Amy Schumer has spent this season taking on basic ideas of what it means to be a successful comedian. While many of her episodes have played with ideas of social acceptance and the role of women in society, she pushes the bounds in a way that makes people laugh - and sometimes second guess why.
Slate.Com referred to her show as "The most feminist program on television". The show has lived up to that with debates about gender and assumptions - to open attacks on perceived inequality all while making the audience laugh.
Every so often, though, someone tosses out an Easter egg that is so good that the results cannot be expected. This week, Amy Schumer ran a skit entitled "Sexy Rodeo" and, like John Oliver linked a website.. and things went crazy:
http://www.zap2it.com/...
A PSA at the end informs viewers that "sexy rodeos kill 700,000 women each year. For more info go to sexyrodeos.com."
Except that's not what the site is about. That URL redirects users to the pay equity and discrimination page of the Institute for Women's Policy Research site. The IWPR was founded in 1987 and since then has conducted research and started public dialogues about the needs of women. One of its biggest projects was the Family Medical Leave Act, which is now a staple of employment law.
Shortly after the sketch aired, the site crashed.
Schumer, who had linked people out of a humorous sketch to a site about pay inequality and discrimination in the workplace managed to redirect a large number of people to an unsuspecting website.
If you haven't managed to catch Amy Schumer, I'd tell you: give it a try.. you might like it. You might be offended. But it is definitely different.
Below are some Schumer sketches that have been praised by online reviewers:
So, if you need a smile.. know there are ways to get your message across and get a laugh at the same time.