There are several aspects of the US sitcom The Office that are insane – Steve Carell being one of them, in Oscar Nuñez’s opinion. But often, the rest of the cast steals the spotlight for their overly exaggerated behavior or iconic comedic timing.
Consequentially, Jim Halpert’s classic pranks and Dwight Schrute’s borderline eccentricities might be too good to pass up. But it was often the love-obsessed Kelly Kapoor or the uptight Christian cat lady aka Angela Martin who came out as the day’s highlight.
However, the series wasn’t always the source of warm and laughter-inducing comfort that it set out to be.
The Office Almost Fell Into a Pit of Its Own Making
In terms of its character-driven and situational comedy, The Office has become one of the most beloved and enduring sitcoms in American pop culture. But to equate comedy with inappropriate bias or enabling racism/homophobia would be a step in the wrong direction.
As far as the cast was concerned, the US sitcom was driven by a unified need to induce side-splitting laughter out of the most uncomfortable situations. In most cases, it was Steve Carell who took the initiative to raise the level of discomfort in comedy, or as Oscar Nuñez would claim after being kissed on the mouth by his fictional boss/co-star, “Carell’s insane!”
In this particular instance, the Carell-initiated improvisational kiss was part of an episode about raising awareness in the office after the employees found out Oscar was gay. In Season 3 Episode 1, titled Gay Witch Hunt, the entire day was spent behind Michael making reparations for his homophobic behavior. As expected, the boss goes over and beyond what is required of him and does more harm than good when he finally crosses a line by kissing Oscar on the mouth without his consent to prove he isn’t homophobic.
However, that wasn’t the only line being crossed in that particular episode as elsewhere, Angela Kinsey’s character was struggling with judgments of her own.
Angela Kinsey Saves Her Character in The Office
Despite the numerous misappropriation and Cancel Culture-worthy moments that constituted The Office, the sitcom did have its high points. Sometimes, those were highlighted through the wholesomeness of the series, while at others, the good deed took place behind the scenes and as such, the audience never got to be aware of what they missed (or didn’t miss, for that matter).
In one such situation, Angela Kinsey recalls how her character, Angela Martin, was scripted as delivering an offensive joke at the expense of her co-worker Oscar after his sexuality was revealed. Despite being bound within the fictional limitations of her character, Kinsey refused to say the line due to its inappropriate nature and went to showrunner Greg Daniels with her concern.
Speaking to her co-star Rainn Wilson in his podcast Soul Boom, she revealed:
There were one or two times where there would be a joke written for her that I thought was stereotypical, maybe one-note. I remember there was a particular storyline between Angela and Oscar where Angela was being super judgey. There was a joke at Oscar’s expense and I went up to Greg.
I think Angela Martin invoked Jesus in the moment, and I just was like: ‘I don’t feel good about that. I don’t feel that’s what Jesus represented to me. He heard me and took the joke out.
Despite being part of a scripted sitcom, the episode was already high up on its controversial scale to include another pass at a sexuality-oriented joke. Angela Kinsey’s consideration and level-headedness saved The Office from advocating or promoting homophobic behavior, no matter how it served the show or the character.
The Office is now streaming on Peacock.
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