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54 thoughts on Eric Angell admits to raping a woman

  1. I’ve been seeing this for about a week now. I hadn’t actually read the specific summary you link to, though. It’s a good one.

  2. Pingback: Let’s Spit on Eric Angell « Clarissa's Blog

  3. This is one of those times I’m glad I don’t watch videos at work. I have a feeling I’d be awful nauseous about now. And I just ate a big salad.

  4. Based on the stories I’ve read, the guy wasn’t actually employed by Second City, he was an audience member chosen to do an open mic space.

  5. Charming. Of course now the story of one woman’s rape wasn’t plastered all over creation without her permission for shitheads to discuss whether or not it was “really” rape.

    If she’s aware of its connection to her, I hope she knows that there is a large contingent of people who support her.

  6. he was an audience member at that particular show, but he is a former employee of Second City in Chicago, which he directly states in his “monologue” (it was the way he encountered this woman in the first place).

  7. Good lord, that was a creepy story – I can completely picture him telling that to his buddies on drinking nights and getting huge laughs. But it was heartening to see how the comedians and the audience turned on him once it became clear that, yes, he really was saying what it seemed like he was saying and no twist was coming. The comics’ responses made Eric the butt of his own joke, and the audience was booing by the end. Horrifying that it happened at all, but good to know that the majority of a room full of people saw it for what it was and was able to deal with in a way that didn’t validate him. (Although how sad that I see that as a triumph.)

  8. Kristen, I know. Some of the comments on the related postings are. . .disturbing. Calling it rape is the same as lynching him, it wasn’t really rape, HUMORLESS, blah, blah, blah.

    I’m glad most people think the story was describing a rape but oh, holy shit. I hate the world right now. Because when everyone goes off on how some guys are just awkward and just don’t know and WOMEN LIE etc. they give douchbags like him a pass.

  9. Z:
    Based on the stories I’ve read, the guy wasn’t actually employed by Second City, he was an audience member chosen to do an open mic space.

    He was an audience member when delivering this monologue (that’s the format of the show – audience members tell funny stories and then the comics do improv inspired by it), but when he raped the woman he was employed as a “host” by Second City (according to him this is a really broad label which includes also being a cook), and he got her hotel number from a waiter that she’d been flirting with at a SC show.

  10. OMG. I’m sorry I looked at the comments thread. I had read this thread and the comments before the misogynists had gotten a hold of it. It was heartening to see that the comedy community had condemned Eric Angell, but now? I’m not reading the rest of the comments. 🙁

  12. Thanks all, for the clarification. I’ve read a few more accounts now that give better information about this guy’s employment. I hope this woman is receiving whatever support she needs.

  14. I made a choice not to read the comments because I know they will disturb me too deeply. I’d just rather read discussions on feminist websites where people have a normal, healthy reaction to this disgusting monologue.

  15. I’ve seen this story around and it gives me chills every time I see it. As it says in the piece linked above, it disturbs me that he told this story thinking that he would be seen as the hero in it. The whole monologue and his attitude about it is rape culture defined.

  18. This is another sad example to point to if anyone ever wonders what rape culture looks like. There is so much that is unsettling about this story: That he raped a woman, that he doesn’t realize what he did was terrible, and that he thought people would respond to his story with laughter rather than horror. He even mentions telling this story before to his friends, and apparently they didn’t point out how terrible it was either.

    It is nice that the audience and performers turn on him and call out his behavior, but the fact that he and his friends thought this was a “funny story worth retelling” is CHILLING.

  19. Clarissa:
    I made a choice not to read the comments because I know they will disturb me too deeply. I’d just rather read discussions on feminist websites where people have a normal, healthy reaction to this disgusting monologue.

    Interestingly, on both the Holmes piece and the one Jill linked above, there are quite a number of good comments from ‘the general public’, as it were. On the one linked in the OP, a troll does eventually show up to derail the whole thing (and perhaps more after him – I gave up once it was apparent that the thread was a goner), but the fact that the initial response, even on sites not explicitly marked as “feminist” was similar to that of the audience reaction – a majority booing with a handful laughing – is kind of cool.

  20. I read the Jezebel piece on this and haven’t been able to sleep properly since due to making the mistake of reading some of the comments. The apologism and victim blaming was unbelievably triggering.

  21. I’m at least encouraged to see that a number of commenters in the linked article took issue with the term “pseudo-rape” and flat out stated that no, what the guy was describing was just flat out rape.

  22. The actual posts themselves are worse than the comments. They called it “pseudo-rape” (?) in the post Jill linked, luckily commenters set the record straight there. Under the video itself, they use the phrase “borderline rape.”

    I am so tired of people tap-dancing around that word. Because we wouldn’t want to tell the truth here.

  23. Pidgey:
    This is another sad example to point to if anyone ever wonders what rape culture looks like. There is so much that is unsettling about this story: That he raped a woman, that he doesn’t realize what he did was terrible, and that he thought people would respond to his story with laughter rather than horror. He even mentions telling this story before to his friends, and apparently they didn’t point out how terrible it was either.

    It is nice that the audience and performers turn on him and call out his behavior, but the fact that he and his friends thought this was a “funny story worth retelling” is CHILLING.

    Frightening, but true. Yet another article to add to the file to throw at people when they try to tell me that rape culture doesn’t exist.

    Angell is a disgusting human being.

  25. Hey all, I read this story yesterday via NPR and was completely and utterly disturbed. I was also initially disturbed at the reactions the comedians gave, because while they were insinuating rape they were also laughing. But then I realized they were laughing at him, openly mocking him, and he wasn’t getting it because he was just THAT stupid, and my original rage that formed when I realized the comedians’ responses were just encouraging him further dissolved when I realized that they actually handled it really well; they acknowledged what he was doing was incredibly wrong several times, but they didn’t outright accuse him of being a rapist. This in turn encouraged the dirtbag to keep talking, thus further incriminating himself.

    I’m glad to see that he’s getting a lot of negative attention from this, but afraid that it will be all twisted back around, giving him notoriety for “pushing the envelope” with this disgustingly increasing comedy trend of using rape/incest/pedophilia as the punchline and therefore making him some kind of comedy martyr. And all along predators exactly like him will be encouraged to keep on “doing their work”.

    I’m going to contact the local Chicago media as it seems that this story hasn’t been brought up in their headlines yet. Would any of you like to do the same? I would really like to put a huge negative spotlight on this incident in order to prompt the Chicago Police Department to do a proper investigation. While there are some good police officers there, generally speaking, the Chicago PD has a bad reputation for assisting victims. I would really like to see this change. I don’t want the victim’s name released, but I DO want Chicago PD to notify her (if she filed a report) and to at least validate to her that what happened to her was absolutely criminal. Whether she wants to go forward with prosecuting this pig is completely her choice.

    I’d also like to get a lot of people to continuously call Chicago PD and inquire about what they are doing with the information that Second City made aware to them. I’d like to send a message to the police that victims rights ARE rights (without putting the victim herself through hell or anymore in the spotlight.)

  28. In case anyone is wondering, some charming folks in the mod queue want us to know that we are libeling Mr. Angell, apparently by repeating his own words. In case you are all wondering, our failure to use the word “alleged” is a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad legally actionable failing!

    I trust you are all now contrite.

  32. At the risk of being verbally trampled, what if this guy did this monologue as a comment on rape culture and not because he actually did what he describes? What if this really is just a made up monologue said in a situation to highlight the way we so easily joke about rape? What if he comes forward with some grand thesis about why some rape jokes are ok but others are not.

    I worked as a stand up and improv comedian years ago and rape/violence against women jokes are commonplace. What if this was said in a situation where since this type of material can and is accepted it was done to push and highlight that fact?

  33. I would really like to put a huge negative spotlight on this incident in order to prompt the Chicago Police Department to do a proper investigation.

    And I’d like to be able to shoot angry wasps out of my nipples to harass my enemies (then there’d be swarms combing the streets for Angell by now), but I can tell you from experience: ain’t gonna happen. Unless she’s politically connected, a career can be made from the conviction, or theres some revenue for the city to pocket, CPD couldn’t give less of a shit if they tried. They can’t be bothered to investigate murders because they’re so busy writing parking tickets, do you really think they’e going to investigate a white guy for telling the kind of stories they tell their friends while they quietly drink themselves to death at one of those charming little bars with little holes in the ceilings and floors where they drink themselves to death in the hope that they run fast enough to the end they’ll catch up with their humanity?

  34. What if he comes forward with some grand thesis about why some rape jokes are ok but others are not.

    I mean, I want a rainbow colored unicorn too…

  35. Aelphaba, I pulled your comment out of the mod queue so that I could specifically respond to it. My first question is this: DID YOU EVEN WATCH THE DAMN THING?! (Or read any of the commentary?) My second question: If yes, ARE YOU FUCKING HIGH?

    There is no punchline, there is no twist, there is no cleverness. (Notice, that’s why the audience and comedians are getting increasingly uncomfortable.) It’s not some sort of clever commentary on rape jokes: it’s a guy who thinks rape IS a joke.

    For the love of all that is good the in the world, please know what you’re talking about before you start suggesting that it might have been misinterpreted. If you think that monologue is open to misinterpretation, please go take that up in You Tube comments or some other place known for such carefully considered opinions.

    Sheesh. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

  36. Aelphaba: At the risk of being verbally trampled, what if this guy did this monologue as a comment on rape culture and not because he actually did what he describes? What if this really is just a made up monologue said in a situation to highlight the way we so easily joke about rape? What if he comes forward with some grand thesis about why some rape jokes are ok but others are not. I worked as a stand up and improv comedian years ago and rape/violence against women jokes are commonplace. What if this was said in a situation where since this type of material can and is accepted it was done to push and highlight that fact?

    It’s amazing how people will bend over backwards to give benefit of the doubt to a man outing himself as a rapist… but never actual rape victims.

  37. It’s amazing how people will bend over backwards to give benefit of the doubt to a man outing himself as a rapist… but never actual rape victims.

    And this statement alone proves the existence of rape culture.

    If rape culture didn’t exist, this wouldn’t be the case.

  38. Well, that’s….an image. Now I’m trying to think of what your superhero name would be if you COULD do that.

    I’ve never lived in Chicago, but I’ve spent about half my life in Philadelphia at this point. Our fine officers made a habit of downgrading rape cases (from rape to “unfounded accusations” or “investigation of persons”) for neigh-on twenty years. Why? TO MAKE CITY SAFETY RATINGS LOOK BETTER. It took a nice white girl getting raped & killed to finally make any sort of a damn difference. She was (I think) the 9th victim of this particular serial rapist.

    http://www.pandys.org/escapinghades/phillypolsuck.html

    Point being, yeah, unless it becomes a media embarrassment on a nightly news & lawsuit scale, ain’t nothin gonna happen.

    William: And I’d like to be able to shoot angry wasps out of my nipples to harass my enemies (then there’d be swarms combing the streets for Angell by now), but I can tell you from experience: ain’t gonna happen. Unless she’s politically connected, a career can be made from the conviction, or theres some revenue for the city to pocket, CPD couldn’t give less of a shit if they tried. They can’t be bothered to investigate murders because they’re so busy writing parking tickets, do you really think they’e going to investigate a white guy for telling the kind of stories they tell their friends while they quietly drink themselves to death at one of those charming little bars with little holes in the ceilings and floors where they drink themselves to death in the hope that they run fast enough to the end they’ll catch up with their humanity?

  39. evil fizz: Aelphaba, I pulled your comment out of the mod queue so that I could specifically respond to it. My first question is this: DID YOU EVEN WATCH THE DAMN THING?!

    Yeah. That was my reaction. And aelphaba, I worked as a stand up years ago to, and did a few sets recently. It is still just as bad, and people don’t look fondly on being called out on it.

  40. I did watch the whole thing. And I think the guy is scum and deserves to looked into by the police no doubt about it. I wasn’t defending the guy I was just tossing out an alternate theory of motivation.

    I just thought that there was perhaps this shitty chance that this guy in two weeks be on Salon with some article about how this was some ridiculous statement piece.

    I left comedy to work with people in recovery as a rape crisis advocate so I’m neither high or a an idiot. But thanks for asking.

  41. LC: Yeah. That was my reaction. And aelphaba, I worked as a stand up years ago to, and did a few sets recently. It is still just as bad, and people don’t look fondly on being called out on it.

    I was the only woman in the troupe I was in and I was amazed at how the punchlines were always about porn, pedophilia or stupidity of women. At first I thought it was some weird by product of working with comedians who came of age during Andrew Dice Clay and Sam Kinison. I reverentially realized that the men I was working with were just in fact, pigs.

    I remember over hearing some fellow comedians characterize my set as “funny fat girl”. When I asked what that meant one of them said “Your either funny and fat or thin and hate men.”

    There isn’t even a glass ceiling for women in comedy I think, it’s more like a glass boot.

  42. I don’t think the (female) author of the article said ‘pseudo-rape’ because she felt that what the guy was describing wasn’t ‘flat out rape.’ I believe she was saying that she had no way of knowing if the story was fiction. The fact that he would get up and tell a tale of ‘pseudo-rape’ is a very good indication that he could have done this MANY times before and is a flat out rapist even if the story isn’t true.

    This is not a defense of Eric Angell, it is a defense of Halle, the author of the linked article, who I feel totally understood that it was the story of a ‘flat out rape’

    victoria:
    I’m at least encouraged to see that a number of commenters in the linked article took issue with the term “pseudo-rape” and flat out stated that no, what the guy was describing was just flat out rape.

  43. And before anyone asks, I didn’t watch the piece, so I can’t comment on that. Halle’s description of it is enough to make me know I have no interest in watching it.

  44. I wasn’t defending the guy I was just tossing out an alternate theory of motivation.

    I just thought that there was perhaps this shitty chance that this guy in two weeks be on Salon with some article about how this was some ridiculous statement piece.

    I…uh…wow. I didn’t know that it was possible to bend over backwards that far to grasp at straws. Pardon the mixed metaphor, but I’m just absolutely gobsmacked that you’ve even entertained this idea. The guy in question hasn’t responded to any requests for an interview and has rapidly gone about deleting himself from all social media. He’s not making any statement other than “Yeah, dudes, it was so awesome this one time when I raped this chick. Wait, why aren’t you laughing?”

  45. Aelphaba:
    HOLY MOLY

    http://youtu.be/PEeC6IeXpdY
    There, a clip of just the relevant portion of the show. As you can see, there is no twist, no “just kidding/the punchline is I got maced in the dick and spent the next five days making nice with a catheter on account of my urethra swelling completely shut/joke’s on you audience, you’re sick for laughing at any of this crap I made up” moment.

  46. i hope he dies very soon in a hideously painful way. i’ve been raped twice and … i don’t even know what to say. i had to stop reading this very early on. please include a HUGE TRIGGER WARNING next time

  48. Clarence:
    How do you know this story is true?

    The possibility it was not true only makes it a teeny tiny miniscule bit less fucked up, but on the whole, a stand-up or improv routine based around a real or imagined date-rape scenario its 47 levels of all kinds of fucked up.

  49. Aelphaba: I remember over hearing some fellow comedians characterize my set as “funny fat girl”. When I asked what that meant one of them said “Your either funny and fat or thin and hate men.”

    There isn’t even a glass ceiling for women in comedy I think, it’s more like a glass boot.

    Yeah, that shit gets thrown around a lot. Or you’re “not that funny, but I’d sleep with her”.

    As always, the occasional exception breaks through and everyone points to that as proof it isn’t so bad.

    Clarence: How do you know this story is true?

    As Fat Steve pointed out, we don’t. We do know that he told it fully expecting the audience to be on his side, as can be seen in the video. So even if he was making it up, he was still making it up thinking it was a funny story no one would object to, which is kind of the point.

  51. CJ: I don’t see what bearing the truth of his story has on.. much of anything.

    The truth of the story has bearing on whether or not an actual crime occurred.

    Andie: The possibility it was not true only makes it a teeny tiny miniscule bit less fucked up, but on the whole, a stand-up or improv routine based around a real or imagined date-rape scenario its 47 levels of all kinds of fucked up.

    The difference between a fucked-up story and an actual rape is not miniscule.

  52. The difference between a fucked-up story and an actual rape is not miniscule.

    It is, actually, when he’s definitely not going to be charged with anything and is in no danger – apart from the public not finding his isn’t-rape-hilarious schtick funny.

    Release the grasp on the pearls, the evil femnazis are not hurting poor, poor Angell.

  53. @Rare Vos

    You seem to have the impression that I am trying to defend Mr. Angell. I don’t believe I am.

    That being said…

    Rare Vos: Release the grasp on the pearls, the evil femnazis are not hurting poor, poor Angell.

    I don’t really understand what this means. Can you offer any clarification?

  54. This reminds me of another rape confession I came across recently except that the confessor has a completely different tone. He seems genuinely sorry. Despite his tone, I’m not sure how much more sympathetic I should be with the author than with Mr. Angell. I’d like to believe that people can change, but the fact that this guy not only raped, but didn’t even realize that it was rape until years later really grates on me.

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