Comments for Kevin Rose Apologizes for Sexist Joke on Diggnation

Kevin Rose Apologizes for Sexist Joke on Diggnation

2008-11-24T19:15:53Z

Digg founder Kevin Rose issued an apology this morning for statements he made on the latest edition of his video podcast Diggnation. Just after the 4 minute mark in the show Rose and co-host Alex Albrecht were making jokes about men getting into physical fights with women and Rose made a statement that a particular act of violence was appropriate as an act of retribution in some circumstances.

An excerpted transcript and the text of Rose's apology sent to us by email when we inquired this morning are below.

]]> Rose said the following on Diggnation:

"there is only one time you can strike [a woman -] if she kicks you in the balls, you have the ability and the right, to punch her in the teat - it's just like that - it's kinda like tit for tat [Albrecht talks then Kevin again] It hurts them, it does too - or take a scissors to the teat" (Kevin makes cutting action with hand)

The part of the statement about cutting was offensive, juvenile and inappropriate, even in jest. It's sadistic and the double standard that society applies should be clear: if a woman went on Diggnation and talked about how it's ok to cut men's genitals with scissors that would be a very big deal to a lot of people.

It was also ironic given that Digg and Rose in particular had banned a number of Digg users last month for making offensive, sexist comments on a Digg post about an article in FastCompany by Saabira Chaudhuri about women in technology.

Rose sent the following reply this morning in response to our inquiry about the incident.

"I'd like to apologize for some comments I made in the latest episode of Diggnation, which came off as insensitive on the topic of violence towards women. Alex and I have always viewed Diggnation as an outlet to push the limits in a comedic fashion. Obviously, violence against women is serious and something we don't advocate in any way."

Why It's Not OK to Say Things Like This

We're glad Rose has publicly apologized for the inappropriate statement and hope that he'll act as a good role model for the many young people who watch his show. Violence against women is endemic around the world and the kind of violence that Rose joked about goes beyond self-defense and enters into the realm of all-too-real tragedy for many people. Pop-culture humor making light of such violence contributes to a cultural climate in which some people mistakenly consider this type or related behavior acceptable.

No one is perfect but when some lines are crossed it's important to discuss why such statements are inappropriate. We hope that Rose and Digg can continue working to make Digg, and the increasingly large part of the world that it influences, a better place. Anyone who reads the comments on the site regularly knows that both Digg and the world we live in have a long way to go. Censorship isn't necessarily the answer, but discussion, apologies when needed and not saying stupid things in the first place are probably big parts the best solution.

Comment from Lee on 2008-12-09

2008-12-09T18:17:15Z

Yep. Before Digg, when he was on another (now canceled) computer show, he and his then co-host made some pretty lewd gestures. The co-host made motions as if he was involved in a part of a sex act, using props on the stage, and Kevin just stood there laughing. It wasn't long after that the show was canceled.

Comment from shuffer on 2008-12-03

2008-12-03T12:26:35Z

The most worrisome thing about all this is the response from some of the contributors here. To quote freedom of speech in this context is faintly idiotic. Of course there has to be restrictions on what can be distributed on the show. Diggnation has a massive audience, a large proportion of which will be very impressionable young men. I don't think for a minute that his comments are going to cause a widespread bout of scissor-related violence toward women, but these things rarely work so simply. It's similar to the tobacco companies paying millions of dollars a year making sure that certain characters smoke in films. In itself this rarely causes anyone to go out a smoke a pack, but the effect of patterned behaviour can be extremely powerful and an endorsement (or at least unchallenged opinion) of this kind from Rose carries a lot of weight.

Or do we think that all their sponsors are wasting their time paying for Kevin to extoll the virtues of their products? Or that if I made public comments about slicing off the end of Kevin Rose's mother's breasts with scissors would not cause upset and offence, or even legal action? Or your mother's?

Besides which, I've been a viewer of the show for over two years and while they sometimes sail fairly close to the wind, these comments really stood out for me.

Comment from shuffer on 2008-12-03

2008-12-03T12:11:04Z

I like Diggnation a lot and Kevin comes across as a decent individual, mostly, but these reports have actually been quite kind to him. If you watch the show, he goes further by saying that if you snip of the end of a woman's teat (presumably the nipple), then it will drop them like a stone.

These comments really came out of left-field, and in my opinion go quite some way beyond sexism into the realm of violent misogyny. It reminds me of a scene from 'American Psycho', where Patrick Bateman performs just such an act.

Like I say, I am a fan of the show,(35yrs male), but I have to say that there has been a nasty little edge creeping in to the dialogue recently that I don't care for.

Comment from Allison Reynolds on 2008-12-02

2008-12-02T23:07:28Z

Man what has happened to the world when you cannot have a couple of drinks and talk shit on the internet.

Political correctness has a lot to answer for.

Let's get over ourselves a little and realise life is horrific enough without making further outrages about something that will never ever affect a real person.

You want to get outraged about what is being done to women? Start reading about what is happening in the Congo and help out in a REAL way rather than calling in the humor-police.

Comment from web on 2008-12-01

2008-12-01T16:41:38Z

Sexist?! WTF...while you were at it why not call it racist, anti-semitic, biggoted, homo-phobic, etc... to drive some traffic with bullshit buzzwords.
Marshall Kirkpatrick, in the words of Mr. T (see his Snickers commercial) "You are a disgrace to the man race." This is the stupidest waste of time article ever. Why Kevin would apologize for saying what he did, let alone why anyone would complain, is beyond ridiculous and should not have happened. He said what he said with a smile, a laugh and some egging on from Alex.
Right on Marshall Kirkpatrick, right on. Don't forget to tuck, you self-righteous mangina.

Comment from bret on 2008-11-30

2008-12-01T06:51:11Z

wow really? Its diggnation, not NPR. They say things all the time that could possibly offend. Lighten up, this is ridiculous that anyone is making him even apologize. Friends + Alcohol = Saying dumb things.

Comment from Dan on 2008-11-30

2008-12-01T04:14:25Z

"if a woman went on Diggnation and talked about how it's ok to cut men's genitals with scissors that would be a very big deal to a lot of people."

BS, this isn't true and you know it. Women say that sort of crap all the time because they are allowed to. I've heard remarks which echo this almost verbatim on loads of women's shows.

Women were repressed at one time in history, and so now they get a free pass to talk shit about men whenever they want.

It Is a double standard - not that Rose is sexist, but that women think they are above men, because in the past women were not treated equally.

Rose was not even talking about being violent against women, he was making a judgement about what an equal punishment would be if a women attacked him first... talking about blowing things out of proportion.

Wanna talk about double standards... women are so dainty that you can't even hit them if they attack you first? yeah - w/e.

Comment from Meh... on 2008-11-30

2008-12-01T03:00:12Z

Just another example of an extreme political correctness, selfishness, self centric, manipulative, overly sensitive, frail and frayed sector of society.
Bad taste but a hindered 1st amendment right. What's worse?
Thanks again to all the fashionable fucks.

Comment from Janie on 2008-11-28

2008-11-29T07:34:17Z

This is absolutely ridiculous....It was made as a joke...nothing more...If you dont like the "JOKES" kevin and alex make dont watch Digg.... the sad thing about it is...that when a woman makes a joke about cutting a mans penis off or doing something to hurt a man..ya its all fun...but when a man says something about hitting a woman cutting a tit or whatever its OMG call in the freaking calvary....its just stupid if you ask me! freaking morons
but ya if a woman hits a man...i think a man has all rights to defend him self...

Comment from Jared Weseman on 2008-11-28

2008-11-29T06:48:34Z

Wow this wasn't blown out of proportion or anything, how about we ask the women viewers of Diggnation.

Comment from Wow on 2008-11-26

2008-11-26T08:18:42Z

Wow, I am a woman, and I am more upset at the comments in this post as opposed to Rose's initial comments:

"If a woman punched me in the face, Id punch her face right back. There is your equality."

"Politically correct fucks like you make me want to go rape women."

Rose was joking. The joke was in poor taste, but easy to ignore; however, the commenters above are not joking. I fear for any of the women in their lives, because clearly they do not respect them.

Comment from David on 2008-11-25

2008-11-26T02:32:52Z

Marshall. I respect that violence towards women (violence towards everyone for that matter) is wrong.

Here's the thing you need to understand. People who watch the show know this, they also know that what Kevin and Alex have to say is mostly to be taken with a grain of salt.

I also think that many people forget that this type of comedy is not only conducted by men about women. Feel free to view the countless comedy acts by women about taboo subjects towards men.

This type of comedy is tolerated (and often quite funny) because the vast majority of people understand that these comments are made in jest. And people who take these comments to heart have made these decisions well before seeing such performances....

I find it hard to believe that anyone can take a comment like that seriously when it is both preceded and followed by comments about masturbating monkeys and hippies

Comment from slack5 on 2008-11-25

2008-11-26T01:04:08Z

It was a freak'n JOKE!!

Comment from Dave on 2008-11-25

2008-11-25T23:40:33Z

Who said anything about censorship? Somehow these young diggers think that their rights to free speech also include a right not to have their utterances challenged. Rose made a statement that just wasn't funny. That's my opinion. Rose must have agreed.

Comment from s. on 2008-11-25

2008-11-25T20:03:06Z

First of all, jokes are just that - jokes. And even though that's been said a million times here, people still don't understand that. All this PC bullcrap has to end, now, because it's making it so nobody can say anything without somebody taking offense to it.

The sad thing is that when I saw this episode, I laughed, and then immediately thought something like this would happen. Unfortunately, it did, and shows the idiocy that is America today. I highly doubt that after seeing that any Diggnation fan who gets kicked in the groin will automatically go straight for the scissors to cut off a nipple. He was trying to explain what the female equivalent of getting kicked in the testicles might feel like.

Maybe the joke was in bad taste, perhaps it was juvenile or offensive to some, but I don't believe Kevin nor Alex has any obligation to any of us to not be offensive. It's their show, YOU decide to watch it, if you don't want to don't -- and leave Kevin, Alex, Diggnation, Rev3, Digg, and the Digg community alone.

Comment from pffft on 2008-11-25

2008-11-25T16:59:30Z

wow - i didn't agree with Marshall's comments either, but seems like these comments have been taken over by angry adolescent boys. must be a bunch of offended DIGG tweeners.

Comment from Bob on 2008-11-25

2008-11-25T16:15:43Z

This is lame, very lame.

It was clearly a joke.

This blog blows.

Comment from a Comedic Edge on 2008-11-25

2008-11-25T15:38:17Z

Lets liven things up with a joke:

What's the first thing a woman does when she gets back from the battered women's clinic?

The god damned dishes if she knows what's good for her.

Comment from Thomas on 2008-11-25

2008-11-25T10:54:13Z

Pop-culture humor making light of such violence contributes to a cultural climate in which some people mistakenly consider this type or related behavior acceptable.

Oh? I'd love to see the research you've done on this subject sometime. Such conclusions seem non-intuitive to me, and I'd appreciate it if you shared the papers you've read/written on pop-culture humor's direct relation to violence.

if a woman went on Diggnation and talked about how it's ok to cut men's genitals with scissors that would be a very big deal to a lot of people.

There's a difference between joking about cutting a woman's tit and cutting a guy's genitals. Breasts aren't required for reproduction, they don't regulate hormones, and they aren't used during excretion. If you want an equal comparison, men have a very similar organ to the female breast: the MALE breast. Why on earth did you jump from cutting someone's tit to cutting someone's genitals? Genital mutilation in both males and females is a serious problem with actual evidence, whereas your alleged breast scissoring seems baseless if not outright fictitious.

If anyone should apologize it should be Marshall Kirkpatrick. Your activism and good-intentioned post is completely undercut by your self-righteousness.

Comment from lol on 2008-11-25

2008-11-25T08:20:44Z

"Thanks for posting this piece, Marshall. You seem to have struck a nerve amongst those who think jokes about violence toward women have a place in discourse. What that shows me is that we are a long way to ending such."

Thanks Kathleen, for reinforcing my impression that people who argue that offensive discourse deserves censorship lack a reasoned defense of their views. Nobody sharing your views, including yourself, have bothered to argue what benefit there is out of censoring one off-color joke. No, I it is not fair for you not to have to argue your views. It is infantile of you to make claims of the magnitude RWW is making -- that we should censor one man's sense of humor -- without warrant.

Comment from Erick on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T07:36:45Z

Seriously, he said something stupid, who hasn't. He is on a live show, been doing it for a while, people make mistake, no reason to draw an quarter him online. I would like to see any of you go on live TV and not say something stupid. He apologized, give the guy a break. The Internet has become way to politically correct.

I would like to say there is a double standard. If a female jokes about cutting off your penis it is funny, yet if you say the same thing about a female it is offensive. Seriously if there was a girl on the show and she said, if a guy punched me in the boob I would cut of his penis, people would take it with a grain of salt because obviously it is a joke.

If you are looking for Kevin Rose to be a role model for your kids then maybe you should get off the internet and spend some time with them. Freaking hypocrites.

Comment from Jeff on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T07:28:42Z

This article is worthless.

The comment was obviously a joke (if you ever watch the show, you should be able to tell). Get over it and go write some quality news.

Comment from Ben Tremblay on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T07:14:08Z

BTW: in case one of you crackers feels like calling me wuss/pussie: at 114lbs I passed airborne; fighting bullies is kind'a hobbie. (My autoharp has a "This machine kills fascists" sticker on it. Oscar Schmidt, the Harley Davidson of autoharps ... there is no other.)

heh

Comment from Ben Tremblay on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T07:03:05Z

Sexual violence as part of a social "yuhr with us or agin'us" attitude isn't as rare as folk think ... but then folk will deny knowledge of bullying in the work-place too, so *shrug*

Now thing is that it's the rationalizations that are the real key here ... that's how yungins' are schooled in everything from gay-bashing to lynching ... and it takes out-spoken A-list personalities to pass on those teachings.

good on yuh for stepping up

p.s. Charlie Rose's guest tonight wrote a book titled something like, "Make It Plain; speaking out". My boilerplate has always been "Speak your peace!"

p.s.2 OID is frabbed: unclosed token at line 1976, column 4, byte 100495:

Comment from Richard MacManus on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T06:47:53Z

I'm quite taken aback by the number of negative comments here. We're all fans of digg and we understand that Diggnation is an irreverent show and pushes the limits. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, all of us at RWW stand by this article. While Marshall was the one who wrote it, the team discussed it at length before posting. Also, before posting we sent an email to digg mgmt inviting them to comment. We could've easily posted something inflammatory last night, but we waited until the morning for digg to send us an official response - which they did.

In any case, all the commenters here and on digg are of course welcome to voice their opinions. We posted ours and Kevin had a chance to reply, which he did. Now commenters here and on digg are having their say. Nuff said. I'll shut up now.

Richard MacManus
ReadWriteWeb Editor

Comment from Rekzai on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T03:44:45Z

This is honestly the dumbest thing I've ever read.

Comment from Jason on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T03:21:10Z

People need to really learn to ignore people they don't like. Remember sticks and stones...?

Comment from Adam on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T02:40:37Z

Really? Who CARES? It was a joke - get over it and stop whining. There are far more important things to worry about in the world today.

Comment from phR3d on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T02:35:35Z

You would have to be freaking retarded to think Rose is a role model... Or to take is comment literally. And Kevin shoud grow some balls...

Comment from Dude on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T02:13:19Z

Seriously, this guy uses his business as his personal escort service; of course he has shitty attitudes towards women.

Comment from SumFa on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:55:23Z

That's a huge amount of BS, even coming from Digg. It's ok for Jesse Jackson to want to cut Obama's nuts but if you say the same about an hypothetical chick it becomes sexist. Apparently, some people receive special treatment based on their gender. Hmm, I wonder how that's called.

Comment from Gobo on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:48:39Z

Sexist? Yet women always turn down good character men for the bad boys who are really the sexist ones . I bet every women who posted a comment here likely dated a arrogant bad boy type.

Women also end up in bad relationship due to their poor taste in men. How many women stay in an abusive/cheating relationship just for the lavish lifestyle? Nicole Brown Simpson? Canseco wife? Cherly Cole? The second the lifestyle goes away these women bail.

Comment from Thlom on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:46:37Z

It seems alot of people thinks that if something is a joke or comedy then it's OK. By that standard, is it OK to make jokes about jews fitting in an ashtray? Or jokes about gays, people of colour, child raping or genocide?

Comment from Mace Moneta on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:45:39Z

Thank goodness it's still OK to kick guys in the nuts.

Comment from ♣genieyclo♣ on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:38:21Z

Mabisa captured it right there.

Comment from Yaphi on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:36:17Z

Double standard?

Isn't the double standard that men get publicly annihilated for even mentioning hitting a woman, yet they can kick us in the balls with no consequence?

The internet sucks.

Comment from Kathleen on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:32:27Z

Thanks for posting this piece, Marshall. You seem to have struck a nerve amongst those who think jokes about violence toward women have a place in discourse. What that shows me is that we are a long way to ending such.

Comment from sanstrom on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:32:05Z

markus,

No what you said doesn't make any sense at all. So you are saying you can't make a joke about something and expect people to take you seriously? What downtrodden are you talking about? Power? Are you kidding me? Get your garbage out of here. You seem to be a reverse racist. It's ok to make this joke about a hetero whiteman but not say a minority woman? Poppycock.... Look who we just elected president. If you keep pushing this crap see where you get in life. "It's over Johnny"

Comment from Markus on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:26:14Z

Go easy on Marshall. It wasn't like he was getting upset or making too big an issue out of this. He simply stated the facts and then said where he stood on the issue. It's not like he really gave Kevin a hard time about it. Sheesh.

And another thing. You can't simply "reverse" a comment to prove a point. Comments about certain segments of society that are vulnerable or historically targeted are different that comments about the white male heterosexual establishment.

It's about power.

(I'm tired I hope that made sense.)

Comment from wat on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:23:39Z

Enough with the phony outrage, ENOUGH. Kevin Rose comment was not "propagating violence against women" nor was it "sexist".

breathtaking inanity, this entire post and web site is breathtaking inanity.

Comment from sanstrom on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:13:27Z

Ahh thought police. Joke cops. Can you please make out a list of things that won't offend you all the people on the internet. Ooops can't joke anymore. Here's one. F off. Why is it that joking about something sparks such quotes as "I didn't know violence against women was ok". How idiotic. So now he's promoting violence against women? Guess there was no context other than that quote. Don't read moby dick the book as it 1 says dick in the title and you won't be able to follow it. It's called comedy. Whether you like it or not that's their goal. you can be of the opinion that it is not comedy and that's your right. But to say that YOU somehow shouldn't be offended or for you to be offended is something that a gnat would care about....you are so so wrong. I loath people that get offended by free speach. That's what makes this country great. As long as it's not saying " I will cut (your name inserted)'s teet then all is fair... Why does this comment actually affect you? Are you so small minded that you must force your ideals upon everyone else?

Comment from lol on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:08:51Z

Jesus fucking christ you self righteous prick, don't you have better things to do than throw a spaz fit over somebody saying something somewhat offensive that isn't even the worst thing they've said on a telecast watched by about as many people as the population of Wasilla, Alaska? What the hell makes you the guv'nor of what's ok to say in front of people? Especially when the only thing you say in your defense is simply "YOU'RE WRONG". For a techy, you seem to have a handicapped grasp of reasoning. What you, or I, or Kevin Rose says anywhere has no significant effect whatsoever on what anybody thinks. Nor is it a reflection of what they personally endorse -- not unless Kevin Rose turns out to be a serial rapist with a fetish for cutting off teets. OMG, did I just go there?

Politically correct fucks like you make me want to go rape women.

yours truly,

extremely offensive and politically incorrect

Comment from WillJ on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:05:31Z

Look, there's a difference between saying if a woman kicks you in the balls you can hit back, and what was actually said, that if a woman kicks you in the balls, you should cut off her breast.

I'm not a woman and I still find the comment disgusting. I guess I don't get the "joke".

Comment from Jambi on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:04:59Z

Dear sir, it's politically correct uptight prigs such as you who've cast a pall over much of our modern culture, and turned it into a humorless and restrictive echo chamber obsessed with oppression, group responsibility, power relations, etc. It's quite obvious from the context of the comment that it was meant as a joke, as are most comments women make about cutting someone's balls off. Obviously, such violence in a serious context is no joke, nor is slamming a foot into a man's genitals. And yet, as adults, can we not easily discern intent, and respond accordingly. Please get off of your high horse and relax a little.

Comment from Mstov on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:03:36Z

This is funny. I didn't even know Digg had a founder.

Comment from Adrian on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T01:03:02Z

Jesus, no one thinks that it is okay to stab a woman in her breast. Obviously, jokes are only funny when they meet your standards, don't offend you in any way, and are safe for everyone.

People like Marshall are the same lot who destroyed Henry Miller's career in an hail storm of overreaction. Marshall, please learn to differentiate between seriousness and jokes and, when you learn how a joke operates, try your hardest not to spew calls for censorship.

YOU ARE WRONG. Mainly because you obviously don't get that jokes are, this may surprise you, not to be taken seriously.

Was his joke tasteless? Sure. Was it immature? Indeed. Should he have to apologize to you (Marshall, your name does not sound female) because he hurt your feelings? No.

Dennis Leary was right: "Get a fucking helmet." Trust me, bub, if this bothers you, I would hate to see your reaction to the homeless man on the corner using your car as a urinal.

Comment from Andy on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:59:32Z

Thank god for your article!

I was lead to believe that violence to women was A-OK because of his comments. Thank god for you bringing up such a huge issue whereby thousands of men would start to abuse women because of the comments.

What a wonderful day for equality!

Comment from Bjorn on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:56:50Z

While I'm in general agreement with your position--that is, that the comment was offensive and inappropriate, I think you've got one thing completely backwards: a woman making a joke in poor taste about cutting off a man's balls and/or penis would pass completely without comment. How often did we hear Bobbit jokes in the couple of years following that incident?

Comment from Nick on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:51:07Z

"If a woman went on Diggnation and talked about how it's ok to cut men's genitals with scissors that would be a very big deal to a lot of people."

No, it wouldn't. If she said it jokingly, like Kevin did, everyone would find it hilarious. Kevin's statement was offensive, but no double standard is at work here.

Comment from Gustav on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:49:39Z

For christ sakes Marshall. You sound like the biggest wuss in the world. It was a freaking joke. Look at what has become of a lot of us males in America. We've been turned into wusses by the feminist agenda. "We're glad Rose has publicly apologized for the inappropriate statement and hope that he'll act as a good role model for the many young people who watch his show." YUUUUUCKK.

Comment from MD on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:48:36Z

Do you seriously think that a joke perpetuates violence?

You know, guys get beat up by other guys all the time too. Far more often than women get beat up. But nobody in the world would care if the joke was about guys kicking each other in the groin.

Comment from pffft on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:48:02Z

Sooo, punching a women in the teat is actually OK?

The part of the statement about cutting was offensive, juvenile and inappropriate, even in jest. It's sadistic and the double standard that society applies should be clear: if a woman went on Diggnation and talked about how it's ok to cut men's genitals with scissors that would be a very big deal to a lot of people.

Would it be OK, then, for woman to go on DIGG and talk about kicking a man in the balls?

What is it about violence with scissors that warrants this type of enforcement that violence with a fist just doesn't seem to warrant?

I would argue that this is actually an issue of aesthetics. People just don't like the cutting imagery and they don't go on DIGG for snuff-film level violent images.

So let's be clear - Rose is really apologizing for having bad taste.

Comment from Mike on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:47:12Z

Can't believe you took the time to make this an article. Don't know if you've seen the show or not, but Diggnation is more comedy than anything else, and it has an Explicit tag in the iTunes store.

Waste of time and disk space.

Comment from What on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:47:06Z

Are kidding me? Why don't you find something real to complain about like actual violence against women it was obvious it was a joke and if anyone actually took it seriously they are deranged and beyond help anyway.

Out of context yes its a terrible thing to say but it was joke lighten up a bit.

Comment from Amaranthisasin on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:45:24Z

This is a nothing story. He probably shouldn't have said it but its not worth the paragraphs wasted on it. Next article: Kevin Rose pushes kid on playground.

Comment from womensuck on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:45:02Z

Um... Women have been fighting for decades for equality. Why is it they get so mad when we give it to them. If a woman punched me in the face, Id punch her face right back. There is your equality. Or is it equality in only the things they want and not in the things they dont want.

Comment from Anon on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:43:23Z

Um... Women have been fighting for decades fro equality. Why is it they get so mad when we give it to them. If a woman punched me in the face, Id punch her face right back. There is your equality. Or is it equality in only the things they want and not in the things they dont want.

Comment from Mobile ANswers on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:43:05Z

A stupid remark, it would have been ok if he had just stopped short of the scissors joke - but he pushed it a bit with that. I'm not saying we should all go crazy, but it does show a level of immaturity you wouldn't expect from someone headlining a media empire (revision 3 / digg).

Psychologically he may have some awkward ill feelings towards woman that he's closeted. But then again that's much of the Digg userbase.

Comment from Nick on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:40:42Z

you need to lighten up, jerkwad. people like you are the reason the world is such a retarded place right now, and the reason kids can't be kids anymore.

rtard

Comment from u guys are everything that is wrong with society on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:38:01Z

just because someone makes a joke, you dont have to take it as face value! do u think someone would actually cut a womens tits off???

lets make a story out of nothing...

people need to unloosen their belt, and take a chill pill

Comment from Greg on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:36:21Z

You want to talk about double standard? I can't see anyone flinching if the host had been female and said something like, "The man would deserve to have his balls cut off."

Get over it.

Comment from wtf on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:36:07Z

Dear Mr. Kirkpatrick

lighten the fuck up! Thank you

the internet

Comment from Jack Mehoffer on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:33:13Z

Who gives a shit? A bitch kicks in you the balls, you have the right do fucking hit her back. End of story. Fuck the double standards of society. If she's strong enough to start a fight, she's strong enough to take a punch.

Comment from matt on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:28:46Z

@leo - yeah, slashing her tits with scissors is easily fair retribution for getting kicked in the nuts. if you got kicked in the nuts, you probably deserved it in the first place. in fact, why dont you just rape her -- that will *really* show her how vulnerable her "womanness" is.

any by your logic, why dont you just go ahead and rape her. she *may have* kicked you in the balls if you didnt.

Comment from matt on 2008-11-24

2008-11-25T00:26:01Z

its frightening to think that joking about such violence is still done so casually. theres a reason we have so many battered women's shelters in this country, and its due in part to such a complacent and accepting attitude towards such language. its real, and its effective.

http://www.asafeplaceforhelp.org/batteredwomenstatistics.html

Comment from Leo on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T23:40:19Z

C'mon... isn't it reverse sexism to assume that a woman can nail you in the balls and she is immune from retribution due to her womanliness? It was made very clear that hitting a woman would be a proper response only AFTER SHE initiated the violence. It wasn't 'well if I wanted to hurt a woman the way I would do it is to hit her on the teats...'

Grow up... It's like calling someone a potential murderer for saying that if they had had the chance to kill Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Amin, etc that they would have.

Comment from JB on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T23:16:59Z

I'm sure you've threatened to kick a man in the genitals before, so the idea of Kevin "propagating violence against women" is as retarded as you propagating violence against men. It's as equally wrong, so stop taking his comments out of context and hanging him for it. I'm sure he in no way meant that.

However, the problem is the medium in which he chose to be silly. Unfortunately, this proves that Kevin and Alex no longer have the freedom to say whatever they want. Just the fact that Kevin apologized proves that they're now accountable for every childish thing they say, which makes the show funny. On the other hand, you've validated this video podcast as having a great effect on the perception of women in the internet's public eye... would you complain if they got a scantily-clad female assistant to help them out on the show? Would that be degrading?

Bottomline: This is only offensive because you chose to take offense. The majority of the Diggnation audience obviously doesn't mind Kevin and Alex's judgment on choosing their comments, as it's probably the most popular vidcast on the internet. After all, YOU decided to validate it as a large player in women's rights on the web...

Comment from Anna on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T23:00:40Z

I appreciate the article, Marshall. Thanks for bringing it into light.

Comment from Eliane on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T22:43:46Z

I am always amazed how people do not care about violent comments against women, the best evidence are the comments on this post.
It is because violence against women is still acceptable in many places.

Talking about freedom of speech: Kevin Rose decided to apologize, no one forced him.

About "Blowing this out of proportion": if violence against women was not so preeminent on the planet, this topic would not be so sensitive, and making these kind of comments ok or "fun" makes the violence acceptable too.

Read on this UN web page to see that this topic is no joke:
http://www.unifem.org/campaign/vaw/facts_figures.php?page=2

Thanks for your article Marshall

Comment from Chris Baskind on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T22:38:46Z

Good thing, 'cause Digg's huge female user base could easily have jumped ship.

Comment from Brandon J. Mendelson on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T22:35:33Z

People are assholes. I'm not insinuating Mr. Rose is one, but he was joking (based on my observation of the video).

If this was a serious discussion and he got on there advocating Digg users cut their female friends (if they have them), I would fully support a post about it. But this? Not news. Not even of interest.

A post about a dumb video blog comment from an internet celebrity? That's interesting. I'm curious about the motivation beyond knee jerk shock.

Comment from Dale Cruse on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T22:23:42Z

I watch the show and saw the clip. What bothers me is this line in Kevin's apology: "Alex and I have always viewed Diggnation as an outlet to push the limits in a comedic fashion."

Kevin, I like your show but you and Alex (who has the most pitched, annoying voice ever) aren't pushing the limits of *anything.* You're two guys sitting on a couch talking about what's on the Internet. Wayne and Garth 2.0.

Comment from rick on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T22:10:27Z

Guys? You're wrong, Marshall is right, Kevin's just trying to contain any damage to his company and probably doesn't mean any of that apology. And this is why I don't give a crap about Digg or the people on it. There's something very wearing about immature highschoolers and fratboys who never grow up and think it's fine to hit and hurt women. Go back to Digg and play with yourselves there, OK?

Comment from chrrrr on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T21:47:59Z

Marshall, what makes you so special? Why do you get to decide if someone's opinion on the matter is right or wrong? Frankly I don't think it deserved an apology and people are blowing this way out of proportion.

Comment from Marshall Kirkpatrick on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T21:44:05Z

You guys in comments are wrong, this was a bad thing to say and that's why Rose apologized. Cutting a woman's nipples with scissors is sadistic, not funny. Why is that so hard to understand?

Comment from KROD on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T21:43:03Z

wahh wahh wahh. STFU please. What a stupid post.

Comment from Chris Jacobson on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T21:40:16Z

It's not offensive at all. I actually agree with Kevin.

Comment from Ian Maffett on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T21:39:38Z

I doubt this should be an issue at all. Not funny but nothing more that the silly nonsense it was intended to be. Buy hey... I'm a guy. I guess that makes me insensitive. My wife thought it was funny. There must be something wrong with her. No, wait - there's something wrong with people who watch this stuff and then have the audacity to complain about it. Freedom of speech is just as powerful as your ability to watch something else. Get off some other way. Don't like Kevin, don't watch Kevin. It's a rather simple solution. If you're going to get offended easily you should still be listening to AM radio - you aren't ready for everything else the World has to offer.

Comment from SilentJay74 on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T21:28:45Z

If Rose is going to apologize for that and still be on Diggnation, then I think the people that have been banned from Digg for the same reason should only have to apologize and be re-instated as well.

Comment from Midway on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T21:01:00Z

Really? You took the time to turn this into an article? Besides, he was right....a kick to the nads is justified for a punch to the teats.

Comment from Marshall Kirkpatrick on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T20:40:57Z

thanks for the thoughtful comment Mabisa

Comment from mabisa on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T20:39:53Z

Hm. I'm truly surprised that this comment made ripples and that Kevin felt prompted to give a (half-)apology. I've watched diggnation on and off over the years and Rose consistently makes humorless sexist comments in a way that Albrecht doesn't (and yet, Alex manages to be much funnier). He consistenly goes for the fratty-cum-nerdy territory, which feeds into the culture of Digg comments and adolecent internet culture at large. Just as digg isn't exactly a woman-friendly environment, diggnation is exactly a woman-friendly podcast. His comments are far from benign, but exist on a well-established--though notably unfortunate--continuum of gendered divisions at digg and in techie culture. News at 11, etc, etc.

Comment from DIPP FAQ on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T20:23:13Z

WHO GIVES A RIP WHAT THESE PUNKS SAY.

IT'S MORE THAN INSENSITIVE TOWARDS WOMEN.

THEY ARE AN INSULT TO HUMAN INTELLIGENCE.

Comment from Four20 on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T20:22:27Z

WTF? Why is this even an issue? Was this the first episode of Diggnation you've ever seen or something?

Comment from Gonçalo Brito on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T20:16:40Z

I have never hurt a woman and would not stand for anyone doing it but COME ON. I feel this post is a waste of space and it's about a "no issue". Diggnation is comedy, and it's a waste of time to apologize for something like that... I never saw Monty Python, south park, the Simpson etc apologize for anything. Come on people stop being hypocritical.

Comment from lenen on 2008-11-24

2008-11-24T20:00:03Z

Well, if you get kicked in your nuts real hard, it's quite a challenge to strike back anyhow. But still, it;s a dumb remark.