Sarah Silverman is probably known best for her sharp, comedic wit that tackles controversial topics and social taboos. But recently, the actress, comedian, and producer has taken on a new role as a “model of compassion.”
On December 28th, Silverman was targeted by an Internet troll on Twitter who replied to one of her tweets with nothing but the cringe-worthy, 4-letter “c” word.
With it being perhaps the most offensive and derogatory name to label a woman, one would have probably expected the expert in harsh comedy to quip back with a biting remark or even ignore it completely.
But what she did instead, has Silverman’s friends and enemies alike praising her rare act of humility and kindness.
After doing a little research on the commenter’s personal page (Jeremy), she replied, “I believe in you. I read ur timeline & I see what ur doing & your rage is thinly veiled pain.”
“But u know that. I know this feeling. Ps My back [sux] too,” she continued, referring to the back problems the man tweeted about in his feed.
Then came Silverman’s real gold nugget of wisdom:
“See what happens when u choose love. I see it in you.”
Her shockingly kind response broke down Jeremy’s walls, who then revealed the root cause of his deep-seated bitterness.
“I can’t choose love,” he replied. “A man that resembles Kevin Spacey took that away when I was 8. I can’t find peace if I could find that guy who ripped my body who stripped my innocence I’d kill him. He [f*****] me up and I’m poor so it’s hard to get help.”
“I can’t imagine your rage,” Silverman empathized. “Just reading that makes me want to do bad things. Stand by.”
The comedian continued to dig deeper into Jeremy’s problems, questioning whether or not he uses heroin and if he has a desire to get himself clean. He admitted that he uses prescription medication and smokes weed.
“All I know is this rage- and even if you could kill him— it’s punishing yourself,” answered Silverman. “And you don’t deserve punishment. You deserve support. Go to one of these support groups. You might meet ur best bros there.”
“I will go. But I trust no one I’ve been burned so many times. I’d give the shirt off my back and everytime I get burned,” he responded, before admitting that he doesn’t have any friends to lean on for support.
Turning a completely 180 from his initially offensive comment, Silverman’s former nemesis wrote, “I’m super antisocial. I have no friends. I’m sorry I gave u [s***].”
Accepting the apology with open arms, Silverman ended the exchange with a powerful dose of encouragement:
“I’m so psyched you’ll go. KEEP ME POSTED. Don’t give up on yourself. Be brave enough to risk getting burned. It’s what happens when u fight for yourself. But it’s worth it. I promise.”
Silverman’s Twitter-war turned master class is compassion quickly gained the attention of her 12 million followers, who applauded the comedian’s bold act of humanity.
“I’m trying to find an excellent way to applaud this whole conversation,” wrote Brian Talbott. “How do you describe that sense of ease that comes from seeing an outcry of pain, and someone listening fully, and responding in extraordinary ways? I just did, I guess.”
With a clearly transformed heart after the outpouring of support from strangers, Jeremy replied, “Lol thanks Brian. That will do. That is very nice of u to convey that message.”
Wow. What a truly beautiful chain of communication. Perhaps the best the Twitterverse has seen yet.
Kudos to Silverman for not only taking the high road in what could have been a fuming conflict but also for diving beneath the skin-deep defenses of a poor, broken stranger who simply needed to be surrounded by love.
