The Night Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay Went Nuts on CNN
While the comedy career of Andrew Dice Clay wasn’t exactly over in the 2000s, the days of selling out Madison Square Garden were in the rearview mirror. He didn’t, however, appreciate being reminded of that reality when he lasted about one profanity-laced minute on CNN.
Trouble began the moment the interview started. “Let’s talk a little bit about where your career has been,” offered the CNN anchorman, a seemingly innocuous question unless, like the Diceman, you sense an implication that the comic was no longer on top.
“I can’t believe this,” shot back Clay.
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You were a headline guy, said CNN Guy, trying again.
“I’m still a headline guy!” Clay shot back.
Nonstop success didn’t fit CNN Guy’s narrative, who suggested that Clay had “popped out” for a few years but was now on the comeback trail. After all, he said, the comic was running a gym for a while.
“Running a gym?” asked an incredulous Clay, waving his arms around his head. “I thought you were supposed to be a news guy. Where are you getting your fucking information? I come on CNN, and the guy don’t even know what he’s talking about!”
That was the first F-bomb Clay dropped in the 60-second interview. It would not be the last.
“At no point you were running a gym?”
“No, no! Running a gym? What, you need a workout or something? Jesus fucking Christ with these guys!” (Anecdotal reports indicate that Clay did run a Gold’s Gym in Florida during his career lull, but who’s counting?)
The interview was effectively over before it had begun, but Clay had a few more expletives to hurl on his way out. “I come on the news for two seconds,” he spat. “Every time I do an interview, a guy wants to open his fucking mouth. Can’t even do a fucking routine here. You know what, go fuck yourself.”
As Dice threw off his headphones and microphone, still spewing F-bombs about the network, CNN Guy grinned into the camera and calmly announced, “We’ll go back to talking about Art Carney, and we’ll be back in just a moment.”
Joe Rogan gleefully replayed the clip for the Diceman during a 2023 podcast segment. CNN Guy was the villain, in Rogan’s view. “Whatever happened to that guy,” he wondered. Dice gleefully proclaimed him “Gone!”
Why was CNN in the wrong? It was all part of a cultural narrative, Rogan explained. At the time, if you were a good guy, you had to hate Andrew Dice Clay and not find his jokes funny. That smug CNN Guy was just trying to prove he was on the right side of the culture.
That didn’t make him right, said Clay, still seething years later and speculating that CNN Guy’s mommy didn’t like his jokes either. “That was just so ridiculous,” the comic said. “You know where I was the next night? Sold-out Beacon Theater!”
It’s an accomplishment Art Carney could have only dreamed about.
