July 25, 2017 7:39PM ET

T.J. Miller Defends Controversial Comment About Women in Comedy

Former ‘Silicon Valley’ actor says his critics “missed the point”

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T.J. Miller Clarifies Controversial Comment About Women Not Being as Funny as Men

Former Silicon Valley actor T.J. Miller defended his comments about women in comedy from a recent interview with New York magazine.

The controversial remarks came when Miller gave his take on several well-known comedians, including Louis C.K. (“He doesn’t say anything surprising anymore”) and Aziz Ansari (“He’s very good at what he does … like Dane Cook”). When it came to talking about female comedians as a whole, Miller said: “They’re taught to suppress their sense of humor during their formative years.” Many people on Twitter took that as Miller’s reasoning for why women aren’t as funny as men.

Miller responded to the backlash on Twitter by off-loading blame. “To be real, I’m getting used as click bait a lot … It’s becoming frustrating that if I confuse interviewers they trash me. I DO NOT LIKE IT.”

Okay, I guess everyone and their parents missed the point–#feminist
SOCIETY depresses humor in women bc it is a sign of intelligence.

— t.j. miller (@nottjmiller) July 24, 2017

that is THREATENING to men, & so women are taught to suppress those intimidations. It is about SOCIETY’s ills, the misogyny of women’s humor

— t.j. miller (@nottjmiller) July 24, 2017

Don’t get it twisted. The world gets better the more we empower our literal better half.

Women ARE FUNNY, against odds that men don’t face.

— t.j. miller (@nottjmiller) July 24, 2017

Trust not those who make click bait, but those who will one day admit they were confused and would not admit it, better to villify a villain

— t.j. miller (@nottjmiller) July 24, 2017

Okay, I guess everyone and their parents missed the point–#feminist
SOCIETY *supresses* humor in women bc it is a sign of intelligence.

— t.j. miller (@nottjmiller) July 24, 2017

Miller had another recent gossip-fueling interview with the The Hollywood Reporter, about his decision to leave Silicon Valley four seasons into the HBO hit. He spoke poorly of Silicon Valley showrunner Alec Berg and hinted at Thomas Middleditch’s ego.

“Nobody right now is publicly the Lindsay Lohan-train wreck-but-not-quite person,” Miller said of the revealing THR interview. “If I’d just said it was an honor to work on Silicon Valley and was thankful to Alec Berg, I would have disappeared. Instead, by being just a little authentic, I infected the news cycle. It’s more important to be polarizing than neutralizing. That’s my position.”