There was an episode of "The History of Comedy" on CNN last week regarding race in Comedy.

They discussed different races and ethnicities in comedy over the last century.

Some of the comedians they mentioned were Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle. Both are famous for using their stand up to discuss controversial topics.

Other examples are George Carlin, Louis CK, Bill Maher and Lenny Bruce (who was before our time).

All of these comics use(d) controversial topics in their acts. And at the time they all offended someone.

Who determines what crosses a line and what doesn't? If one comic can make fun of one group, does that mean all comics can make fun of other groups? Is intent of the joke more important than the words coming out of their mouths?

For instance, if a comic is mocking stereotypes of a marginalized group, is it offensive even if his intent was to show the absurdity of the stereotypes? If a comic can't mock stereotypes of marginalized groups, can a comic mock stereotypes of an unmarginalized group?

****please do not bring up michael Richard's racist rant. That was NOT a comedy act and it wasn't an example of what I'm talking about.