This is the joke Sarah Silverman wanted to make at the Democratic convention but couldn't

Sarah Silverman addresses Democratic convention

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 27 July 2016

Some Bernie Sanders supporters put tape over their mouths at the Democratic National Convention, signaling their assertion that their voices weren't heard by the Democratic Party, or that the organizers of the convention were silencing them. Sanders super-fan Sarah Silverman was actually silenced, sort of, when the convention organizers quashed one of her proposed jokes at Monday night's convention, she told The New York Times:

At the very beginning, when Al said, "I'm Al Franken and this past year I've been hashtag-I'm With Her," and I was going to say, "And I'm Sarah Silverman, and this past year I've been with the possibly agnostic Jew." Because you know the Right is going to use these emails to try to separate them. It's what they want so badly. I just felt like, let the comedian defuse it and just address the elephant in the room. But they were like, no. And they are right. They're right. But I get so indignant. At least I'm aware, and awareness brings change so maybe I'll be less obnoxious. [Sarah Silverman, to The New York Times]

Instead of referencing the hacked and leaked Democratic National Committee emails, Silverman said that "this past year, I've been feeling the Bern," adding: "Relax, I put some cream on it." She told The Times on Tuesday that Jane Sanders had personally invited her to speak at the convention, that she had voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 but she'd "be crazy not to" vote for Clinton this year, and that "the fundamentalists of any group, including fans of Bernie or fans of Hillary or fans of anyone, are a bummer." You can read her full interview at The New York Times, and watch her convention speech below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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