Artie Lange, Fresh From Rehab, Says Cut From Comedy Central Show Because Set 'Offended Too Many'

Comedian Artie Lange has never been known as the sensitive type onstage. The former Howard Stern sidekick, recently in rehab in a Pennsylvania facility after pleading guilty to heroin possession, is known for his raw, anything goes material. But Lange, 51, was reportedly booted from appearing on Comedy Central's This Week at the Comedy Cellar along with comedian Nimesh Patel because of their material.

The show, which aired December 7, was filmed over several days after Thanksgiving. Material typically gets cut because producers have so much to work with, but Lange and Patel, the subject of a controversy last week at Columbia University over a joke about a gay man, apparently presented material that Comedy Central didn't want, according to the comedian.

Lange, who arrived at the Cellar straight from rehab, revealed after his performance, but before the TV airing, that he feared getting the boot. "My nose is f–-ked but I'm alive," Lange tweeted on December 1. "I killed but I offended too many [people]. Times have changed. But @ComedyCentralPR ⁩was so nice. It airs Friday. I hope I'm in it."

Lange, who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, also tweeted that he wrote "new sh** in rehab" and is heading back on the road. He said he was picked up from rehab by his friend and fellow comedian "The Reverend" Bob Levy. They performed together on December 2.

Lange was upset that Patel was also cut from the This Week at the Comedy Cellar. Patel reportedly retold the joke that got him booted from the stage at Columbia University and discussed the controversy in his appearance at the Cellar, according to Page Six. Referring to a gay black man who lives in his neighborhood, Patel reportedly said that being gay can't be a choice because "no one looks in the mirror and thinks, This black thing is too easy, let me just add another thing to it.'"

"To my brother Nimesh Patel your only problem is you're funny and u take risks," Lange tweeted Monday. "That's what great comedians do. I watched the episode of @ComedyCellarUSA we got cut out of & I'd rather make news than hacky Trump jokes. Somebody's gotta draw a line in the sand & refuse to apologize."

Patel, an Indian-American who lives in New York and wrote for Saturday Night Live in 2017, responded to the Columbia University controversy with a New York Times op-ed this weekend. He wrote, "When you silence someone you don't agree with or find offensive, not only do you implement the tactic used by the people you disdain; you also do yourself the disservice of missing out on a potentially meaningful conversation. You cannot effect change if you are not challenged."