I've heard people say that they wish Bill Hicks and George Carlin were still alive so they could hear what they think of the state of the world right now. I hate to say it, but I don't think they'd have a point of view that's particularly welcome.
I love George Carlin. Ingenious observation, unbridled anger, no filter... But also some climate change denial and material that would hint at a total dismissal of people choosing pronouns. Of course it's impossible to know if his point of view would have evolved, but I don't think it's very likely he'd be onboard with things like trigger warnings. I still love what he did, while not agreeing with all if it.
Bill Hicks has the luxury of being judged on a very small amount of material that made it to his albums and specials. But despite that, there is material where he brags about having a young girlfriend ('very young, actually' he clarifies) on official releases. While the early 90s was long enough ago for his test material to not have been recorded and leaked, it wasn't long enough ago for the different time excuse to carry much weight. I feel like Bill Hicks is someone people discover in their late teens and really love because of how much he goes against the grain. He was certainly a gifted comedian, but the older I get the less I find anything he did to be quite as remarkable as I once thought.
John Cleese has just been given a show on GB News, and while revealing this he claimed that the BBC would never give him a platform. This was on the BBC's flagship Radio 4. He's become what he always seemed to mock, and while we'll never know for sure I fear George and Bill would have done the same.