Billy Crystal Calls Comedy a ‘Minefield’: ‘I Don’t Like it, I Understand it’

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

While sitting down with the New York Post, Billy Crystal acknowledged that comedy is now a “totally different world,” adding that although he doesn’t like it, he still understands the shifts in the genre.

“It’s becoming a minefield and I get it,” the comedian told The Post of the recent changes within the genre. “I don’t like it, I understand it … I just keep doing what I’m doing and that’s all you can do right now.”

While Crystal did not explicitly mention cancel culture, The Post claimed that his comments were addressing “the current state of comedy and cancel culture.”

“It’s a totally different world [now] and it doesn’t mean you have to like it,” he added, accepting the changes in entertainment — unlike fellow comedy legend Chevy Chase, who has decried the “generation of shitheads” that now runs TV.

Crystal, who has hosted the Academy Awards nine times, also took a slight dig at this year’s Oscars ceremony, replying, “Were they on?” when asked if he watched the show.

The comedian spoke to The Post on Thursday to promote his new film Here Today — the first he has directed in in two decades. After his comments about the current state of comedy, Crystal tried to steer the conversation back to the film.

“You know I’d rather talk about Here Today,” he said, adding, “It’s an interesting time, it’s an interesting time.”

In the movie, Crystal plays Charlie Burnz — a former comedy writer who is battling dementia and forms an unexpected friendship with a singer named Emma Payge, portrayed by Tiffany Haddish. 

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com