Was Melissa McCarthy's "Arlene" Sketch In Poor Taste?

TV Guide

SNL has built and entire industry by pushing the limits of taste, but I disagree that Melissa McCarthy's Arlene sketch "made sexual harassment funny." Instead, it made me uncomfortable, and not in the way that good comedy can actually make you question some of those long-held beliefs and stereotypes. Arlene is an aggressive,"unattractive" women (coded by her polyester pants, dated hairstyle and thick glasses) who relentlessly -- an inappropriately -- pursues her her co-worker, Tim. It's a twist on the all-too-familiar harassment women face in the workplace. This is what Jezebel's Anna North had to say:

Much discussion of the sketch has focused on whether or not it's a fat joke, and that's certainly a fair question. While Kristen Wiig has portrayed somewhat similar characters on SNL in the past, Arlene's closest relative is probably Megan, McCarthy's character in Bridesmaids. Whether or not that character was meant to poke fun at fat people, that's certainly how some audiences understood her. But she and Arlene share another trait beyond body type: they're women who are sexually aggressive.

 But it's not the same as Kristin Wiig's character because female aggression is viewed differently when the women in question isn't stereotypically thin. It's naive not to take this into consideration. Her character's aggression is seen as pitiable rather than dangerous.

Not even going into why I don't think sexual harassment jokes are funny, in general, am I way off base here? Is this a tired old "fat joke" wrapped up into SNL usual subversive brand of comedy, or just plain un-funny?