Did You Hear the One About the Mother-in-Law Who Couldn't Take a Joke

Everyone loves Sundra Croonquist’s mother-in-law jokes. Everyone, that is except her mother-in-law, who is suing for defamation and slander. But heck, even VH1 which has her on as a commentator on those “Top 50 Celebrity Breakdowns” shows, enjoys the jokes.

Sundra, whose life is a comic’s dream, is half-black, half-Swedish, grew up Roman Catholic and married into a Jewish family. The jokes basically write themselves.

As you can imagine, her family makes up most of her material. Her mother-in-law jokes are her trademark, akin to Jeff Foxworthy’s “redneck jokes.” Mother-in-law, Ruth Zafrin isn’t laughing, though. She is suing Croonquist for spreading false, defamatory and racist lies with her in-law jokes.

“I walk in, I say, ‘Thank you so much for having me here …..’ She says, ‘The pleasure’s all mine, have a seat.’” Then, in a loud aside, ‘Harriet, put my pocketbook away.’” (This joke is also in the video below)

Mom says, “OK, now that we know you’re having a little girl I want to know what you’re naming that little tchotchke. Now we don’t want a name that’s difficult to pronounce like Shaniqua. We’re thinking a name short but delicious. Like Hadassah or Goldie.”

OK, the relatives didn’t really say that. These are just some examples of the racist lies Croonquist tells in her routine as jokes.

The comedienne remembers a time when the family played her tape at Passover one year, and they loved it. The in-laws laughed along with everyone else until the New Jersey gigs were promoted on her website. They said that Croonquist posted information that would make it obvious that they were the butt of her jokes. Now they are claiming that she is telling racist lies.

But her jokes aren’t racist. “They’re nice jokes. There’s nothing bad, nothing defamatory,” says Croonquist. It should be obvious to her in-laws, she says, that she’s not anti-Jewish. She converted to Judaism before she met her husband and keeps a kosher house.

Her husband’s law firm is representing her. She says she would drop any language her family finds offensive, but refuses to pay any settlement. Her lawyer has filed a motion to have the suit dismissed, and a judge is scheduled to hear it on Sept. 8.

Most attorneys will tell you that suing a comedian is difficult because it should be fairly obvious that they are joking instead of slandering.

Sunda says she was “shocked and sickened” by the suit, “This could have broken up my marriage,” she says bitterly.

But she is taking all the conflict in stride, keeping her anger in perspective with humor. “Maybe they don’t like Swedes,’ she muses to NBC’s Today Show host Al Roker, telling how she had been asked to step out of family photographs.

She has since changed her material to focus on herself, her husband, and Jennifer Lopez.

“My father is Swedish, my mother is African-American. You know what that made me growing up?” she asks the audience. “A Puerto Rican! That works for me, honey. … After having two babies in two years, I look like J-Lo.”

Let’s hope the judge has some common sense and throws this suit out the window.