Comedian Joking About Playing With Son's Penis Sparks Fury

Comedian and actress Janelle James is facing backlash for joking about her son's genitals in a resurfaced clip from a 2021 Netflix standup special.

She's the latest in a series of comedians to face backlash over a joke some find inappropriate or distasteful as the entertainment industry continues grappling with "cancel culture."

James, best known for playing Principal Ava Coleman on ABC's Abbott Elementary, made a joke about learning her son has genitals in the special, The Standups, in December 2021. The clip reemerged on social media this week, prompting outrage from critics who argue one of her jokes about her son was inappropriate.

"My youngest son got a d*** now. I didn't know that. I didn't know he had a d***. They say you blink and you miss it. It's true. I didn't know he had a d***. I was sitting on the edge of my bed and he ran by from the bathroom to.. I guess he forgot his towel or whatever, and I was like, 'What the f*** was that?'" she said.

She continued: "It blew my mind. I said, 'That's a d***. What?' That d*** needs to get a job. Can't be walking around with all that d*** and no income. That's disrespectful. He used to have a 'pee-pee.' You know? The last time I saw that was a 'pee-pee.' You change the diaper, you play rhythm guitar on the pee-pee. No other parents in here? That's the best part of having a baby boy."

Critics took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to express dismay at her joke.

Newsweek reached out to James through the Creative Artists Agency, which represents her, via email.

"That janelle james comment is precisely why i don't like standup comedians," wrote X user @samythesaint.

"I love stand up comedy. It's meant to be offensive & outlandish, but wtf is Janelle James doing with her standup?? That's the line we don't cross in comedy...
roles reversed everyone would be up in arms about a father talking about his daughter like that," wrote @Sinnerhella.

"IT TOOK Y'ALL ABOUT A YEAR...BUT I'M GLAD Y'ALL FINALLY CAUGHT ON JOKES ABOUT ADOLESCENT GENITALIA ARE NEVER FUNNY," wrote @iluvuavenue.

"I just want to know where Netflix draws the line when it comes to comedy specials. We had Matt Rife now there's Janelle James," posted @bumkzv, referring to the comedian who faced backlash for making a joke about domestic violence during his November 15 Netflix special Natural Selection.

During that special, he implied that a woman who served in a restaurant with a black eye deserved it because her cooking was bad, sparking outrage from viewers.

Others, however, defended James.

"Abbott Elementary's S3 trailer dropped and now Janelle James is being dragged for a joke 2yrs ago, but NOTHING else in the special. Keith Lee went to New York and haters said 'GO AWAY!' Tory Lanez SHOT Meg Thee Stallion! *Victim blaming* Y'all don't know ya head from ya a**," wrote @SceneByAshlix.