Paul F. Tompkins Quotes

Just because I do a few comedy bits about gay people, that does not mean I'm out there promoting some anti-gay cause.

People who like my stuff and know what my agenda is have never mistaken me for being racist or poking fun at the wrong thing.

I've gotten in trouble with every race you can imagine. They say, 'I can't believe you talked about this - you're racist.' And I say, 'How can I be racist? Isn't racism exclusionary? If all of you are offended, that means I'm including every race in my jokes.'

It is part of my job description to be offensive.

Well, I'm not afraid to say something if I think it's funny, even if it's harsh or racist.

I hate political correctness.

I've seen racism in my audiences. For example, I've seen people laugh at every other group, but then clam up when it comes to their community. You can't laugh at everyone else and then not laugh at yourself. You shouldn't be at my show if you can't laugh at yourself.

I'm not politically correct.

I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity offender.

We want to get people laughing; we don't want to offend anybody.

I am continually fascinated at the difficulty intelligent people have in distinguishing what is controversial from what is merely offensive.

If you're going to do something that's going to cause offence to people, you're always going to get a reaction.

Humour or comedy should not offend anyone.

I've made a lot of crazy comedy videos and said a lot of crazy things. If it's too offensive, I apologize and move on, but I do comedy.

I'm a take-no-prisoners type of comic, and I'm lucky because my fans get me and never have a problem with the politically incorrect themes of my act. But I am continually amazed by how a certain section of our society seems to be so freakin' sensitive about jokes.

It's always good for people to like you, but as long as people react to you coming out, whether they are booing you or cheering you, it's great.

Adam Carolla is like Hitler if Hitler wasn’t funny.

Comedy is very interesting because you can very quickly cross into dangerous territory. I mean look at what happened, unfortunately, (in) Paris a couple of weeks ago. They were making comics - which were really satire - but it offended people. I'm not saying the reaction was justified but there's definitely a line when you're doing comedy or satire and how it might affect somebody. That's the thing you have to watch and I think you have to be respectful of it.

Don't criticize what you can't understand.

Tolerance should, strictly speaking, be only a passing mood; it ought to lead to acknowledgment and appreciation. To tolerate a person is to affront him.

I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.

Poking fun at other people's beliefs, while it may seem frivolous and offensive, is a non-negotiable right. It is a principle that underpins free speech, the basis for progress.

Who's to say where funny stops and 'too far' starts?

I love people with strong convictions, because we are living in a very PC world. You can't crack a joke without it being in the headlines.

I've undoubtedly offended people, but in the end, I've learned the people that will understand are the people I want to connect to, anyway.