'Difficult People' repeatedly joked about Kevin Spacey

Jokes about Kevin Spacey on the show 'Difficult People' seem very different in hindsight.
 By 
Brian Koerber
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Watching Hulu's Difficult People, you may notice that there are a load of jokes about Kevin Spacey.

Without context, these jokes may seem like a fun gag, but now with multiple sexual misconduct allegations coming to light, it's hard to comprehend how all of this was hiding in plain sight. Spacey has denied the allegations.

The show, which stars Julie Klausner as Julie Kessler and Billy Eichner as Billy Epstein, features a trove of jokes pertaining Spacey, from the actor liking younger men, to being closeted.

"What do kids hate?" Kessler asks Epstein in one scene. The two then list off a things like the dentist and homework before adding Spacey to the list.

While the jokes may have been a jab at one of Hollywood's "open secrets," to the average viewer, they were just jokes. But that that changed when actor Anthony Rapp alleged that Spacey made a sexual advance toward him when he was just 14 years old. Since then, others have come forward alleging misconduct from the once celebrated actor, putting the jokes into a new, dark light.

Comedies joking about the entertainment industry's dirty secrets has become somewhat of a trend in recent weeks. Seth MacFarland appeared to hint about Spacey back in 2005, and about Harvey Weinstein in 2013, who has been accused of sexual abuse by multiple people. Back in 2012, 30 Rock also made similar jokes about Weinstein.

While these jokes seem like dark, comedic cries for help in hindsight, it does make you think: What other jokes out there are actually just open secrets?

Topics Celebrities

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Brian Koerber

Brian was the Culture Editor and has been working at Mashable on the web culture desk since 2014.

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