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CNN Live At Daybreak

Is It Appropriate to Make Fun of Bin Laden?

Aired May 07, 2002 - 07:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: He is the most wanted man in America, if not the world. The man with a $25 million price tag on his head. But Osama bin Laden is also the prime target of comedy writers.

Bin Laden humor has become a staple for the likes of Letterman and Leno in late night. And now in his new video, the rapper Eminem has his own take on OBL, further establishing bin Laden's place in pop culture.

The question is: Is it appropriate to make fun of the guy who a lot of folks believe is responsible for the killing of some 3,000 Americans? Joining us now with his take, humorist Andy Borowitz, author of BorowitzReport.com -- good morning.

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning, Paula. Good to be here.

ZAHN: Nice to see you.

So this is not the first time, obviously, that cultures have made fun of the guy that they hold responsible for horrible, horrible acts. Does this Eminem video represent any turning point to you?

BOROWITZ: Absolutely not. It may be the least shocking thing Eminem has ever done. I was more shocked by his appearance with Elton John on the Grammys last year, actually. I think he -- you know he's doing what we did in World War II.

In World War II, Superman used to fight Hitler on a monthly basis, and he would beat up Hitler, who we knew was responsible for huge atrocities. We might not have known the magnitude at the time that he did a lot of that, but we've always sought to make fun of our enemies in times of war. This really isn't anything shocking or (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I don't think.

ZAHN: I guess the challenge for comedians was to figure out at what point this was appropriate to do it. And, as you remember, Leno and Letterman waited for a month or so before they started making any jokes at the expense of the president or Osama bin Laden.

Let's quickly review what "Saturday Night Live" did many months ago, but, in fact, re-aired this past Saturday, that originally some people were offended by. Let's look at it again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about this, they said: "We hijack the planes to Yemen, then exchange the hostages for our brothers held in Israeli prisons? Then, at that point, any of our group who feel they still crave martyrdom could simply swallow some Anthrax spores, or lie down on railroad tracks." "There are no railroads in Yemen," I pointed out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: The tide of public opinion has changed about this stuff, has it not? Do you see evidence of that on your online columns?

BOROWITZ: Well, you know, at BorowitzReport.com after September 11th, I really kind of stopped doing anything, because I thought that it was just not really a time for comedy. And I think, you know, the late night comedians felt the same way.

But I started getting e-mail from readers saying, "Where are you? You know we still need to laugh, we still need to have a sense of humor." And I actually have seen a much larger readership since I started really talking about the war and talking about the war on terrorism, because we need humor at a time of war, it's undeniable.

ZAHN: Well this certainly is selling a lot of products. I think we have on tape now...

BOROWITZ: Not from me.

ZAHN: Not from you, but other products out there. I mean you can go to New Jersey to a shooting range and fire shots into Osama bin Laden's head. Do we have that tape where you can shoot right into the little toy? You've got these like targets here that are being sold, that people are using at shooting ranges all over the country. This bin Laden doll you just saw sold for $26.95.

Do you think ultimately these things diminish the power of Osama bin Laden?

BOROWITZ: I don't know if they diminish it. I think it's sort of cathartic for Americans. I think that we're really mad at him, we're angry with him, we're at a war with him. And I think that humor is one weapon.

I think in -- I guess in this New Jersey place firearms are another weapon. I'm not a gun user myself, but I think that we need to find ways to deal with this evil. And I think that people have to choose their own method to do it.

ZAHN: And by in large, the people that are e-mailing you very much support that idea?

BOROWITZ: Hugely positive. I really -- to be honest with you, I got more negative e-mail when I attacked Mariah Carey than when I attacked Osama bin Laden. I think she has a bigger fan club in this country. But, yeah, absolutely, I think that people want to laugh. And I think it's a question of taste. Everybody's taste is different. And, you know, it's an occupational hazard as a comedian. You're going to offend some people. Some people are going to want to walk out on you. But I think you have to find that line; everybody has to find their own line.

ZAHN: Andy Borowitz, good to see you.

BOROWITZ: Good to see you, Paula.

ZAHN: Continued good luck to you.

BOROWITZ: Take care.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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