Sunda Croonquist is half-black, half-Swedish, Roman Catholic by birth and a convert to Judaism. She is also a comedian who – until recently – joked about the craziness of her Jewish mother-in-law in night clubs around the country and on Comedy Central. But not anymore.
Recently, Sunda’s mother-in-law decided that enough was enough. So she sued her daughter-in-law for spreading allegedly false, defamatory and racist lies about her. Sunda’s attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the law suit.
The Associated Press quotes First Amendment Law attorney Gary L. Bostwick, who says that “suing a comedian is often difficult because courts tend to rule that it should be obvious they are joking.” However, Sunda says her stories are real – “these are not mother-in-law jokes. You can’t make this up” she tells her audience.
Here’s a clip of Sunda’s mother-in-law routine.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcgcpIXP02Y
What do you think? Offensive or funny (or both)? Would you dismiss the case if you were the judge? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Sued by her mother in law?!! Check out what the people think about it in the community court of AllRise http://bit.ly/AllRise245
Yes. Yes. Hmmm. Sunda’s routine plays off stereotypes of both Jews and mothers-in-law. This hearkens back to the old-style comedy (see Henny Youngman, Milton Berle) of guys telling mean-spirited but often killingly funny jokes about their wives. Some folks think marrying into the family gives a free pass. As far as the lawsuit, not a simple case: think about intent (comedy or personal harm), private persons and public figures and the use of blogs along with performances. Sad to see: the lawsuit has obviously magnified the family’s conflict and exposure.