Daily Inspiration Quote by Ruth Buzzi

There is a particular sting in the way Ruth Buzzi writes this: the capitalized "STINKIN'" and the triple exclamation points aren’t just emphasis, they’re armor. You can hear a performer who spent her career getting laughs refusing to let the laugh be on her. The target isn’t critique so much as the smugness of it: press people who treat an actress’s career moves like a punchline, as if joining a show is evidence of diminished taste, desperation, or selling out.

The intent is plain: reclaim the narrative. Buzzi frames the decision not as an error to be defended but as a choice worth standing by, then and now. That phrase matters. It rejects the cultural script that women in entertainment are supposed to apologize for the “wrong” gigs, the “wrong” eras, the “wrong” kind of fame. She’s drawing a bright line between public approval and private pride.

Subtextually, it’s about class and gatekeeping. The word “press” here isn’t neutral; it’s a shorthand for tastemakers who patrol legitimacy. Comedy performers, especially those associated with broad TV, have long been treated as lesser artists by critics who prefer their humor aspirational and their careers curated. Buzzi’s voice pushes back in the register she knows best: punchy, indignant, a little comedic itself. She turns the insult into a prop, and the defiance into the punchline.