History SelfDeprecation / RealLife

* Fitting both this trope and TakeThat: During the run-up to the women's figure skating competition in the 1994 Winter UsefulNotes/{{Olympic|Games}}s, complete with [[CripplingTheCompetition a physical attack]] on Nancy Kerrigan by associates of her [[TheRival rival]] UsefulNotes/TonyaHarding, the latter called herself "the [[UsefulNotes/NotablePlayersOfTheNBA Charles Barkley]] of figure skating". Sir Charles responded, "I was going to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized that I have no character."

* A look at Music/TaylorSwift's Website/{{Twitter}} posts finds her using plenty of self-deprecation, often aimed at her love of cats, nerdy tendencies/tastes and/or goofy "mom dancing" at award shows.

* Milwaukee Brewers announcer [[Film/MajorLeague Bob]] [[Series/MrBelvedere Uecker]] has a habit of mocking himself and his career as a baseball player. One of the funniest cases of this self-deprecation happened when Bob [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7dG5HCKeWA received the Ford C. Frick Award]], presented for broadcasting excellence by the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

* Bear Bryant, a legendary [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball college football]] coach, most notably at his alma mater of the University of Alabama, frequently called himself "the other end" during his playing career at Alabama (1933–1935). He was comparing himself unfavorably to Don Hutson, who played that position for the Crimson Tide in Bryant's first two seasons and went on to a legendary NFL career as the UrExample of the modern wide receiver.
* French comic book creator and cartoonist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulet_(comics) Boulet]] (real name: Gilles Roussel) has a pen-name which means either TheLoad or TheMillstone in French (or "cannonball").

* British actor Creator/JamieBamber, when asked during an interview about his bedroom skills, jokingly declared, "Very, very mediocre. On good days I ''might'' rate a 5 out of 10". He also seems very bemused by all the female adoration he receives, claiming, "If you spent one day with me, you'd get over it", and once even stated, "My French is not that good"--'''''in French'''''. This is someone who studied French and Italian for his modern language degree, received the highest honors possible, and has repeatedly proven himself to be fluent in both languages.

* French president René Coty (1954-1959) often joked he has been elected thanks to his prostate. Until a 1962 reform during UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle's presidency, the French president of the Republic wasn't directly elected by the people but by members of the French Parliament. The presidential election of 1953 lasted ''13 rounds'' thanks to the very polarizing debates about the creation of the European Defence Community (aborted project of an European army) some times before the election. Coty didn't take part in those debates because he had a surgical operation on his prostate; because of his absence at the critical time, he didn't antagonize anyone on this question and thus was eventually chosen.

* In 2021, former UsefulNotes/FormulaOne driver Romain Grosjean, prior to each race in the championship, prepared track guide videos in order to explain fans the intrincacies behind each circuit. The first race was held in Bahrain - the same circuit in which, the previous year, Grosjean was part of an crash that engulfed his car in fire and, were it not for all the safety measures on Formula One cars, he could have been severely injured or even died (and even then, he had to miss the two final races of the season due to his injuries). So what does Grosjean do when, during the guide, he comes across the wall he had crashed in? Jokingly point at it and say "That's my corner!".

** Anyone who's lived or lives in Maine will be familiar with its four seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, ''Still'' Winter, and Road Construction. Don't like the weather in Maine? Wait 10 minutes. Both of those jokes are equally applicable to Michigan -- and of ''course'' we'd get so much winter in a state that's shaped like a ''mitten''.

* The most common fall guy in Afrikaans jokes is someone called Van Der Merwe, which is a typical Afrikaans surname. His opponents are usually the Scot and the Englishman, ethnicities which Afrikaners historically have been in conflict with and traditionally don't particularly like. And the Scotsman and the Englishman always, always win... except if Van Der Merwe accidentally wins through his sheer stupidity. It's like self-racism. Still funny though. Hence the name of the none-too-bright protagonist of ''District 9'', written and directed by [[Creator/NeillBlomkamp an Afrikaner]]. Sometimes Van Der Merwe isn't so much stupid as ''astonishingly'' defensive and cautious - which, of course, is often the stupid thing to be!

* The slogan for The Comedy Network, Canada's equivalent of Comedy Central, is 'Time Well Wasted.' (A bit of a case of SeinfeldIsUnfunny, actually, as it was originally intended as a parody of the slogan for American-based network A&E, 'Time Well Spent'.)

* At times the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward ceremony will have this, such as when Creator/ChrisRock hosted ("If want Denzel Washington [[PoorMansSubstitute and all you can get is me]], wait! Okay? Denzel’s a fine actor. He would never do ''Pootie Tang'', you got that?") and having James Corden and Rebel Wilson present Best Visual Effects dressed as Film/{{Cats}} saying “Nobody more than us understands the importance of good visual effects.” (the [[https://nypost.com/2020/02/10/visual-effects-society-livid-over-james-corden-and-rebel-wilsons-oscars-cats-diss/ VFX Society]] and [[https://twitter.com/YvesTM/status/1227092859565641728 one of the effects artists who even lost his job]] called them out on it).

--->'''Mr. Erase:''' Oh my god, that was so disgusting! What a visual! I am so sorry. Erase, erase, erase!

--->Slowly becoming the pre-2004 Red Sox of basketball. Right down to the 45 shameless writers who would release a quickie book if the Knicks ever turned things around and won a title. [[LampshadeHanging Wait]], [[http://www.amazon.com/Now-Can-Die-Peace-Salvation/dp/B007K53YGA I think I just made fun of myself.]]

** Probably the most mocked Polish characteristic, however, is treating our AcceptableTargets as restricted to themselves. [[NWordPrivileges There have been several instances where a foreign media outlet would repeat normal Polish jokes about a public figure and Poland promptly declared jihad.]]

* Stand-up comedian Creator/JimGaffigan interrupts his act frequently to make disapproving comments (in a [[TalkingToHimself different voice]]) about his jokes.

** As of 2023, the Razzies have done this to ''themselves''; after the controversy over the nomination of Ryan Kiera Armstrong for Worst Actress for her role in ''Film/{{Firestarter2022}}'', they gave themselves the award instead.

-->'''Jeremy Clarkson''': You are the most famous person we ever had on the show.
-->'''Patrick Stewart''': Well this must be a terrible show then!

* [[http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time Valve Time]]. Valve mocks itself for its loose schedule for putting out their games and failing to meet even that. They even mock themselves for it in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'', as when their names appear on the screen in a credits sequence, [=GLaDOS=] reads off various negative personality traits for them, which includes "procrastinator" and "perfectionist"(Though she doesn't see anything wrong with the latter). And the line in "Still Alive": "We're out of beta, we're releasing on time." They even [[http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Achievements#Valve_Corporate_achievements awarded themselves]] with a [[SarcasmMode "Corporate achievement"]] named ''[[MemeticMutation welcome to the internets]]'' for failing to understand what 'private' means on [=YouTube=].

* When Creator/CharlieVickers was asked what he thinks about the sex appeal of [[Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower Sauron]], he answered "Sexy Sauron... that’s all the makeup and costume departments’ work. I’m just a pretty regular-looking guy in real life.".

* [[Administrivia/RuleofCautiousEditingJudgment Say what you will about]] Radio/GlennBeck, but he's a good sport when it comes to those parodying him. Two of the most well-known parodies of Beck were the ones done by Creator/JonStewart. The very next day those aired, Beck replayed both of them on his show and has admitted they were both hilarious. Also, when organizing his Rally to Restore Honor, Glenn Beck had Frank Caliendo, the King of Impressions himself, on his radio show to talk extensively about Caliendo's developing impression of Beck and Glenn then invited Caliendo, should he finish developing the impression, to open up the Rally with a short routine in order to help ease the hundreds of thousands in attendance out of their tension.

* The slogan for The Comedy Network, Canada's equivalent of Comedy Central, is 'Time Well Wasted.'

* The most common fall guy in Afrikaans jokes is someone called Van Der Merwe, which is a typical Afrikaans surname. His opponents are usually the Scot and the Englishman, ethnicities which Afrikaners historically have been in conflict with and traditionally don't particularly like. And the Scotsman and the Englishman always, always win... except if Van Der Merwe accidentally wins through his sheer stupidity. It's like self-racism. Still funny though. Hence the name of the none-too-bright protagonist of ''District 9'', written and directed by [[Creator/NeillBlomkamp an Afrikaner]].

** Chretien also joked "Canada has two official languages. Sadly, I am fluent in neither of them".

* Creator/GeorgeLucas frequently makes fun of his own changes to ''Franchise/StarWars'', including wearing a "Han Shot First" shirt and having Darth Vader give a speech about how much he hates the changes. He's also poked fun at his stilted writing. For instance, upon receiving the 2005 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, he called himself "the King of Wooden Dialogue".