Justice

"Key and Peele" Shuts Down Sexism With This Amazing Pirate Chant

July 9th 2015

Comedy Central duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele debuted season five of "Key & Peele" with a "Pirate Chantey" sketch that highlights the power of female objectification in society.

"Key & Peele," which is known for producing skits surrounding social justice issues, shows a room full of male pirates singing about their experiences with women and how they intend to treat them. They also encourage sexual consent, which has often been a source of complicated discussion in our culture.

"I once met a lass so fine, she was drunk on barley wine, I'd been to sea for months a-three, I knew I could make her mine," Peele chants. "And the lass was past consent, so it was off with her we went. We threw her in bed and rested her head and we left because that's what gentlemen do."

The men go on to sing together, "A woman has a right to a drink or two without worrying what you will do. We say 'yo ho' but we don't say 'ho' because 'ho' is disrespectful yo."

Key then goes into his own solo about female pleasure, "There once was a gal from Leeds who I heard was good on her knees. So I docked my ship for an overnight trip to take care of all my needs. She was fine as the tales did tell and my mast began to swell, so I laid her down and raised her gown and performed cunnilingus for an hour or so."

The topic of abortion rights comes up when one pirate belts out, "I once had a woman so fair whose womb contained my heir. With a son by my side, the seas we'd ride, the child she would bear. But my girl she was no fool. She was working her way through school. So I did support when she chose to abort because it's her body and therefore her choice."

Then they go into another chant as a group, "No we don't say booty unless we're talking about gold, we don't look at chests unless there treasure holds. With a hat and a feather and a cutlass on our hip, we'll never say 'she' when we're talking about a ship. We don't say 'bitch' and we don't say 'whore' because that language leads to things like body dysmorphia."

Key and Peele's Pirate Chantey skit on sexismFacebook Pey and Peele - facebook.com

Another pirate goes into his own monologue and mentions a doctor, which he regretfully says he bets the others assumed was a man.

"Women are doctors too, and for a fraction of doubloons. We say 'yo ho' but we don't say 'ho' because 'ho' is disrespectful yo."

The second a pirate sings about a "slut" with "tits to here," as a woman enters the sketch and shoots him before everyone goes into the chorus again.

Two months ago, "Key & Peele" released a powerful skit online called "Negrotown" that satirizes the police treatment of the Black community and racial issues in the U.S. At the beginning of the clip, a white cop attempts to arrest Key’s character, an innocent Black male, for no reason at all. Then another Black man named Wally, played by Peele, takes him to "Negrotown," the "place to be if your skin is brown," to escape the abuse of Black people in America:

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