The Grudge Report

Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee

Thank you, Mr. Rotman. Our next panelist is Bess Kalb. Ms. Kalb is an Emmy-nominated comedy writer and New York Times bestselling author of Buffalo Fluffalo, a series of children's books, and the memoir Nobody Will Tell You This But Me, which is a New York Times book review editor's choice.

She wrote for eight years for Jimmy Kimmel Live, for which she won a Writers Guild Award. She has also written for the Emmy Awards, the Academy Awards, the Al Smith Dinner, and the 2020 Democratic National Convention. She is a contributor to The New Yorker and This American Life. Ms. Kalb, you're recognized for five minutes.

Thank you so much, Representative Scanlon, Ranking Member Raskin, and the members of Congress here today. I'm honored to be here representing the millions of Americans who did not go to law school. So what am I doing here? I'm a comedy writer. I wrote for Jimmy Kimmel Live for eight years, as Ranking Member Scanlon said.

This could hurt my career

Buffalo Fluffalo's political hard left turn

Here is the clip of my testimony before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, which is a bit more vulnerable than it reads on the page.

I’ve also included the answers to my questions at the end.

Some blogs and podcasts have run away with the anti-Trump angle and the Kimmel-writer storyline, which is definitely more appealing clickbait than the substance of the speech.

But I disclosed something very personal about what happened on book tour in Montana, and it definitely casts a very nonpartisan book in a potentially polarizing light.

One thing that delights me about the response to the Fluffalo series is how politically purple its readership is. The books are about kindness and empathy, which should not be partisan topics.

With this testimony, the jig is up, and everyone in my family is rightfully nervous about what this will do for book sales.

If you feel like supporting the book after I lose truly half my readership, here’s the button to order a copy for yourself or anyone you know.

Thank you for watching.

Now here’s Puff:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743936/buffalo-fluffalo-and-puffalo-by-bess-kalb-illustrated-by-erin-kraan/

Discussion about this video

Please take the time to watch the entire video or read the transcript because it’s brilliant and hilarious.

Don't be fooled by the name Bess—she’s hip.

Thank you for continuing to speak truth to power. Thank you for advocating for the health and longevity of the Whole Idea of Comedy. For those of us who treasure comedy but feel guilty and confused about caring about it so much, you not only helped protect democracy with your advocacy. You’ve given us the words to understand why this weird thing we love isn't just fun, it's important. Crucial, even!