher (in conversation with Senator Bill Sasee) in which Maher referred to himself as — oh, it involves the N Word, so you can look it up elsewhere.
(And, for the record? I’ll be discussing four comedians here who have generated a lot of controversy because of their remarks. I’m a fan of one of them, neutral on two of them, and can’t stand one of them… and no I’m not going to tell you which is which, because that’s not my point.)
What’s astrologically interesting about all this is not what you’d first expect, looking at the birth chart of a comedian. Pretty much any astrologer, if asked “where does humor come from in a birth chart?” will mention Jupiter pretty early on in the conversation. But I have two thoughts about that…
- There is a big difference between “jolly” and “funny,” and Jupiter is definitely in charge of “jolly.”
- Comedians, for the most part, aren’t happy people. More than one study has found that stand-up comedians tend to be more depressed than the average person.
This have led me back to a new appreciation of Sigmund Freud’s theory of what humor is. Yes, I know: Freud is now considered something between “completely unscientific” and “quaintly inaccurate” in most circles. But I’ve always suspected that there is a relationship between aggression/temper and producing humor. Perhaps not surprisingly, each of the four comedians I’ll be talking about here all have pronounced (and problematic) Mars-Saturn combinations… and when activated by transits, it has gotten them into a lot of trouble.
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Kathy Griffin, born November 4, 1960, 6:00 AM, Oak Park Illinois: Mars (debilitated) In Cancer, opposite Saturn, both aspected by Mercury in Scorpio. This is a pretty blatant example (to me) of someone who blows off anger via communication. Prior to the Trump incident, she was dropped from an appearance on Hannah Montana (based on a bit of casual blasphemy at the Emmy Awards). That didn’t make her any friends with The Catholic League either, by the way. She was also banned from the Apollo Theater for a crude joke about Octomom.
Bill Maher, born January 20 1956, 10:32 PM, New York New York: Mars conjunct Saturn in Sagittarius (which is not a Sign known for quiet, thoughtful diplomacy), with an out of quality square from Sag’s ruler Jupiter, which is conjunct Pluto. He’s often pegged as “a liberal,” but frequently speaks out against Islam and apparently owns a gun… so much for easy labels. A controversial pronouncement about the 9/11 attackers ended up in the cancellation of his first major show, Politically Incorrect.
Daniel Tosh, born May 29 1975, time unknown, Boppard Germany. Mars in Aries (strong) opposite Pluto and square Saturn in Cancer (debilitated). In June 2012 he famously responded to a female heckler (who was reacting to his rape jokes) with “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by, like, five guys right now? Like right now?”Also, a quote: “I’m not a misogynistic and racist person…But I do find those jokes funny, so I say them.” Make of that what you will.
Michael Richards, born July 24 1949, 4:43 AM, Los Angeles California. Mars in Cancer (debilitated) conjunct Uranus, sextile Saturn in Virgo. He was best known for playing Kramer on Seinfeld, until November 17, 2006. At that time a group of black customers entered during his set, made a little too much noise for Michael’s liking, which resulted in a long and embarrassing racist rant that made Bill Maher’s n-word usage look like a quote from Martin Luther King by comparison.
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Personally, I’m a big fan of free speech — if nothing else, it makes it easier to spot the terrible people. And, to be honest: any comedian who consistently plays it safe is unlikely to leave that much of an impression. So, next time you hear someone say or do something totally ignorant, keep that in mind. Also, keep in mind that you too have the right to call that person out on their ignorance. Just don’t get too Mars-Saturn with your response, okay? The world is ugly enough as it is…
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