While speaking to Vanity Fair at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, comedian Sarah Silverman said she believes it’s important as a comedian to “change with the times,” in order to not offend anyone.
Silverman was referring to Jerry Seinfeld’s statements earlier this year, when he announced he stopped performing comedy at colleges because the students were generally too politically correct.
“To a degree, everyone’s going to be offended by something, so you can’t just decide on your material based on not offending anyone,” said Silverman. “But, I do think it’s important, as a comedian, as a human, to change with the times.”
“I think it’s a sign of being old if you’re put off by that,” she added.
Silverman cited her use of the word “gay,” which she said was a stand-in for “lame” until she realized “I have become the guy from 50 years ago who said, ‘I say colored, I have colored friends.'”
“It’s not hard to change with the times, and I think it’s important,” she continued. “And when you have new information and when you become more aware of the world around you, you can change.”
“You have to listen to the college-aged, because they lead the revolution,” Silverman concluded. “They’re pretty much always on the right side of history.”
Watch the interview below, courtesy of Vanity Fair: