The Five Most Unintentionally Funny Moments of 2023
Just like The Room is so hilarious because Tommy Wiseau didn’t set out to make a comedy, many of 2023’s funniest moments weren’t exactly intentional. You never have to look far to find silly stupidity in the world, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our favorites. Here are Cracked’s five most unintentionally funny moments of the year…
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Lauren Boebert Enjoys a Night of Musical Theater
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It’s a story that would have been funny enough on its own — Congresswoman Lauren Boebert was thrown out of a traveling production of the Beetlejuice musical for the triple crimes of vaping, shout-singing and video recording. But the bit went over the top with video that documented not only the “we’re going to have to ask you to leave” humiliation but the handsy maneuvers of Boebert’s grope-happy date. Late-night comics had a field day.
Rather than take personal responsibility for the debacle, Boebert blamed the lousy night on not checking her beau’s political affiliation ahead of time. You let a Democrat touch you there, Madame Congresswoman?
The Great Balloon Invasion
Remember those panicked days in early 2023 when America was terrorized by a high-altitude Chinese balloon? Must have been a slow news week because media outlets couldn’t do enough speculation about what that nefarious inflatable was up to. Was it gathering intelligence? Seeding rainclouds? Advertising Red Bull? Whatever it was, the conclusion was clear: The balloon was up to no good.
Lucky for America, big balloons are pretty easy to defend against. We popped it and haven’t thought about it since.
The Delirious Dilbert Meltdown
Scott Adams has been descending into madness for a few years now, so it was easy to forget that he was still churning out comic strips about put-upon office drone Dilbert. That all changed when Adams posted a YouTube video in February advising white people to “get the hell away from Black people.” That’s not funny in and of itself, but Adams’ ongoing victim cries sure are. After claiming that Black people were a hate group, newspapers around America couldn’t distance themselves from Adams fast enough. The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and major syndicators all said bye-bye, which put a dent in Adams’ savings account to the tune of “about 80 percent of my income.”
A few days later, a forlorn Adams posted a follow-up video. “How many people are here to look at the train wreck?” Hey, schadenfreude is funny!
The Same-Day Firings of Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson
No matter who you hate, April 24th was a hilarious red-letter day for media firings. Within 90 minutes of one another, Fox News canned the outrageous Tucker Carlson while CNN kicked provocateur Don Lemon to the curb. Everybody wins!
The day was especially delightful since both lightning rods were responsible for their own demises. Carlson’s departure is more murky, though a Vanity Fair expose blames it on Carlson’s insistence on spouting the C-slur and ugly text messages that voting-machine maker Dominion was going to expose at trial. Lemon’s case was more straightforward — he wasn’t great with women, on the air or off.
Neither guy has landed a high-profile new gig, adding to the funny. Carlson, however, has found a less high-profile place to squawk…
The Ongoing X Soap Opera
And that’s over on X, the social media platform that doubles as America’s funniest soap opera. Some of our favorite plotlines from this season, er, year:
- The platform is performing a little shaky? Lay off 75 percent of the workforce.
- Bots and unscrupulous users posing as celebrities and politicians? Sell a blue checkmark to anyone who wants to convince the world that they’re Jack Black.
- Losing market share despite being one of the biggest brands on social media? Change the name and familiar bluebird icon to the mysterious X.
- Dwindling advertisers pulling sponsorships after Elon Musk posts anti-Semitic content? Tell ‘em to go fuck themselves!
- Musk owns a ton of shares? Watch the stock’s price plummet to a third of its purchase value.
- Users leaving the platform in droves? Entice them back by threatening to charge a monthly fee.
And on and on like a hysterical Three Stooges short except it’s Musk constantly poking himself in the eye instead of Moe. The funniest part is remembering that the world’s richest man didn’t want to buy the damn thing in the first place.
