Comedian gets groans, laughs for Colo. shooting joke - FOX5 Vegas - KVVU

Only a week has passed since the deadly shooting at a Colorado movie theater, but the topic has already been used as material for stand-up comedy.

The Huffington Post reported Friday comedian Dane Cook's use of the tragedy for a joke about "The Dark Knight Rises," which was the movie Aurora, Colo. theatergoers were seeing during the shooting rampage on July 20.

Cook jokes about how bad the movie was.

"If none of that would have happened, I'm pretty sure that somebody in that theater, about 25 minutes in, realizing it was a piece of crap, was probably like, ‘Ugh, [expletive] shoot me,'" Cook said.

According to The Huffington Post, Cook, who used the joke on Thursday, asked the crowd at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles permission to use the shooting as a topic before telling it.

The joke, which was recorded and posted on the internet, illicited a groan from the crowd. The audience, though, quickly turned the groans into laughter and applause.

The timing and properness of Cook's joke so close to a national tragedy comes into question.

The Huffington Post contends that something like this might serve to provide catharsis and normalcy during a time when healing is needed.

What do you think? Was the joke told too soon? Is any joke at any time about any violent event not proper? Does Dane Cook's joke, as theorized by The Huffington Post, serve a purpose?

You can tell us what you think on The Rant at FOX5Vegas.com or Facebook.

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