But are the jokes more offensive or is society more sensitive?
Canadian comedian Russell Peters thinks it's the latter, and that it's time for us to focus more on the intent of a joke.
"If you look at TV in the ‘70s versus TV now, and you see the things people said back in the day – they said the most off-colour stuff and nobody’s feelings were hurt," Peters told George Stroumboulopoulos. "Do you know why? Because it’s about intent. The intent then was to make you laugh. And the intent is still to make you laugh, but they’ve drilled it in into your head that you’re not supposed to laugh at this."
Do you think we've become too politically correct about comedy? Is it possible to make jokes about touchy subjects such as rape or racism without being offensive? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
"George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight" airs weeknights at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on CBC Television. You can follow George on the web, Twitter and Facebook.
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