In one of the first sketches for his new show, Why?, comedian Hannibal Buress addresses the all-too real backlash many public figures suffer on social media. He does so via a hilarious encounter (with an-of-the-moment celebrity cameo) that’s reminiscent of [Seinfeld seeking revenge on a heckler at work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheFire(Seinfeld).
Oh, heck, I’ve just done it again. I made a comparison between Burress’ material and something that came before it. The first time I did so — in a review for one of his shows for The Denver Post — I saw similarities between his cousin hatred and Aziz Ansari’s. The article itself was an overwhelmingly positive take on his act — Buress is one of my favorite comedians — but Hannibal came after me on Twitter for what I can only assume was a perceived slight.
Hannibal excels at calling people out — ahem, Bill Cosby — and I enjoyed the exchange, weird as it was. But for whatever reason he deleted his tweets, which is why they appear as pixelated screenshots above. It was a civil exchange, if a bit curious, and then it was gone. Maybe he was just warming up for the big game he’s chasing on Comedy Central.
I’m sure he has to deal with tons of idiots clogging his feeds with inanity. The more famous he gets, the worse it’ll be. So, my bad, Hannibal: Carry on. And next time you come at me, please leave the evidence for posterity, cousin.
