Lee Camp (born July 21, 1980) is an

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, comedian, podcaster, news journalist and news commentator. As a

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

he presented the show ''Redacted Tonight'' for several years on the network

RT America RT America was a U.S.-based news channel headquartered in Washington, D.C. Owned by TV Novosti and operated by production company T&RProductions, it was a part of the RT (TV network), RT network, a global multilingual television news network base ...

until the network shut down in March 2022. In July 2022 he started a new show, Most Censored News with Lee Camp with MintPress News.

Early life

Camp was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

to Laurie Smith Camp who was a federal judge. and lived in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

until 1989. His father is a

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...

who served 20 years in the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

as a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

, and his mother is a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. In 1989, the family moved to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, where Camp stayed until he went to college at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. At the

, he won a competition to become the humor columnist for the school newspaper ''The Cavalier Daily''. He began performing

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

on his 19th birthday at an

open-mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether the ...

night at Matt's Pub in Richmond.

Career

Camp's first book was ''Neither Sophisticated Nor Intelligent'', a collection of his best humor columns from ''The Cavalier Daily'', the

newspaper. With Nick Alexander and Alan Lord, Camp co-authored the 2005 ''BIGfib Book of Bollocks'', a collection of stories from the satirical website BIGfib.com. Camp has been a contributor to ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 2 ...

'' since February 2009 and was a staff comedy writer for ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' for ten months. He wrote and hosted

OnDemand OnDemand is a brand name for a video-on-demand, London-based company owned by the On Demand Group, who provide mobile video services such as pay-per-view to over 25 million subscribers. Their product is sold through middleware to smart TV compan ...

's "The Movie Loft" for three months in 2009. In 2017, Camp and Eleanor Goldfield created the ''Common Censored'' podcast, which focuses on

grassroots activism A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

issues.

RT America

Camp was the host and head writer of the weekly comedy news show ''Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp'', which aired on

. Camp told Rachel Manteuffel of ''

The Washington Post Magazine ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' that the

Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...

had funded his show, although he emphasizes in all interviews that no government agency, organization or network has ever told him what to say, what not to write about, and what stories he can or cannot cover. When asked about advertising, he said, "one of the reasons I'm at RT America is because there’s no

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

. If there were advertising, no channel really wants someone who goes after corporations as much as I do." After RT America shut down in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Camp blamed the "U.S. government war machine" for the end of the network. Following the closure of RT, Lee started a new show, Most Censored News with Lee Camp; featured with MintPress News, beginning in July, 2022.

Discography

DVD

* ''Sometimes Funny Hurts'' (2007) * ''Lee Camp Live At Comix'' (2009) * ''We Are Nothing'' (2014)

CD

* ''Chaos for the Weary'' (

Stand Up! Records Stand Up! Records is an American independent comedy record label founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Grammy-winning producer Dan Schlissel. It has been called "the country's most respected indie comedy label." Stand Up! has released more than 20 ...

, 2011) * ''Pepper Spray the Tears Away'' (

, 2012)

Filmography

Bibliography

* ''Bullet Points and Punch Lines: The Most Important Commentary Ever Written on the Epic American Tragicomedy'', PM Press, 2020.

References

External links

Lee Camp's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp, Lee 1980 births 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers American atheists American columnists American comedy writers American democratic socialists American humorists American male film actors American male television actors American male television writers American media critics American podcasters American stand-up comedians American television hosts American television writers Comedians from New York City Jewish American comedy writers Jewish American male comedians Living people Male actors from New York City Male actors from Washington, D.C. People from Bethesda, Maryland RT (TV network) people Stand Up! Records artists