Is George Lopez "vulgar and anti-white"?

Ricardo Gonzalez of theamericano.com wrote, "The last two times I have listened to George Lopez he has been both vulgar and anti-white." Mr. Gonzalez continues by saying, "It ('Lopez Tonight') certainly doesn't represent what a lot of us are about, and I, for one, wish Lopez would go back to being funny ..."

Whether he represents Latinos well or not, Lopez has accomplished something unprecedented.

Lopez is widely known for his sitcom 'George Lopez,' that aired on ABC from 2002-2007, which dealt with the struggle and ensuing comedy of a Latino family with Lopez at the helm. Lopez has also worked as a stand-up comedian since the 1980's.

Lopez himself does think "White America" is ready for him. In an interview for this article, Lopez said "I've been criticized my whole career, everybody gets criticized, it will not change the way I approach humor, it hasn't, but I understand if somebody is not happy with it because if you try to make everybody happy, you're not ever gonna be a success." He said, "If you're offended by the show in any way or you don't agree with what I say, it's very simple, don't watch the show."

Lopez predicts that his brand of humor will prevail, especially after the holiday season passes.

"In two weeks this show already beats the averages of the other talk shows and we're just finding our way," Lopez said. "This show will be the number one show in late night TV."

Across the board, late night television numbers have been falling off and, with 'Lopez Tonight,' TBS is betting on the newest and fastest growing demographic, minorities, who are significant consumers, to be the solution.

"He plays the Latino part pretty strong. If it's about offending older white people, it's not gonna hurt him a bit, that demographic is sort of played out," said Guy Garcia, author of 'The New Mainstream: How the Multicultural Consumer is Transforming American Business'. "If it alienates younger non-hispanics who have moved beyond racial and ethnic hyper-awareness, then that will be a problem."

"In his audiences, which are absolutely multicultural and mixed, they seem to get the joke so far," said Garcia. (This article continues after the photo gallery)


He's definitely exhibited a culturally-inclusive policy with his A-List guest lineup so far who have ranged from Ellen DeGeneres and Larry David to Carlos Santana and Oscar De La Hoya to Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson.

With the show 'Lopez Tonight,' Lopez joins a storied roster of television personalities like Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Jay Leno who have held influential late-night television slots, only Lopez' rise to late night is more parallel to Arsenio Hall, the first African American late-night talk-show host. Tapped for his broad appeal, Hall had huge ratings at first, only to have his show canceled for eventually narrowing it to cater mostly to an African-American audience.

"George Lopez has never been pigeonholed into being a 'Latino' comic," said Jamie Masada, Founder & President of Laugh Factory. "He has broad appeal because he doesn't limit his observations to his own ethnic background which a lot of comics choose to do. Stand-up comedy brings people together and George is among the best at bridging the differences among audience members."

It's likely Lopez will experience pressure from many sides dealing with the mass audience that comes with late night TV.

"He has to respond to his own conscience. He's gotta do whatever he thinks is funny," said longtime Latin comedian Paul Rodriguez, "I don't criticize, I'm just so happy that TBS had the courage that none of the other networks had. The times when everything was black and white is not true anymore, there are many of us who are chocolate."

Ultimately comedy is all about laughs and "the only subjects off limits are ones that aren't funny," adds Rodriguez. "That's the art of comedy, you can say anything if you know how to make people laugh."

"He just says things we say at our dinner table that we're afraid to say in public. I don't think he's against Blacks, Whites or Hispanics," said Armando Lucas Correa, Editor in Chief of People En Español. "He's an inspiration for the Latin community to see what he's achieved."

And multiculturalism seems to be Lopez' intention, "If change can come to the White House, then change can come to late night," said Lopez. "The main thing I want to do with this show is to attract a diverse audience who will come and have a party every night."

Watch 'Lopez Tonight' clips, including Eva Longoria doing the pole dance ...


Play Date with Marc Anthony and yes, "Good thing J.Lo wasn't there" ...


- Kenli Mattus also contributed to this article

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