Dennis Miller on Comedy Brawl, JetBlue Controversy

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," July 18, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.

BILL O’REILLY, HOST: In the "Miller Time" segment tonight, there was a nasty brawl recently between comics Jon Lovitz and Andy Dick in a Los Angeles comedy nightclub. Apparently, the fight stems from the murder of comedian Phil Hartman back in 1998.

Joining us now from Los Angeles, Dennis Miller, who knows these guys and had Lovitz on his syndicated radio program.

Just want to refresh everybody's memory. In '98 Hartman's wife shot him to death and then killed herself. It was drug-related. And the woman was drug involved. And apparently, Lovitz believes that Andy Dick gave Hartman's wife drugs that let her spiral down.

Want to pick it up from there?

DENNIS MILLER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's the only place I want to talk about it, because quite frankly Phil and Bren were both dear to me. And life happens sometimes. I still miss them both. And you know, my prayers go out to their children. They're both good people. I don't know how to figure out life sometimes. That certainly was a shocker.

But Andy Dick plays a little post-modern with everything. And I think that caught up to Jon.

You know, in addition, Andy's surname, quite frankly, is an apt description of him as a human being sometimes. And I guess Lovitz has had enough of it. Andy plays a little too hip with it all. And he was chiding Jon, saying that he was putting the Phil curse on him and he was next.

And Lovitz, the sweetest of all men — I mean, really, you know, the nicest galoot you'll ever meet in your life — just had enough. He told me that Andy did it one too many times and he had enough of it. And he just took him out. And I found it very cathartic.

Now listen, Phil told me he liked Andy, you know. They got along all right. But Andy I think feels a little guilt here, a little culpability.

O'REILLY: You know, I've lost a friend — a friend of mine — my best friend was killed in a helicopter crash. And if somebody came up to me and said, "I'm going put the hex — the Phil Hartman hex on you. You're going to die next," I'd knock that guy — you know, there would be violence.

So I mean, I don't understand how anybody could do that in their right mind. Now I understand this Andy Dick — I don't know him — is a very troubled individual. I don't think — he's not suing Lovitz or anything. There have been no charges, no assault charges or anything, right?

MILLER: No. You know what Andy — did you ever see Brando when he gets beat up in a film called "The Chase," where he feels he's getting his just comeuppance in some way? Jon told me Andy had a weird smile on his face, as he...

O'REILLY: He wanted to get hit. Yes.

MILLER: I think Andy understands on a deep level that he's got a messed up life on his hands. And I think this sort of thing, where he gets slugged and beat up, it's almost like some weird self-cleansing he goes through. He must have pushed Jon a long, long way.

O'REILLY: Yes, but if the guy's trafficking in that kind of stuff, you know, he's got problems.

All right. Let's go over to the JetBlue thing, which I think you saw earlier this week. JetBlue Airlines is sponsoring a convention in Chicago from the Daily Kos, which is a far left hateful web site.

And we ambushed the CEO, because he wouldn't talk to us. We gave him plenty of time. And there he is.

Now, he just sent me a letter, Miller. I think he knew you were going to be on tonight. And he said that he wants me to clarify that his airline, JetBlue, doesn't sponsor the Daily Kos web site, just the convention.

I'm happy to clarify that. I don't see what difference it makes. But I'm happy — you know me, I'm the great clarifier.

What say you?

MILLER: Exactly. Well, I would say you're the great clarifier, because he had that look on his face when your guy was there: a little drawn like the butter. He looked a little shaken. And I think he realized he screwed the pooch on this one.

You're a businessman. You're supposed to do business. You have to know your audience.

This is like Jeff Foxworthy showing up to do his act wearing a fez. It's a stupid play, because at some point you're going to have to sell tickets on the right side of the aisle on the airplane.

And this guy has shown his cards. Now we know where he's at politically. And I think a lot of people are thinking, wow, if they ever have to abort takeoff on JetBlue, he's going to ask for the taxpayers to subsidize it.

O'REILLY: You know, we called back, because this came in late this afternoon. We called back and we said, look, we'd be happy to clarify this, as I just did. And we'd be happy to have Mr. Barger on the program.

But we also asked JetBlue if they had done anything for the airline — for the military, for American military people. Because they say, "Oh, we give free tickets to a lot of people." Have you done anything with the American military? And I'm going to report tomorrow whether JetBlue has.

But here is what I think. The hate web sites on both the left and the right I object to. You know I object to. Now, you're a little bit more libertarian about this in our previous conversations.

But I say this. There's no difference between the KKK and the Nazis, who have web sites, than the Daily Kos. Because the Daily Kos is basically saying we're allowing this kind of thing to go on. It's good that Tony Snow has a recurrence of cancer; we hope he dies. We're sorry the assassination attempt against Dick Cheney failed. Let them try again. And on and on and on and on.

I mean, this is the stuff that they have every day on this web site, and they revel in it.

Now, am I overstating this? Because I think hate is hate, no matter where it is.

MILLER: Bill, if somebody says they wish a guy like Tony Snow — that the world might be better off with him dead, they're a moron. They're an idiot.

And guess what? I read idiotic sites just to keep my game up on what the idiots are saying on any given moment. They should be able to say it. It's the great thing about this country.

And you know something? Whenever anybody comes up and slugs you to me, I always say have you ever watched the guy? Half of them have never watched you.

O'REILLY: No, we know that.

MILLER: And it's my theory of animus abstentious. When somebody doesn't watch, I don't feel they have the right to judge. So if I don't read the Daily Kos, I don't have the right to judge. I read it. Sometimes I see some stuff that's somewhat salient. Sometimes I see hate stuff like the Tony Snow thing. And you think my God, what is happening to this country.

O'REILLY: That's right.

MILLER: But I do read it.

O'REILLY: There is a component in free speech that is described as hate speech. And it's criminal in some areas. And that's where this web site and others like it — but this is the main one, they traffic in this.

Now I agree with you. I'm a big free speech guy. I make my living, so do you, with the free speech thing. I'm not a censorship guy. But there's a line.

And then when a corporation — remember, this is the only corporation, only one that stepped up to give this hateful web site money, which they did in the form of tickets. And when that happens, I think the folks got to know. As you said, they're getting on the plane.

By the way I don't think you and I are going to fly JetBlue any time soon. We'll be bumped. Problem is, we'll be bumped 30,000 feet up in the air.

I'll give you the last word.

MILLER: My last word would be to anybody at the Daily Kos convention. If they give you a free ticket to JetBlue, you got a chance of sitting on the tarmac for seven hours. You think the Daily Kos convention is dragging halfway through. Imagine that nightmare.

O'REILLY: You bet. And we'll have a couple of follow-ups because there are Democratic politicians going to their convention. And of course, we will report on that.

Dennis Miller, everybody. Got any words I don't understand tonight, Miller, real quick?

MILLER: Bill, you are Roget. You know them all.

O'REILLY: Isn't that something you put on your hair? No, that's Rogaine. I got it. Roget. We'll look it up.

MILLER: The thesaurus.

O'REILLY: We'll get it.

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