Did “Joe Buck Live” cross the line?
Joe Buck, a former Cardinals sportscaster, debuted on his new show “Joe Buck Live” on HBO last night interviewing comedian Artie Lange of The Howard Stern Show. USA Today called the show a “train wreck.”
Lange unleashed a barrage of obscene and homophobic jokes about Buck and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, while calling singer Jessica Simpson a “fat chick” who resembles the late Saturday Night Live comic Chris Farley.
At the end of the live taping in Manhattan, Buck thanked Lange for putting an end to his show after one episode. Fellow guest Michael Irvin grabbed the microphone and joked: “It’s refreshing to see white-on white crime.”
Here’s a link to a portion of the show on YouTube. **Video was posted this morning but was taken down by HBO**
If viewers were displeased with the interview, they might take comfort in knowing that Buck was too.
Buck told reporters he thought Lange had an “agenda” when he came on stage to discuss the intersection of sports and celebrity. He was sorry Lange took time away from actors Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis of SNL. But Buck said there was little he could do to control the invited guest without “kicking him off the set” or hitting a “trap door.”
What did you think about last night’s show? HBO might have looser rules for what they can and cannot show but should it be anything goes on these premium cable talk shows?
Should Lange take all the blame for potentially ruining viewers’ first impression of the show? Did he cross the line?
Not only did Lange make fun of Buck but he also seemed to be making fun of Buck’s father too. But Buck didn’t do much to defend himself or the integrity of the show. Should Buck have kicked Lange off the show on live TV? (Our own Dan Caesar previewed the show last week. )
What was your impression of the show? Will you ever watch it again?
Get over it. It’s one show. It’s Artie Lang…so, what do you expect? Has Joe never seen how this guy operates before. In the end, who cares…
Buck should immediately stop Lang and defended his father and kicked Lang off of the showq during a commercial. Buck looked very weak for allowing this. Anther good questions is why did Buck even ask Lang to be on his show?
Why does Joe Buck have a talk show, and who in their right mind would watch it? I can’t even stand him as an announcer.
Hilarious!!! I am not impressed by Silver Spoon Joe Buck. What did he think was going to happen when he invited a raunchy stand-up comedian on his show? Maybe, Buck should have done his homework and watched some of Artie’s shows before he invited him. I pay for premium cable stations so that I can hear/laugh at exchanges like this, screw the FCC. Free speech or no speech, make your choice.
Seriously… what would anyone expect? Artie Lang has been on the Howard Stern show for years. Was anyone expecting a politically correct, “G” rated skit? Artie Lang did exactly what he normally does, nobody should be shocked by this. Joe Buck or anyone else who says they were surprised, disappointed, blah blah blah….. PLEASE!!!!
John,
First of all it is HBO so there aren’t commercials and secondly can we at least get Artie’s last name correct, it is Lange. Besides that, Buck does have a bromantical man crush on Tony Romo and Troy Aikman. Why shouldn’t Artie be allowed to crack jokes? America seems to be getting far too PC for its own good.
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First off, I am a huge fan of Howard tern and I think that Artie does a good job on the radio show (esp. now that he is off heroin). But I think that Arite did cross the line a bit by just running his mouth the whole time. Most of his jokes were more awkward than funny and his arrogance, that a lot of people rail him on for, seemed pretty evident. One thing to remember though, Artie Lange did not ruin the show, I thought it was going pretty poorly by the time the interview with Michael Irvin and Chad Ocho Cinco was over. I think the show either needs new writers or a new format.
You need not look any further than the short bit with Bud Selig to see how the show was going.
It was an embarrassment to everyone except Artie Lange, who is comfortable in this environment. Face it, the show was otherwise weak and only because of this flap are we even talking about it. Take out the Artie Lange piece (which I hated) and the show gave us nothing we haven’t seen before.
That was the best thing to happen to the Joe Buck show. Otherwise boring sports talking.