--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The success of my comedy has been not…" description: "\"The success of my comedy has been not being afraid to touch on subject matters or issues that everyone else is politically scared of.\" — Bernie Mac" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/bernie-mac-3867_being-afraid_the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-be_2992206.jpg" --- # The success of my comedy has been not being afraid to… ![“The success of my comedy has been not being afraid to touch on subject matters or issues that everyone else is politically scared of.” quote by Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/bernie-mac-3867_being-afraid_the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-be_2992206.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/bernie-mac-3867_being-afraid_the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-be_2992206.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/bernie-mac-3867_being-afraid_the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-be_2992206.jpg) > “The success of my comedy has been not being afraid to touch on subject matters or issues that everyone else is politically scared of.” [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy thrives when it confronts taboo or politically sensitive topics, breaking fear and encouraging honest dialogue. **In simple terms:** Comedy succeeds by tackling scary subjects. Key Takeaway Use humor to address tough issues. Themes censorship politics humor Mood bold confident Type comedian inspirational When to use this quote - stand-up - public speaking - media commentary - social activism Key Concepts social critique courage Questions to Reflect On - Which controversial topic could you discuss with humor? - How does humor change the perception of a serious issue? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating audiences or facing backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-afraid/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comedy Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy-afraid-1115651/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Issues Politically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues-politically-3819799/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Politically Scared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politically-scared-4707685/) [Scared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared/) [Subject matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-matter/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-comedy-3979461/) ## Related quotes > [Jake Corman, he and I disagree on issues politically, but Jake Corman is not a bad guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/jake-corman-he-and-i-disagree-on-issues-politically-but-jake-corman/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [I think probably the most difficult challenge was just the climb and rise in show business because I went through my entire twenties with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-think-probably-the-most-difficult-challenge-was-just-the-climb-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [For a movie's success, comedy must blend with the storyline. Else, comedy might click but the movie will die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thambi-ramaiah/for-a-movie-s-success-comedy-must-blend-with-the-storyline-else/) [Thambi Ramaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thambi-ramaiah/) > [I've had a lot of success with comedy films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-dutta/i-ve-had-a-lot-of-success-with-comedy-films/) [Lara Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-dutta/) > [I think there's nothing better than a comedy that also is not afraid to have those heartfelt moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-falcone/i-think-there-s-nothing-better-than-a-comedy-that-also-is-not-afraid/) [Ben Falcone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-falcone/) > [I think there's a thin line between pathos and comedy, and I'm not afraid of putting my heart on my sleeve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bishop/i-think-there-s-a-thin-line-between-pathos-and-comedy-and-i-m-not/) [John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bishop/) > [I used to love comic books, and I love American comedy, and neither are afraid to tackle big themes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/i-used-to-love-comic-books-and-i-love-american-comedy-and-neither-are/) [Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/) > [It's different being afraid when there's the hope it will amount to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/it-s-different-being-afraid-when-there-s-the-hope-it-will-amount-to/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [If you really stop resisting someone or stop judging them or stop being afraid of them or stop imagining they're going to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/if-you-really-stop-resisting-someone-or-stop-judging-them-or-stop/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [Having limits to push against is how you find out what you can do. I have always been full of contradictions. I am shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/having-limits-to-push-against-is-how-you-find-out-what-you-can-do-i/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Not to be content with Life is the unsatisfactory state of those which destroy themselves; who being afraid to live, run blindly upon their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/not-to-be-content-with-life-is-the-unsatisfactory-state-of-those/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [The terrible thing about free soloing difficult routes that are within one's capacity, is the chance that faced with ultimate danger and need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/royal-robbins/the-terrible-thing-about-free-soloing-difficult-routes-that-are/) [Royal Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/royal-robbins/) > [As a child there was no place for adventure or experimentation. I guess that kind of freedom started in high school with punk rock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mcnairy/as-a-child-there-was-no-place-for-adventure-or-experimentation-i/) [Mark McNairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mcnairy/) > [“Because once you're afraid of one thing, you can get scared of a lot of stuff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/because-once-you-re-afraid-of-one-thing-you-can-get-scared-of-a-lot/) [Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by Bernie Mac > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [You've got guys in charge of shows who probably went to school for chemistry, and now they're executive producers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/you-ve-got-guys-in-charge-of-shows-who-probably-went-to-school-for/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [You're never going to see me playing a buffoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/you-re-never-going-to-see-me-playing-a-buffoon/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [It's a pleasure to work with someone who is just as strong as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/it-s-a-pleasure-to-work-with-someone-who-is-just-as-strong-as-you-are/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [I wasn't disciplined at all. As good of an athlete as I was, I was not disciplined. Had I had the drive that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-wasn-t-disciplined-at-all-as-good-of-an-athlete-as-i-was-i-was-not/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When it comes to raising children, I believe in give and take. I give orders and they take 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-it-comes-to-raising-children-i-believe-in-give-and-take-i-give/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Black audiences are hard. They always think they're better than you. So you got to come with a little extra to satisfy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/black-audiences-are-hard-they-always-think-they-re-better-than-you-so/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [My girlfriend Rhonda, who's now my wife, I graduated from high school, she got pregnant. My grandfather said, 'You've got to do the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/my-girlfriend-rhonda-who-s-now-my-wife-i-graduated-from-high-school/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [You can't change what happened. Just like you can't change the future by worrying about it. You just have to keep moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/you-can-t-change-what-happened-just-like-you-can-t-change-the-future/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [I learned hard lessons in life; I had to because I had so much happen: My mother died my sophomore year in high school.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-learned-hard-lessons-in-life-i-had-to-because-i-had-so-much-happen/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Bernie Mac is happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/bernie-mac-is-happy/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [I hate to let people down. I was like that in sports and I was like that in comedy. I was like that at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-hate-to-let-people-down-i-was-like-that-in-sports-and-i-was-like/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [I want to speak directly to the audience, to say, 'I'm like you - I'm frustrated, I'm not an expert, I don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-want-to-speak-directly-to-the-audience-to-say-i-m-like-you-i-m/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [I know doing movies is where I need to be. That's where my audience wants to see me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-know-doing-movies-is-where-i-need-to-be-that-s-where-my-audience/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > ['The Bernie Mac Show' is my life. It's the truth, and I'm not ashamed of a minute, an hour, or a second of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/the-bernie-mac-show-is-my-life-it-s-the-truth-and-i-m-not-ashamed-of/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) [Explore all 120 Bernie Mac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) ## More Being afraid quotes > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Because once you're afraid of one thing, you can get scared of a lot of stuff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/because-once-you-re-afraid-of-one-thing-you-can-get-scared-of-a-lot/) [Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/) > [As a child there was no place for adventure or experimentation. I guess that kind of freedom started in high school with punk rock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mcnairy/as-a-child-there-was-no-place-for-adventure-or-experimentation-i/) [Mark McNairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mcnairy/) > [The terrible thing about free soloing difficult routes that are within one's capacity, is the chance that faced with ultimate danger and need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/royal-robbins/the-terrible-thing-about-free-soloing-difficult-routes-that-are/) [Royal Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/royal-robbins/) > [Not to be content with Life is the unsatisfactory state of those which destroy themselves; who being afraid to live, run blindly upon their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/not-to-be-content-with-life-is-the-unsatisfactory-state-of-those/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Having limits to push against is how you find out what you can do. I have always been full of contradictions. I am shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/having-limits-to-push-against-is-how-you-find-out-what-you-can-do-i/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [If you really stop resisting someone or stop judging them or stop being afraid of them or stop imagining they're going to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/if-you-really-stop-resisting-someone-or-stop-judging-them-or-stop/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [It's different being afraid when there's the hope it will amount to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/it-s-different-being-afraid-when-there-s-the-hope-it-will-amount-to/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [How tragic that the very thing that could set us free-playing the fool-is the thing we will not do. When we're afraid to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/how-tragic-that-the-very-thing-that-could-set-us-free-playing-the/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [To be a champion, I think you have to see the big picture. It's not about winning and losing; it's about every day hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-sanders/to-be-a-champion-i-think-you-have-to-see-the-big-picture-it-s-not/) [Summer Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-sanders/) > [I hate when somebody says, "This may not work." You'll never get anywhere with that. I've pushed a lot of people out of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/i-hate-when-somebody-says-this-may-not-work-you-ll-never-get-anywhere/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [I'd rather sing one wild song and burst my heart with it, than live a thousand years watching my digestion and being afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-d-rather-sing-one-wild-song-and-burst-my-heart-with-it-than-live-a/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [The American people are sick and tired of being afraid to speak their minds lest they be politically smeared as 'Communists' or 'Fascists' by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/the-american-people-are-sick-and-tired-of-being-afraid-to-speak-their/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [The first step to believing something is true is wanting to believe it is true... or being afraid it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/the-first-step-to-believing-something-is-true-is-wanting-to-believe/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) [Browse all 234 Being afraid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-afraid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The success of my comedy has been not being afraid to touch on subject matters or issues that everyone else is politically scared of.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bernie Mac" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-being-afraid-to-touch-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-being-afraid-to-touch-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/bernie-mac-3867_being-afraid_the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-be_2992206.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/bernie-mac-3867_being-afraid_the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-be_2992206.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/bernie-mac-3867_being-afraid_the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-be_2992206.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The success of my comedy has been not being afraid to touch on subject matters or issues that everyone else…” — Bernie Mac", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bernie Mac", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The success of my comedy has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-being-afraid-to-touch-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/the-success-of-my-comedy-has-been-not-being-afraid-to-touch-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```