Larry the Cable Guy says corporate America has a double standard when it comes to choosing which entertainers are too controversial for advertising campaigns.
The comedian went on a tirade against DirecTV, suggesting the satellite-TV provider missed an obvious advertising opportunity – "Larry the Cable Guy has switched to DirecTV" – because of concerns about his image.
During an appearance on "The MeatEater Podcast," Larry recalled seeing a DirectTV commercial with an actor "back in the day," and said, "The first thing I thought was, why don't they get me? ‘Larry the Cable Guy is switching to DirecTV.’"
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A podcast host agreed with the idea. "Oh, dude, that would have been genius,"
The comedian agreed, "It would have been huge!"
Larry said he believed the company's concern was that his Southern accent and edgy humor might appeal to only one slice of America and make him too controversial for a national advertising campaign.
"At the time, ‘Well, Larry the Cable Guy is only really for one part of the country, you know, ’cause of the Southern accent, sometimes he says things that are a little controversial,'" he explained of the general sentiment then.
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But the comedian rejected that reasoning.
"Meanwhile, you got freaking rappers singing about killing cops" and making degrading remarks about women, he argued. "They're getting all kinds of corporate stuff. I'm like going, 'How am I controversial when you got … you know what I mean?"
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He singled out Snoop Dogg, who has appeared in major advertising campaigns, including Super Bowl commercials. Larry emphasized that he did not fault the rapper for accepting those opportunities.
"I got nothing against Snoop Dogg," he said. "God bless Snoop Dogg."
He later added, "There's a lot of hypocrisy in corporate, who they get and who they don't get. Look, I've had a good career. I ain't worried about it. But I'm just saying, that DirecTV pissed me off."
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He said again that he doesn't have any issue with Snoop Dogg, explaining, "I love everybody, and I'm happy for everybody's career. I'm not mad at them, I'm upset at the corporations that would say ‘you're too controversial,' but then they'll put somebody else that's even way more controversial.’"
Larry, whose real name is Daniel Whitney, built a national following with the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, alongside Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Ron White.
His signature catchphrase, "Git-R-Done," and blue-collar comedy persona helped launch a career that has included stand-up, comedy albums, movies and television.