Jerry Sadowitz cancelled

roberty · August 2022

If you really think it's important to defend this type of humour there's nothing to stop you from opening your own comedy club. You could have racist jokes from Monday to Sunday

People moan about this sort of thing being a threat to freedom of speech while this is going on: https://www.bigissue.com/news/activism/how-priti-patels-new-policing-bill-threatens-your-right-to-protest/

A useful distraction for ambitious despots

Sporky · August 2022

roberty said:

If you really think it's important to defend this type of humour there's nothing to stop you from opening your own comedy club. You could have racist jokes from Monday to Sunday

Or you could host naked neo-nazi open mic nights, and say that it's actually about provoking thought.

Offset · August 2022

Sporky said:

Or you could host naked neo-nazi open mic nights, and say that it's actually about provoking thought.

Where's Max Mosely when you need him...

Kittyfrisk · August 2022

Sporky said:

roberty said:

If you really think it's important to defend this type of humour there's nothing to stop you from opening your own comedy club. You could have racist jokes from Monday to Sunday

Or you could host naked neo-nazi open mic nights, and say that it's actually about provoking thought.

I thought about that too, but have you any idea how hard it is to get a bunch of naked people singing 'Song of Horst Wessel" in tune?

Offset · August 2022

roberty said:

If you really think it's important to defend this type of humour there's nothing to stop you from opening your own comedy club. You could have racist jokes from Monday to Sunday

Although I don't agree with you, you make a very interesting point (albeit indirectly). If Sadowitz's humour is so offensive to some, why haven't venues hosting him not been subject to placard-carrying Mary Whitehouse-style vigilantes over the past 30+ years?

This is a very simple case of freedom of speech. I might not like all (if indeed much) of what he has to say, but I'd defend his right to say it. The film 'The Lady of Heaven' was pulled from some UK cinemas because some Muslim groups complained it was blasphemous. Well we all know where that ends if the nut-jobs aren't appeased - just ask Salman Rushdie.

Sadowitz runs the risk of not only being cancelled by one timid venue, but cancelled full-stop. We need to be very careful as we're already half way down a very slippery slope.

Cols · August 2022

roberty said:

If you really think it's important to defend this type of humour there's nothing to stop you from opening your own comedy club.

Seems like an expensive way to see a comedy show. But it’s not without precedent.

Back in 1978, the crew for Monty Python’s Life Of Brian was getting ready to depart for shooting on location in Tunisia when Lord Bernard Delfont, the chairman of EMI, decided it might be worthwhile to have a skim through the script of the film his studio was about to make. Highly alarmed at the controversial subject matter, he immediately pulled the funding from the whole grisly affair.

However, all was not lost. None other than George Harrison became aware of the Python’s predicament and resolved to fund the production, mortgaging his Henley-On-Thames home to do so. When asked what compelled him to such an act of glorious, generous madness he simply said “I want to see the movie”.

Funkfingers · August 2022

bertie said:

Kittyfrisk said:
Hail ???

caeser

… And Pace

Or, for Latin students, hail et pace.

Kittyfrisk · August 2022

Funkfingers said:

bertie said:

Kittyfrisk said:
Hail ???

caeser

… And Pace

Or, for Latin students, hail et pace.

The Two Rons, door supervisors not bouncers...

thumpingrug · August 2022

I think we have gone a bit off-topic. I don't know this chap or his works and wasn't at the gig. I am a firm believer in "free speech" but free speech does not give the right to spew hatred or abuse.

Ive seen similar written about Jimmy Carr, who I have seen and who manages to savagely attack pretty much everyone in some form. It was very funny, it was uncomfortable, it left me feeling guilty and questioning if I should have been there. But it was a good fun night out with a bunch of right-on people from work and we were all grown up enough to see it for what it was. A show - a production, carefully scripted to make us uncomfortable and laugh at ourselves. I really can't see much difference here - the caveat above about not having seen it applies obviously.

Emp_Fab · August 2022

I dunno... I believe in free speech but not hate speech... I also think that attacking other groups in our society for humourous reasons seems unhealthy and counterproductive to our advancement as a species.

Jackobean · August 2022

Raises quite a few interesting quandaries. Is Sadowitz’s use of slurs as satire more acceptable than Jim Davidson’s sincere racism? Does the conceit need to be more obvious, in the manner of Stewart Lee? What if you’ve barely changed your act in thirty years and it hasn’t been funny for nearly as long?

BillDL · August 2022

The Edinburgh Festival's "Fringe" has always hosted performances that are wacky, risqué, weird, and off-beat. Historically there have always been street performers doing organised and impromtu acts that range from unicyclers on tightropes juggling flaming swords while cracking gags to quite serious and "professional" singing and comedy acts. If one of those acts, that are free for anybody on the street to watch, veered into racist, hate, or inciteful content then I might understand visitors voicing their discontent, however the venue that Sadowitz "performed" at was an enclosed ticket-only venue that you don't simply walk into by chance.

Here are screenshots from the official Edinburgh Festival "what's on" guide where you could buy tickets:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jerry-sadowitz-not-for-anyone

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/6301e14faf590a08310b0c676070ea1c56aa310a924b20643a

Straight off we see the name of the show "Not for Anyone", and a picture showing "Everyone" scored out and changed to "Anyone". It is an 18+ recommendation accompanied by a warning that says: "This show contains strong language and themes some may find distressing". OK, so most of us are now so well used to hearing that warning on TV as the adverts finish and the movie resumes, and most of us wonder what lily-livered snowflake softies would have taken offence at the content, but the warning was there just in case.

Under the Description tab we see what was most likely written by Sadowitz himself to give a general idea of wat to expect for those that have never seen him:

"Jerry Sadowitz returns with his whacky impressions of Greta Thunberg, Frankie Boyle and deep vein thrombosis. He also promises to do less hate-fuelled swearing and focus more on faux liberal pish in order to appeal to the middle class and their disposable income and personalities. 'Please note that I might just do card tricks and say nothing for a whole hour or I might just do the usual "screaming fascist" schtick. Or both. Patrons may wish to drink alcohol pre-show to avoid boredom, embarrassment and guilt'."

By mentioning that is act has comprised "hate-fuelled swearing" and "screaming fascist" content, my thoughts are that you would have to be very dumb to think for a minute that this was going to be nice gentle family-safe comedy. The analogies about going on a sewage treatment works tour and complaining about the smell of shit are very apt given the description of the show that you would surely have seen before buying the tickets.

For what my opinion is worth though, I can't stand the man. I don't think he's funny (comedy is a personal thing), and if I saw his mug on the TV right now I would flick to another channel. He has, however, been doing the same kind of uncomfortably knife-edge acts for many years and is well known for it. If the complaints were from staff at the venue, then the organisers had a duty to vet the act and make sure that the staff on duty were thick-skinned enough to tolerate any vile shit that he was likely to spew. In the end the venue management have every right to cancel his future acts, but they should have done their homework. TV companies bringing people like Freddie Starr and Rod Hull and Emu in as guests in talk shows could never forecast what was likely to happen, but clearly their behaviour was just disruptive and unscripted rather than being vulgar or racist.

Offset · August 2022

@BillDL ; Bill, you nailed it. Good research and commentary.

bertie · August 2022

Offset said:

@BillDL ;; Bill, you nailed it. Good research and commentary.

and good comment about the responsibility of venue to staff, was going to mention yesterday, if it "was" the staff who complained (and not the paying audience) surely it was onus on the "venue" to undertake some due diligence on who was to be working.

Grumpyrocker · August 2022

You can't get away with racial hatred just because you warned people there would be racial hatred.

Sporky · August 2022

bertie said:

surely it was onus on the "venue" to undertake some due diligence on who was to be working.

I think that might be a bit backwards. It could be read as "we're putting on an act we know is offensive, so you're not allowed to work that night".

Simonh · August 2022

There is a difference between racial hatred and comedy.

Offset · August 2022

Simonh said:

There is a difference between racial hatred and comedy.

...and satire.

UnclePsychosis · August 2022

Simonh said:

There is a difference between racial hatred and comedy.

Not in most staff / employee handbooks and code of conducts there isn't.

Which is why this gets a bit more interesting, if staff have complained.

stickyfiddle · August 2022

If I'm understanding correctly this boils down to a venue deciding it's not worth the bad PR and potential lost future revenue and pissed-off staff so cancels a show.

Isn't this whole thing just the beloved Free Market in action?

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Jerry Sadowitz cancelled

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