Comedy? Someone who suffers from Parkinson’s disease probably doesn’t think so. Recently on the FOX news station a new comedy show starring comedian Affion Crockett called, “In The Flow With Affion Crockett” aired a skit impersonating the 8 division world champ, Manny Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach. The skit is about Manny Pacquiao auditioning for a judging position for the hit TV show “American Idol” with another actor impersonating Freddie Roach holding a syringe.
The actor playing Roach impersonates Roach’s physical symptoms from Parkinson’s disease, slurred speech and all. This I am sure did not sit well with the thousands of folks who live with Parkinson’s disease. Pacquiao, who is currently taking the Mayweather’s to court for slander probably isn’t too happy with this skit either. The lawsuit against the Mayweather’s was filed due to steroid accusations made by the Mayweathers. A skit on a TV show that shows and actor playing Roach injecting Pacquiao with a syringe probably doesn’t sit well with team Pacquiao. Advertisement
Whether or not Pacquiao’s team is happy with the skit or not, there are many who deal with Parkinson’s disease that I can guarantee are not pleased with this skit. There is nothing funny about the crippling symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Maybe if the producer of this show, (Jamie Foxx) one day is stricken with this same disease, he would be a little more sensitive to those who live with it.
The skit was probably funny to some people, but at the cost of thousands of people who live with these symptoms every day.
I spoke with a few fans in Mississippi about the skit and got their thoughts on whether or not they thought it was funny. I talked with Herman Williams of Jackson, MS, “I saw the skit on Youtube the other day and nothing about it was funny. I have a brother with Parkinson’s disease and he didn’t like it either. There is nothing funny about these symptoms nor should they be made fun of.”
I also spoke with Kristian Lawrence of Byram, MS “I did see the skit and I was not thrilled at all about it. The guy who played Pacquiao was actually really good. He sounded just like Pacquiao, but the skit was not professional and very tasteless.”
This writer thinks that they took this skit too far. There are thousands and thousands of people who live with Parkinson’s disease every day of their lives. The symptoms of this disease are no laughing matter.
