Obviously Mahbod's latest annotations were inappropriate. Based on his past behavior, these recent antics should not come as much of a surprise.
As an aside, it has always amazed me how many people over the years have failed to realize Rap Genius' gimmick is just that, a gimmick. It's their attempt at using an admittedly off-color flavor of comedy to build their brand. Said brand is heavily rooted in rap, which is one of the most politically incorrect and offensive mediums of pop culture in existence today.
It stands to reason that when the Rap Genius founders are in character, their behavior should not be taken literally as a reflection of who they really are.
A good example of this is when they were featured on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013:
Most people simply took them literally, became offended, and jumped on the revulsion bandwagon. Others understood that the RG guys were essentially mocking the startup scene and the rap scene at the same time, in effect making fun of themselves.
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In Mahbod's case specifically, it seemed like he was aiming for humor that went right up to the line but didn't cross it. Unfortunately, comedy is a hit-or-miss endeavor and some of the misses were bound to cross that line. Add to that his medical issues potentially adversely affecting his judgement, and it's no wonder.
Was what he said inappropriate? Absolutely.
Should he have been fired for it? Debatable.
Should we assume he's a terrible human being (as some other comments have implied)? Certainly not.
As an aside, it has always amazed me how many people over the years have failed to realize Rap Genius' gimmick is just that, a gimmick. It's their attempt at using an admittedly off-color flavor of comedy to build their brand. Said brand is heavily rooted in rap, which is one of the most politically incorrect and offensive mediums of pop culture in existence today.
It stands to reason that when the Rap Genius founders are in character, their behavior should not be taken literally as a reflection of who they really are.
A good example of this is when they were featured on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5773556
Most people simply took them literally, became offended, and jumped on the revulsion bandwagon. Others understood that the RG guys were essentially mocking the startup scene and the rap scene at the same time, in effect making fun of themselves.
---
In Mahbod's case specifically, it seemed like he was aiming for humor that went right up to the line but didn't cross it. Unfortunately, comedy is a hit-or-miss endeavor and some of the misses were bound to cross that line. Add to that his medical issues potentially adversely affecting his judgement, and it's no wonder.
Was what he said inappropriate? Absolutely.
Should he have been fired for it? Debatable.
Should we assume he's a terrible human being (as some other comments have implied)? Certainly not.