According to The Collider's Comic-Con Looper panel recap:
Gordon-Levitt was asked what it was like to work with Emily Blunt, and he sited her ability to make him laugh as a big plus. He added, “most pretty girls aren’t funny.”
Yes, he was trying to compliment Blunt but at the detriment to the rest of her sex. Between Adam Carolla, the sharp debate on if Girls was comedy, and Vanity Fair's editorial on why women can't be funny because biology, this has been a rough time for funny ladies.
Twitter was not amused when Levitt's quote started to leak out:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt said, "Pretty girls aren't usually funny." He was worried we'd go 10 seconds without a debate about misogyny in comedy.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt said, "Pretty girls aren't usually funny." He was worried we'd go 10 seconds without a debate about misogyny in comedy.-- Louis Peitzman
Oh, Joseph Gordon Levitt, why must you play the misogynist "women aren't funny" card? Time to cry and eat ice cream. (See, that was funny.)
Oh, Joseph Gordon Levitt, why must you play the misogynist "women aren't funny" card? Time to cry and eat ice cream. (See, that was funny.)-- Jess
Joseph Gordon Levitt thinks that "most women aren't funny"? My vagina just frowned in disappointment.
Joseph Gordon Levitt thinks that "most women aren't funny"? My vagina just frowned in disappointment.-- Fiona Myers
"Let's face it, most pretty girls aren't funny" at least now I have a reason to not like Joseph Gordon Levitt.
"Let's face it, most pretty girls aren't funny" at least now I have a reason to not like Joseph Gordon Levitt.-- C. Bateman
Uh oh, JGL went with the currently radioactive notion "pretty girls aren't usually funny." Emily, who he was trying to compliment, bristled.
Uh oh, JGL went with the currently radioactive notion "pretty girls aren't usually funny." Emily, who he was trying to compliment, bristled.-- Josh Dickey