![]() ![]() ![]() When you get down to it, the argument that cancel culture is killing comedy dissolves into nothingness. Widespread criticism of a joke almost never leads to actual consequences In light of a public reckoning in the press, the careers of creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams have gone from strength to strength – the pair even reprised controversial Little Britain characters including Vicky Pollard and Lou and Andy for the BBC’s pandemic charity show The Big Night In. Around the same time, Little Britain was removed from iPlayer for its use of blackface and yellowface. Last year, Channel 4 removed Bo’ Selecta! from its streaming service for its use of blackface – but its creator Leigh Francis’s long-running gameshow Celebrity Juice (which has itself been called misogynistic) still returned in April. But that seems an unusual repercussion: Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey have all apologised for the use of blackface in their work with no impact on their careers. Last year, the comedian Sarah Silverman claimed she was dropped from a film after an old sketch in which she wore blackface resurfaced online. In July, the standup Andrew Lawrence was dropped by his agent and had gigs cancelled after tweeting racist remarks (it would be a stretch to call them jokes) about the footballers who missed penalties at the Euro 2020 final. Very occasionally, in very extreme cases, there is some pushback. Widespread online criticism of a joke deemed offensive almost never leads to any actual consequences. Did Bill Burr face disgrace after his SNL monologue was deemed misogynistic and homophobic online? No, he is currently working on the fifth series of his Netflix animation F Is For Family and has a series of high-profile film roles in the pipeline. Was he shunned? No, he was awarded the Grammy for best comedy album. ![]() Dave Chappelle faced criticism for material about trans people, Chinese people, and child abuse in his 2019 standup show, Sticks & Stones. How has society punished him? By giving him a series of increasingly prominent TV gigs (most recently as a judge on the BBC’s Saturday night show I Can See Your Voice). Jimmy Carr was still making jokes about dwarfism, lesbians and Gypsies in his 2019 tour show. In the vast majority of cases, people who make jokes that are considered offensive in the broadest possible terms face zero repercussions – in fact, they tend to thrive. If all the aforementioned comedians know that cancel culture is stifling comedy because they are effectively censoring themselves, they can stop now. Photograph: Brian J Ritchie/Hotsauce/REX/Shutterstock The comedian Jimmy Carr, who has been given a series of increasingly prominent TV gigs following jokes on dwarfism and lesbians. How could it do so if it were only permitted to parrot the views approved by a mysterious, vocal minority – the “haters”, the “joke police” – on Twitter? It couldn’t. It relies on shock, subversion and a little bit of transgression to fulfil an important social function. It makes a certain amount of sense: comedy is a pressure valve, a brief, blissful release from everyday challenges and existential dread. The anxiety may be a nebulous one, but it clearly exists. “I don’t know who these comedians are and I don’t know what they are too scared to say.” ![]() “Apparently, comedians are scared to say anything for fear of cancellation,” wrote the standup Robin Ince recently. Actual examples of it happening, however, are thin on the ground – as are coherent arguments. Jane and husband Will Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Rock before returning to his seat, where he then demanded that the comedian not make further jokes about his wife.It’s starting to sound like a chorus – and the idea that so-called cancel culture is killing comedy is in danger of becoming received wisdom (being “cancelled” encompasses everything from criticism by a handful of social media users to being fired from your job and shunned by society). Rock compared Pinkett Smith’s shaved head to G.I. When presenting the award for Best Documentary at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, a medical condition where people lose their hair. Hamilton is known for his other games such as Glady Bird, a Flappy Bird parody that sees former Australian politician Gladys Berejiklian on the hunt for Covid-19 vaccines. Upon connecting the hand to Rock’s face, a kilometre-per-hour counter updates atop the screen, measuring your slap speed. This extremely simple game by Tyler Hamilton lets you move an emoji as fast as you can and hurl it towards a headshot of Chris Rock. Hyderabad: Following Will Smith’s now-infamous Oscars altercation with Chris Rock, a player has created Slap Chris, a PC browser game in which players can slap Rock. ![]()
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