The Office: 10 Jokes That Would Never Fly On TV Today

After coming out in 2009 and lasting for nine seasons, The Office is picking up more and more fans after being added to Netflix. With a new fan base, people are hoping The Office would come back with a reboot or some kind of spinoff, but there’s only one problem: a show like The Office would never make it on TV today.

Times have changed since the early 2000s. Many of the jokes, conversations, and assumptions are far too inappropriate for TV nowadays. More importantly, Michael Scott wouldn’t be the character he is in 2020 without 2009s attitude and sense of humor. To take a look at 10 jokes that wouldn’t fly on TV today (or in an office, for that matter), keep scrolling!

10 “You Can’t Call Retarded People Retarded. You Call Your Friends Retards When They’re Retarded”

Oh, Michael. Not only is the “R” word despicable in 2020, it definitely shouldn’t be used in jest on TV. As shocking as a statement like this is, Michael Scott somehow gets away with it in his talking head. Thankfully, that word isn’t used much after this line throughout the series, even though Michael assumes it’s okay to call his friends it.

9 “Hewwo Evwybody!”

Like Andy, Michael also has a love for theatrics. We’ve seen him go to weekly night improv classes where he gets to test out his acting abilities (although his classes never seem to end well). He has a few different characters up his sleeve that he enjoys playing, and one of them is an Asian man named Ping. He based the character off a delivery man who was also named Ping.

Wearing glasses that made him have “Asian” eyes and using a stereotypical Asian voice, Michael portrayed Ping at the Dundies and again in “Goodbye, Michael.” The racial stereotype was cringeworthy, to say the least.

8 “It’s Essentially A Hindu Halloween”

In the third season, Kelly invites the entire office to her family’s Diwali celebration. At first, Michael made insensitive comments about the traditional garb but when he saw how many of his employees took to Ryan’s kurta, he became more interested. But in classic Michael form, he thought Diwali was a “Hindu Halloween” based on the clothing Kelly and her family wore. To make matters worse, he and his girlfriend showed up to the party in Halloween costumes…

7 “She Is Turning Into A Stone Cold Fox” — Michael To Stanley’s Daughter

Stanley has a gorgeous daughter who he displays proudly in a picture frame on his desk. In the episode where everyone takes their daughter to work for the day, Michael pulls the creepy line of calling Stanley’s daughter a “stone-cold fox.”

Considering she was in high school, it was a comment that was over the line. Things with Stanley’s daughter get even creepier when she starts hitting on Ryan, who is still too old to be talking to a teenaged girl.

6 “We’ll Auction Off People, Like In The Olden Days”

“Diversity Day” could take up this entire article with its inaptness. The entire episode is filled with inappropriate stereotypes that everyone in the office found wrong except Michael Scott. And even though everyone didn’t want to partake in the events, they did it anyway. In one scene, Michael even makes a joke about slavery… You know, because that wasn’t a global shame.

5 “Oscar, Would You Reach Over And Touch His Thing? That’s What He Said. Right, Guys? Because Of Gay”

After Stanely suffers a heart attack at work (thanks, Dwight), Stanely had to wear a heart monitor to keep an eye on his heart rate. Unsurprisingly, his heart monitor begins to beep whenever Michael was near. In one scene, Stanley’s monitor was going off. Michael asked Oscar to turn off Stanely’s monitor and made a “that’s what he said” reference since Oscar was an openly gay man. As a boss, making a joke about an employee’s sexual orientation is a major no-no.

4 “I Would Shoot Toby Twice”

In the sixth season, Toby hosts a meeting regarding the testing of radon in the office. Michael is clearly annoyed by Toby and doesn’t take his meeting seriously. He stands up and claims Toby is boring him and says “Right? And if I had a gun, with two bullets, and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice.” The entire office knew he went too far and shook their heads in disapproval. Claiming to shoot a co-worker over two hated global figures? That’s low.

3 “So I created A Fake IM Account From A Hot Guy At Her High School, And Now I’m Trying To Make Her Anorexic”

Kelly may be a grown woman but she sure does act like a teenager sometimes. She’s obsessed with all things pop culture, but she’s more obsessed with her on-again/off-again boyfriend Ryan. In one episode, Kelly is seen typing away at her computer. When she’s asked what she’s doing, she admitted to catfishing a teenager who insulted her at the mall. She even tried torturing into giving her an eating disorder – a serious illness, and not a joking matter!

2 “Follow Me, I Will Show You Where All The Slaves Work”

When the Scranton branch absorbed the Stamford branch, Michael and co., created ‘welcome to Scranton’ goodie bags for all the newcomers. Pam, especially, was excited to see new faces and, of course, Jim. Michael acted like his true self with the newbies but as soon as Martin Nash (an African American man) appeared, Michael led him to his desk, saying “I will show you where all the slaves work.” Michael knew he was out of line but he couldn’t take back what he said.

1 “I Wouldn’t Last In Jail, Oscar. I’m Not Like You.”

When Kevin is talking about jail time, he tells Oscar he would never survive in jail because he wasn’t like him. Oscar seemed confused and asked “What’s that supposed to mean?” Kevin assumed Oscar didn’t know about the rumors and horror stories of what some inmates do to other inmates in jail and continued to tell him he would “love” it…

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
(1647 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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