not romanticized, but their intense friendship and hilarious escapades coupled with feminist nuances are no doubt what made the show so loved during its 2014-2019 run.
In recent years, the intersectional feminist movement has emphasized the importance of shifting perspective from mainstream white feminism to the experiences of marginalized people, and some aspects of Broad City have been critiqued as more "white feminist" than intersectional. Like It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, part of what makes Broad City funny is the bad choices the characters make; we laugh at them because of how wrong they are. Many argue that it's important for comedy to push the boundaries of what is acceptable to joke about and spark conversations on political topics. But when the joke makes light of social issues, normalizes violence, or is made at the expense of marginalized people, it can do more harm than good.
Bevers At The Gym
In season 2 episode 2, "Mochalatta Chills", Trey assigns Abbi with training Bevers at Soulstice, calling him "the perfect before picture." While it's not explicitly stated, Bevers' body is the butt of the joke in much of this episode.
Nowadays, the body positivity movement has taught us a lot about fatphobia and how we view fat bodies as a default negative, and most would agree that laughing at somebody's body can be insensitive. Body positivity has become part of our culture, and as a result, the "funny fat guy" character is slowly becoming a thing of the past.
Ilana's Unpaid Workers
In the same episode, Ilana flaunts a "white power suit" and boasts to Abbi that she hired an "extremely ethnic smorgasbord of unpaid interns." Abbi suggests that Ilana might be racially insensitive for calling her outfit a white power suit, and Ilana returns to her office horrified. As she looks around, one of the interns (a black woman named Aisha) sings "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."
Looking back on this scene, it feels wrong to look for humor in these slavery jokes especially when they're set up by Ilana and Abbi. These are characters (and comedians) that benefit from white privilege even if they also experience things like sexism and antisemitism.
Abbi's "Transition"
In season 2 episode 7, "Citizen Ship" Bevers gets nervous trying to propose to Melody, and clumsily blurts out: "Abbi's transitioning into becoming a man." Abbi takes this in stride, but making transitioning the butt of the joke is pretty inconsiderate to trans audience .
In the same way that jokes about being gay has become a thing of the past, joking about being trans doesn't get many laughs anymore. For trans people, transitioning can be a monumental and complicated part of life, and some would argue that joking about it is trivializing.
Abbi's Coworker Maria
In season 2 episode 5 "Hashtag FOMO," we see Abbi training a new cleaning employee named Maria, who is an older woman of color with an accent. By now Abbi's hatred of her cleaning job is a running joke and in this episode, she plans on talking to Trey about getting a promotion at his party. The plan fails for Abbi and at the end of the episode, Maria tells Abbi that she was promoted as a trainer using the same plan.
This joke subtly reinforces the racist stereotype that cleaning is work for women of color, and hints that Abbi is "above" such a position. Rewatching the episode and thinking about their casting choice for this side character takes the wind out of this joke.
Tricked Into An Orgy
In season 1 episode 5, "The Fattest Asses," Abbi and Ilana go home with two DJs after a party. They start hooking up in separate rooms until the guys bring both of them to the roof, apparently trying to get them to all hook up together. Abbi and Ilana are upset, but decide to stay and give the DJs another chance. When they end up in the shower together, and Abbi and Ilana storm out.
Trying to trick someone into a sexual situation that they aren't comfortable with is violating, to say the least. Even in the context of the show, watching this situation play out, you feel angry along with Abbi and Ilana. Looking back on this episode, viewers might find this situation more cringy than funny.
Ilana's Use of AAVE
Ilana's character specifically is very thought-provoking when it comes to cultural appropriation. Her fashion choices and way of speaking are oftentimes borrowed from people of color. It's even addressed in one episode when Jaimé encourages her to stop wearing her Latina earrings since she isn't Latina.
She uses African American Vernacular English frequently throughout the show, especially when she's trying to be funny and eccentric. AAVE isn't something that's meant to be shared with other cultures and should not be seen as funny, and Ilana's continued use of it even after her conversation with Jaimé gets tired.
Ilana's Unwanted Advances
Something else that Ilana often does throughout the show is low-key hit on Abbi. Abbi makes it clear that she isn't interested in taking their friendship in that direction, but Ilana continues to hit on her and it sometimes serves as a plot point in the show.
Social movements like #MeToo have taught us many things, including the importance of respecting boundaries in friendships and relationships of all kinds, regardless of gender and orientation. With these ideas in mind, continuously watching Ilana try to make a move on Abbi can get pretty uncomfortable.
Boys Are The Worst
In episode 7 of season 3, "B&B NYC," Abbi gets robbed by her subletter, Henri. When the police arrive they tell her, "don't blame yourself okay... 'cause boys are the worst," before getting a call about "an unknown black male pretending to read [a] book ... probably armed," and rushing out with guns drawn. It seems like this joke is illustrating a feminist concept: the different ways in which white women and black people are viewed by police and other institutions. White women are coddled or infantilized while black people are regarded as suspicious or dangerous, even just doing day-to-day activities.
In some ways this joke makes a good point and hasn't aged much; it's painfully relevant. But therein lies the problem: rewatching this episode is a sore reminder of ongoing police violence afflicted on minorities. The heavy-handed and unceremonious nature of the joke comes across as tone-deaf to the experiences of black audience .
Abbi Accidently Makes Out With A Minor
In season 2 episode 11, "In Heat," Abbi and Ilana return to Ilana's old college dorm room to retrieve her air conditioner. Posing as RAs, they confiscate a bong, with Ilana's weed still stashed away and threaten to report the current students. They end up smoking the entire bag of weed with them and shortly after it's revealed that the students are in high school on a college visit.
If this was a real situation, it would be super irresponsible of Abbi and Ilana to manipulate the boys and assume that they were of age to be doing adult things. Audiences today would agree that a twenty-five-year-old kissing a sixteen-year-old is predatory rather than funny, regardless of gender. This joke leaves more viewers saying "yikes" than laughing.
Male Stacey
Earlier in the same episode, Abbi and "male Stacey" (played by Seth Rogen) hook up in her apartment. Without an air conditioner, they're both overheated and at one point Stacey es out during sex. Abbi notices and tries to shake him awake, and the scene ends.
In the next scene, Ilana tells Abbi that she raped Stacey. This part of the episode stirred up some controversy after its air date. Some might argue that the scene is a commentary on people's confusion with what is considered sexual assault and what isn't. However, the implication that Abbi didn't immediately stop having sex with Stacey after realizing he was unconscious is a major cause for concern. Whatever the intention was, the scene can be uncomfortable to watch.