Tim Allen expresses frustration with effect of ‘thought police’ on comedy

Tim Allen and Joy Behar reminisced over their time as stand-up comedians before the current wave of “thought police” forced comedians to tap the breaks on their content.

Allen, 66, expressed the “alarming” trend of outraged audiences forcing comedians to self-censor, during an episode of The View on Monday. Host Behar, who started in stand-up comedy around the same time as Allen, asked the Last Man Standing star if he has changed his strategy when it comes to comedy.

“It’s a little bit different now. There’s a PC culture that makes it really hard,” Behar explained. “I think my act, if I ever brought that old act back, I’d be driven out of town.”

Allen agreed, saying, “What I’ve got to do is sometimes is explain — which I hate in big arenas that this is a though police thing and I do not like it — but when I use these words, this is my intent behind those words.”

He added, “As long as you understand my intent, I still get people: ‘Well, just don’t say it.’ And I said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’”

Allen called it “an alarming thing for comedians” that some audiences will dig up old clips with the intent to harm their careers. Several stand-ups have struggled with this, including Kevin Hart, who refused to host the Oscars after resurfaced jokes caused a controversy. Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson also recently revealed that he wouldn’t perform on college campuses because of negative reactions from the audience.

Allen has frustrated some liberals with his stand-up and television shows that poke fun at the left. His show Last Man Standing was canceled by ABC in 2017 after six successful seasons, which many believed was a politically-motivated decision. The show was picked up by Fox and became the network’s highest-rated Friday telecast in 18 years.