Norm Macdonald Causes More Controversy With Down Syndrome Remark

Macdonald has been in hot water all week for comments defending Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr.

Norm McDonald performs during KAABOO Del Mar at Del Mar Fairgrounds on September 16, 2017 in Del Mar, California.  (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Norm McDonald performs during KAABOO Del Mar at Del Mar Fairgrounds on September 16, 2017 in Del Mar, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

Norm Macdonald caused yet another controversy — this time for telling Howard Stern, “You’d have to have Down syndrome” not to feel sympathetic to victims of sexual assault and harassment. Advocates for people with developmental issues were not amused by the comedian’s comments

These new comments, ironically enough, were born out of Macdonald’s series of apologies for telling The Hollywood Reporter earlier this week that he was “happy the #MeToo movement has slowed down a little bit” and defending Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr. NBC subsequently cancelled his schedule appearance on The Tonight Show as a result of those comments.

The Arc, an organization for people with developmental disabilities, responded in a Tweet regarding Macdonald’s new comments, “he chose to mock a group of [people] who have a much greater understanding of victimization than he does.”

Macdonald apologized for his original comments about #MeToo, Barr, and C.K. on Tuesday, shortly before the cancellation of his Tonight Show appearance. Netflix has previously suggested that it has no plans to cancel the debut of Macdonald’s new show, set to go live on the platform this Friday.

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