Baghdad -- Comedy Central is said to be
cutting a deal with Saddam
Hussein to cohost The Man Show.
"The idea came to me," said current co-host Jimmy
Kimmel, "when I saw
that picture of Saddam firing a rifle in the
air. I said to myself,
"This dude's crazy -- get his agent on the phone."
Unknown to many, along with terrorist training
camps, Saddam also
trained agents who go on to work for CAA, ICM
and William Morris.
Josh Bernstein of ICM has been representing Saddam for years.
"I always believed in him," Berstein says. "He's
a huge comic talent.
It's so unfair he's been typecast as the murderous
dictator."
Bernstein said he first got the idea to team up
Saddam with "The Man Show" when
Saddam reportedly said to a UN weapons inspector,
"Just bring over some big-breasted
American women and I'll show you my weapon of
mass destruction!"
He then proceeded to do a beer bong.
Neal Smith, a programmer for Comedy Central, has
been going after the
"crazy Mideast dictator demographic for years."
"We're already getting offers for significant
sponsorship from makers of aluminum tubes
and weapons-grade anthrax, but the State Department
said we couldn't air their commercials,"
said Mr. Smith in his LA office.
However, Saddam has been a rainmaker for Comedy
Central, bringing in sponsorship from
all the major oil companies. When asked about
the controversy that Saddam brings to The Man Show
Mr. Kimmel was nonplussed.
"We could use a little of that. Our show is way too tame."
But will audiences accept Saddam as a cohost of
a comedy program? Budweiser is hoping for
the best and is featuring Saddam in their newest
TV spot.
"After a long day of gassing Kurds and hiding
chemical and biological weapons I open a can
of Bud Lite and the cares of the day melt away."
When asked why he had chosen to switch careers
when for over 20 years he had ruthlessly ruled
Iraq as a police state, Saddam said, "There comes
a time in every man's life when he has to ask
himself, 'Is this what I really want?'"
"That and big-breasted American women," he then added.
Adam, the other co-host of "The Man Show," was
unavailable for comment becausehe was
picked up on the street and taken to an undisclosed
location for questioning.
"There's one thing that Saddam will add to our
show," said Mr. Kimmel,"and I speak for Adam
here as well (whereever he is) when I say this,
and that thing is class."