On July 28, radio personality Ira Glass took to Twitter to share his newfound thoughts on Shakespeare.
@JohnLithgow as Lear tonight: amazing. Shakespeare: not good. No stakes, not relatable. I think I'm realizing: Shakespeare sucks.
As it turns out, he doesn't seem to be the Bard's biggest fan.
Same thing with the great Mark Rylance shows this yr: fantastic acting, surprisingly funny, but Shakespeare is not relatable, unemotional.
People on the internet haven't taken too well to his opinion.
With all due respect, @iraglass, what the hell are ya talking about
But he doesn't seem to care.
@dpecs that maybe Shakespeare sucks
Most people on Twitter think Glass is wrong:
Ira Glass declares that Shakespeare is "not relatable," which is the most laughable criticism one could have about anything art oriented.
"Fuck that dude, Ira Glass" - Shakespeare
Ira Glass was talking trash about Shakespeare, but he's probably jealous because Shakespeare has never even HEARD of him.
Just fyi @iraglass keeps saying "Shakespeare sucks" and I think he's gone insane.
Is Ira Glass trolling with this "Shakespeare is unemotional"stuff? I hope so. He's an ostensibly "smart" guy.
Some have his back:
Does this Ira Glass thing mean we all get to stop pretending to enjoy Shakespeare?
@iraglass I totally agree about Shakespeare. It's one of those things you feel pressured to like-liking it says more about status than taste
And others are just having fun with it:
"i remember the day white people were forced to choose between Ira Glass and Shakespeare."
Which do you think would make the audience of @iraglass angrier: him denouncing Shakespeare or criticizing quinoa?
Please, don't make us choose between @iraglass and William Shakespeare.
"Hasn't this Shakespeare guy heard of postmodernism?" - Ira Glass, probably
One reporter, Lois Beckett, even started tweeting a satirical combination of Glass' radio show and King Lear, This American Lear:
*Goneril voice-over* "And then...I don't know how to describe it...my dad just started acting crazy. He wanted to keep all his employees..."
*Regan voice-over* "And he kept running outside in the middle of the night--it was scary!*
*Goneril voice-over* "And what I didn't realize, was that, dealing with my dad's dementia, all of our other family tensions would come out"
IRA GLASS VOICEOVER: "....We called Cordelia, the third daughter, for comment, but she never replied."
*INTERSTITIAL LUTE MUSIC, RUMBLES OF THUNDER* "When we return, part 3: The Storm. What does it really mean to be grateful to your parents?"