NYFWA Statement Regarding the 2018 Financial Follies

Some attendees of our Nov. 9 event took offense at certain parody songs that accompany the annual Financial Follies dinner. The NYFWA board wishes to make clear that was not our intention and we apologize for any offense taken. The NYFWA understands and supports the art and spirit of parody and satire which is, and has been, the 76-year tradition of the Financial Follies…  It is an art form of nuanced messaging that must be taken in its full context, as must all forms of parody and satire.  This year, that messaging included actors portraying sexist men in our “Me Too” era, and ignorant bankers who fueled Puerto Rico's debt crisis.  Those were the intended targets of the skits.  We regret any possible confusion that some in the audience might have drawn from the messaging; its intention was clearly to mock the perpetrators, not deride the victims.