Comedians who are obsessed with their haters are ruining comedy, from Bill Maher to Hannah Gadsby to Dave Chappelle

TIME

"From provocateurs like Dave Chappelle to progressives like Hannah Gadsby, comics on the world’s biggest stages are allowing the faceless 'haters' who criticize them on social media to consume their work," says Judy Berman. "As these conflicts escalate, the result is even more attention for these stars. That isn’t just bad for public discourse—it’s bad for a mainstream comedy landscape that too rarely spotlights the many voices doing subtler, gentler, weirder, or more experimental work. In defending their ideas and their work, too many of the most famous stand-ups have become smug, narcissistic, self-righteous, petty. Maher epitomizes this exhausting phenomenon."