1. “I get no respect. The way my luck is running, if I was a politician, I’d be honest.”
Rodney’s self-deprecating humor took a swipe at both his own fortune and the political world. Today, this line might ruffle feathers in an era where political discourse is more polarized than ever.
2. “My wife and I were happy for 20 years. Then we met.”
This jab at marriage was classic Dangerfield, but in today’s more relationship-sensitive climate, it might come off as cynical rather than funny.
3. “I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous—everyone hasn’t met me yet.”
Mental health jokes are now seen through a different lens, with more awareness around the importance of empathy in mental well-being.
4. “My wife’s cooking is so bad, the flies chipped in to fix the screen door.”
What once got a big laugh for its playful critique might now be called out for perpetuating gender stereotypes about women and cooking.
5. “I haven’t spoken to my wife in years. I didn’t want to interrupt her.”
This jab at nagging wives played into old-school stereotypes about women being overly talkative, which could be considered offensive today.
6. “Last week I told my psychiatrist, ‘I keep thinking about suicide.’ He told me from now on I have to pay in advance.”
Dark humor about serious issues like suicide wouldn’t fly in today’s world, where mental health advocacy has transformed public conversation.
7. “I drink too much. The last time I gave a urine sample, it had an olive in it.”
Alcoholism jokes are less likely to land in a society more attuned to the struggles of addiction and the importance of seeking help.
8. “My uncle’s dying wish was to have me sitting on his lap. He was in the electric chair.”
This morbid humor about capital punishment could be seen as distasteful, given the ongoing debates about the ethics of the death penalty.
9. “I told my kid, ‘Some day you’ll have kids of your own.’ He said, ‘So will you.'”
Poking fun at youthful ignorance or rebellion has its risks today, as parenting humor often gets dissected for its underlying messages.
10. “My mother-in-law’s so fat, when she wears a red dress, kids yell, ‘Kool-Aid!'”
Fat-shaming humor, particularly aimed at family members like the infamous mother-in-law, is increasingly viewed as harmful rather than humorous.
11. “When I was a kid, my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.”
What might have been a lighthearted comment on a rough childhood is less palatable in today’s context, where there’s more sensitivity around family stability and trauma.
12. “I told my wife the truth. I told her I was seeing a psychiatrist. Then she told me the truth: that she was seeing a psychiatrist, two plumbers, and a bartender.”
Infidelity jokes involving multiple partners might have been a hit back then, but today, they might be seen as crass or insensitive.
Rodney Dangerfield’s humor was rooted in a different era, where self-deprecation and edgy one-liners were the norm. While many of his jokes were crafted to push boundaries, they remind us of how humor has evolved and what’s considered appropriate—or not—in different times.
