The Shady Side Of Amy Schumer

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by Looper | @LooperHQ

Amy Schumer is everywhere, and it seems like the funny lady can do no wrong. Right? Well, not quite. Despite her television and box office success and endless praise from the press, the woman is far from perfect or empowering.

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She Refuses To Apologize For Jokes…

When Amy Schumer had her breakout set at Comedy Central's roast of Charlie Sheen in 2012, she unleashed a brutal joke on Jackass star Steve-o about the death of his friend and co-star Ryan Dunn in a drunk driving accident. "I truly am—no joke—sorry for the loss of your friend Ryan Dunn," Schumer said on the dais. "I know you must have been thinking it could've been me. And I know we were all thinking, 'Why wasn't it?'" When called out on what many regarded as an insensitive remark, Schumer shrugged it off and refused to back down from what she truly believed was a great line.

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...Unless She's Promoting A Movie

Fast forward to the summer of 2015. A racially charged bit from one of Schumer's stand-up sets was called into question while she was promoting her then-upcoming film, Trainwreck. Schumer offered up a half-hearted apology on Twitter, writing, "I used to do a lot of short dumb jokes like this. I played a dumb white girl onstage. I still do sometimes. Once I realized I had more eyes and ears on me and had an influence I stopped telling jokes like that onstage…I am evolving as an artist. I am taking responsibility and hope I haven't hurt anyone. I apologize [if] I did." The "sorry you were offended" tone wasn't lost on anyone familiar with the funny woman's history. To comedy fans, it read as selling out. To social justice warriors, it read as selling out, too, but in a different way.

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Her Supposed Body Acceptance Isn't Real

Schumer regards herself as a body image role model. She recently assured the world in her Glamour U.K. Women of the Year Awards speech that she can still get a man while weighing an estimated 160 pounds, and posed nude for the Pirelli calendar. However, Schumer also frequently posts older photos of herself from years ago that she tries to pass off as recent, then claims to be a size 6. She may have been a size 6 when the photos were taken, but she likely isn't anymore—and it's fine that she isn't! She looks awesome (and they didn't need to Photoshop her back in the Pirelli calendar, either). But instead of being genuinely open about her body and becoming a role model for self-acceptance, she acts as a beacon of hope for "real" women…then denies everything.

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Her Extremely Thinly Veiled Blake Lively Shade

Schumer dedicated an entire sketch of Inside Amy Schumer to tearing Blake Lively apart. In the scene, based on a 2010 interview Lively did with David Letterman, Schumer oiled up her legs, wore a form-fitting sparkly black dress, and flirted with Bill Hader, who played a late night host. It seemed very out of left field and pointless. If you've observed Schumer's own personal style, from her dyed blonde hair to her fake tan to, yes, her oiled up legs, it also rings as hypocritical.

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Her Kardashian Beef

Schumer is pals with Amber Rose, who infamously dated Kanye West before Kim Kardashian did. It makes Schumer's frequent badgering of the Kardashian family seem less like goodnatured ribbing and more like thinly veiled bullying. Schumer pretended to fall down in front of Kim Kardashian and West at the Time 100 Gala in June for no reason. In October, Schumer took aim at the family once more during her Saturday Night Live monologue, claiming that the Kardashians are "a whole family of women who take the faces they were born with as a light suggestion," then adding, "We used to have Khloe. Khloe was ours, right? Khloe, she lost half her body weight. She lost a Kendall, and we have nothing." When Khloe called her out, Schumer was quick to offer her now-expected non-apology-apology, tweeting, "Nothing but love for that family. I like idea of sending women the message to be happy in their own skin. #peace." You know what would be truly edgy? Going after more difficult targets.

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Her Humiliation Of Katie Couric

Schumer loves telling a story about how Katie Couric left her phone unattended at an industry party, at which point Schumer sent Couric's husband an obscene message. Couric told Page Six that she wasn't too amused by the move. "Amy is talented, and it's flattering that she keeps dropping my name," Couric shaded, "but I want to put this behind me."

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Her Sexual Harassment Of Male Celebrities

Schumer admits to following Bradley Cooper around and screaming his name on red carpets. Should the gender roles be reversed, that wouldn't be considered cute, but instead would be the creepiest thing ever. She also detailed her intimate fantasies about Cooper and Tom Brady in GQ's Men of the Year issue for December 2015, and again: if a guy did the same about, say, Glamour's Women of the Year, it'd be seen as sexist and horrifying, because it is. Why not defer the question to talk about her gun control campaign? Maybe because she no longer has movie tickets to sell, but just wants attention.

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Her Lack Of Professionalism

In early November 2015, Schumer came under fire for ripping off an audience who paid $80 to see her do stand-up in Maine. The Associated Press reports that Schumer claimed to perform 47 minutes instead of an hour because of a scheduling mishap, but that attendees claim she performed for less than 35 minutes. When called out on the incident, Schumer said it was a "rookie mistake." The crowds are still waiting for their refunds.

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Her Fauxminism

Schumer's star vehicle, Trainwreck (2015), was heralded in its promotion as being unapologetically feminist. But is it really? Schumer's character has lots of consensual, casual sex, sure. But she then falls into the same tired rom-com tropes as every man and woman does before her; she just needs to find the right guy. A truly feminist and groundbreaking move may have been for her to realize she was perfectly fine on her own and ignore Judd Apatow's predictable, monogamist endings.

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Her Self-Importance

Schumer showed her entitlement in November 2015 when she was caught playing the "Do you know who I am" card with someone who, well, didn't know who she was. Page Six reports that the comedienne refused to check into her Upper West Side Equinox gym, telling staff, "I'm famous!" A source told the column, "She felt entitled to just walk in. She didn't want to show her key fob and wanted to be able to go in and not be questioned." It's a shortsighted move for Schumer: The very security methods that irritate her so much also keep her safe from stalkers or creeps who'd follow her to a workout. Not to mention, without professional hair and makeup, it's understandable if desk staff didn't quite recognize her, either.