Talk:Peanut gallery

Objection
I object to the reference to "Nigger Heaven," defined as racially segregated seats in balcony, reserved for blacks.

I accept the historical explanation for this term. But I don't accept that the term, however valid historically, is genuinely related to the expression "peanut gallery." A racially segregated balcony is not related to a balcony of "cheap seats" where people might throw peanuts at performers.

The "Nigger Heaven" term is, therefore, gratuitous. It's use is not justified. For that reason, since it is a racist term in and of itself, its presence on Wikipedia (in this context) is offensive.

I ask that it be removed.Ned 07:01, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

UPDATE: I have removed the "Nigger heaven" reference. If the author wishes to re-introduce it, I will not press the issue. IOW, if it is put back I will not remove it again. This is not a war! Ned 07:04, 17 June 2007 (UTC)


 * I think the relationship is based upon location-within-the-theatre and seat-price. It's definitely a loaded/offensive term, but Wikipedia is not censored, so I shall revert the edit, but lower the reference within the list. Thanks for commenting so politely :)


 * All 4 articles should probably link to each other in their respective "See also" sections. Or get merged or something. But I need lunch... ! --Quiddity 19:40, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

This BuzzFeed video of terms with racist origins makes mention of "peanut gallery" being pejorative of Black Americans. In the comment section user Mark Arellano claims the term goes back to England in the 1500s. I don't have the time to verify this right now but I thought I'd post the reference here. Moontan (talk) 08:44, 20 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Sadly both he video and comment seem to be gone. Was this supposed 1500s origin ever verified? 185.163.103.83 (talk) 22:18, 14 July 2021 (UTC)

Etymology of 'nosebleed section'
the more elevated seats are often referred to as "the nosebleeds", alluding to the altitude.

I'm fairly sure the term actually comes from hockey arenas, where the higher seats are above the plexiglass and thus more vulnerable to flying pucks (which, if they hit you, cause nosebleeds and more). --96.50.106.54 (talk) 03:53, 25 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Sounds spurious to me. The etymology that’s always seemed obvious to me, and axiomatic for others, is that the phrase refers to the altitude of the seats. I should add that I’m much less familiar with areas where ice hockey is a popular spectator sport.
 * You are correct in pointing out that if you are hit with a speeding hockey puck a nosebleed would probably put you at the more fortunate end of the spectrum. —Wiki Wikardo 00:29, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

No. The phrase significantly pre-dates ice-hockey as a spectator sport (and pre-dates plexiglass by a hundred years or so).

Howdy Doody
Was it not “Howdy Doody” itself that popularized phrases like “no comments from the Peanut Gallery?” —Wiki Wikardo 00:29, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * It seems to me very unlikely Howdy Doody originated this phrase. TheScotch (talk) 06:53, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Related terms
A warning tag was placed at the beginning of this section in September of 2010 complaining that the section is largely irrelevant to the subject of the article, which it clearly is. (I did not place this tag myself.) The section is also a mindless and random list, rather than continuous logical prose. Enough time has elapsed for editors to have salvaged what they like, so I'm going to remove the section now. There is, however, a single entry that seems marginally related which I will move to the body of the article. It's this: ''Similar to "peanut gallery", Brazilian football coach Luis Felipe Scolari called Palmeiras' complaining audience that sat in the closest seats "Turma do Amendoim" ("Peanut gang"). The supporters accepted the nickname, and use it to date.'' I don't mean to suggest I'm in love with this entry. If someone else decides to delete it entirely, that will be perfectly fine with me. TheScotch (talk) 07:04, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Not to be confused with Peanut allergy.
Why is this remark in the article? Who could confuse peanut gallery with peanut allergy? For that matter, why is peanut capitalized? TheScotch (talk) 07:20, 7 December 2012 (UTC)
 * .. or even a "peanut allegory"?! Martinevans123 (talk) 16:48, 31 December 2013 (UTC)

"Racist origins" cleanup
I did some cleanup on the paragraph detailing the racist origins of the term. Might not be perfect, but at least it should be less of an eyesore. Of note are these two changes which I believe might be contentious: Another point I'd like to bring to attention, on which I'm no expert and have been unable to solve anyway, is the possible bowdlerization of the cited text: The news article that the cited text was lifted from might have censored the original text, in which case it should be restored, or it might have been as is in the original, thus requiring a [sic], but I haven't been able to determine either. Or perhaps such simple censoring in the original is trivial enough tnot to warrant a [sic], I don't really know there. 185.163.103.83 (talk) 22:16, 14 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Moved to "Background section": Seems to me that further detailing the origins of the term beyond the bare basics belongs more to a dedicated section rather than bloating the otnro paragraph. For now the Background section seems good enough, though perhaps creating an etymology section may be more appropiate.
 * Removed sentence "The phrase is racist and should not be used": I might be wrong but, I do not think wikipedia is supposed to be a guidebook to social interactions - Readers should be able to determine by themselves whether usage of certain phrases is considered inappropiate in their own cultural contexts. A couple properly referenced sentences detailing movements to stop usage of the word, or fall in usage in US culture (or beyond) attributed to it's racist origins would both be welcome, but a blanket statement not to use a phrase is not it. Still, that's just my view on the matter, so feel free to discuss and readd said statement if determined to have been correct.


 * For anyone wondering, the citation for racism can be found on archive.org and matches the claim in the article: https://archive.org/details/listeningtoameri0000flex/page/438/mode/2up . The source dates to 1982, which I think is before the start of Critical Race Theory and "wokism", which are often accused of engaging in petty troublemaking. It doesn't make the claim true, but I have no way of checking. --Svennik (talk) 06:44, 23 January 2023 (UTC)
 * so someone quoted someone in 1982 about a term coined in the 1800s and that's worthy of this phrase? you belong in the peanut gallery. 2603:7081:7905:6FE2:4150:95D7:89EF:869F (talk) 08:34, 17 August 2023 (UTC)