Ted Lieu Quotes

Comedians are obsessed with justice and the truth.

And I think comedy obviously a great way to get a message out because you know the reason why things are funny is because they're true.

Humor distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their earthly pedestals.

I try and write satire that's well-intentioned. But those intentions have to be hidden. It can't be completely clear, and that's what makes it comedy.

A lot of truth is said in jest.

Comedy is the most palliative way to make a point. People are more willing to listen if they can laugh.

I think great humor lies in playing the truth of a situation.

If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you.

I've always tended to write comedy, but I'd hate to just write some kind of sitcom or a lighthearted series of jokes and slapstick. I wanted to talk about some deeper things within the comedy.

I always want to lead with comedy but hopefully be able to sneak my message through at the same time.

Satire and comedy are really the only film mediums where you can get into ideas and have people leave the theater without being moralized.

I tell the truth and I don't try to sugarcoat things. But I also decided that if you don't use humor or satire, then it's just too dark all the time. And one of my favorite literary works is A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. As you know, that was an enormously famous satire piece that was able to point out, you know, things to people in a different way. And I do believe that satire and humor can reveal truth in a way that sometimes doesn't get revealed through other means. And so I decided to, every now and then, use satire and humor as well.

It's a dangerous game that comedy plays. Sometimes it tells you the truth; sometimes it delays it.

I think you can tell the human condition better through comedy.

Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.

There's an art to stupid comedy. There's an art to offensive comedy, and I think the key is it's just gotta make you laugh.

Satire is a lesson, parody is a game.

Irony has seeped into the felt of any fedora hat I have ever owned - not out of any wish of mine, but out of necessity. A fedora hat worn by me without the necessary protective irony would eat through my head and kill me.

I've learned that I need to spell out, even in cases seemingly so blatant, that in fact I am not taking this at face value and am being 'sarcastic.'

It's all been satirized for your protection.

If you play comedic scenes like they're really serious, then it's so much more funny than if you're going for a laugh.

There's always a message in my comedy.

Comedy is a great weapon of attack. It's not a great weapon of support.

Being a comedy writer gives you permission to be an outsider and poke fun at what people think about other people.

I've always been very upfront about the way I write, and I've always used the tools humorists use, such as exaggeration.