Jerry Sadowitz

30 years? If it's the same guys their, um, repertoire may have expanded

I never got a chance to see them 30 years ago, when they came to London. Wish I had now. I guess it's not too late ....

Puppetry Of The Penis was (still is..?) a regular at the Fringe....

As an employer does the Pleasance not have a duty of care to it's staff as well as patrons ?

So if it is true (?) that staff were upset then the Pleasance has failed that duty and stands liable for redress.

Of course, if JS happened to blindside them by hiding or not disclosing the content of his show, then they could sue him for their losses. But somehow, I can't see that happening. This little story won't go within a million miles of a court.

I have fond memories of JS TV show back in the 80s en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People_vs._Jerry_Sadowitz

when he was "The Gobfather".

Bloody hell, does the Daily Mail have someone on 24-7 Rowling Tweets Watch?

I would have thought sadowitz would have sold out well before the day, so I doubt it would have been a audience member shambling in off the street expecting mock the week type humour. So it was likely either someone intending to complain or staff.

I can see why someone wouldn't want to be offended at work, but isn't that the nature of the job? Either the venue messed up big time and didn't know who they were booking, or they didn't employ the right people for the venue.

I'm sure I saw a statement where the Pleasance said people in the building rather than audience suggesting that maybe the issue wasn't the audience? It sounds to me as if the Pleasance are worried about being cancelled themselves - I wish I knew by who.

*JenniferBarkley
All I've seen is that he got his dick out. I doubt that would be tolerated in most places.

Unless you go to Bristol and then you can take your 5-year-old child to see the Family Sex Show.*

Haha! Exactly!!

Oh, the idiocy of the Pleasance comment (from that Sun report):

Anthony Alderson, Director of the Pleasance, said: “The Pleasance is a venue that champions freedom of speech and we do not censor comedians’ material.

“While we acknowledge that Jerry Sadowitz has often been controversial, the material presented at his first show is not acceptable and does not align with our values.

“This type of material has no place on the festival and the Pleasance will not be presenting his second and final show.”

In that case, you don't bloody champion freedom of speech, do you? If you cancel someone's performance, then you are censoring their material.

Fine if he'd said "We believe freedom of speech has its limits, and Sadowitz went beyond them." But to say both that you believe in freedom of speech and then that you're cancelling someone's show because it's offensive is Orwellian fuckwittery of the highest order.

If the staff were the complainants their beef is with the Pleasance not Sadowitz. I wonder if that's why the venue is so all over the place? Are they worried about getting cancelled. Seems very frog and scorpion.

When I first heard about it I was surprised because it’s Jerry Sadowitz FFS - being offensive/outrageous is his ‘thing’ and he’s being doing it for 30+ years. As a result, I thought the response was unusual from the Pleasance since they’ve no doubt hosted him before. If they were that concerned, they shouldn’t have let him book with their venue.

I’ve seen suggestions that it was the venue staff that complained and if that’s the case, then it’s a disgrace. The Pleasance knows his deal, if they are concerned for staff being offended then either they should make sure staff on that show are robust enough to cope and/or they shouldn’t be employing people who can’t cope with the wildly varying content at the Edinburgh Festival.

For me, it’s the the Pleasance comes out of this looking the worst, particularly with their contradictory ‘we support freedom of creative expression/we’re cancelling him because people were offended’ statement. Numpties.

It reads to me that it was something to do with the staff at the venue? The safe space nonsense that the theatre spokesperson was spouting was most likely to relate to them, not people who've bought a ticket knowing what they're getting?

but I don't have a right to walk into the men's changing room and complain about penises on show there.

I take it you missed the thread on MN from a woman who did exactly that ...

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7731717/Mother-blasts-father-standing-naked-mens-changing-room.html

I don't know if he waved it about, but The Scottish Sun were first with the story and had the most details:

www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/9300034/jerry-sadowitz-edinburgh-fringe-show-axed/

One audience member said "He got his penis out to a woman in the front row. The problem was not the audience - I knew he was an acquired taste. It was his indefensible content”.

I'd love to know what is going on.

So far, I've found publicity for the show in which he warns people he'll be getting his dick out. Given that, it seems that the theatre must have been fully aware that was planned. Multiple people are saying that this is a routine event for his show. So they can't be cancelling the booking over that.

I saw a trans extremist on twitter attempting to parrot feminists by talking about cocks in women's spaces, but this wasn't a women's space. It was a Jerry Sadowitz space!

I will complain all day long about unexpected male genitalia in women's spaces, but I don't have a right to walk into the men's changing room and complain about penises on show there. The presence of women doesn't make somewhere a women's space.

What does seem beyond dispute is that this is an adult only show, that there are prominent warnings about offensive content and nudity, and that the only way to see it is to buy a ticket and go to the theatre. I cannot comprehend how anyone in the audience could have been unaware of what they were about to see, or how the venue didn't know when they hired him.

I think you forget we live in a country where people move to the country and then complain about living in the country.

metro.co.uk/2018/04/18/townies-moved-countryside-complain-farm-animals-7477254/

For example.

Presumably the Pleasance has refunded all those people that did attend ?

No ?

Thought not.

Here's my take. When they do, I'll believe them. Until they do, they can FRO.

Incidentally, this backlash could well hurt the Pleasance if artists decide to boycott it. Two way street and all that.

From what I've read, Sadowitz is playing a role: an obnoxious character who says and does the most loathsome things while performing the most sublime magic. I imagine the incongruence is part of the point.

It also sounds like no-one, and certainly no minority group, is spared the odious diatribe so I'm not sure how relevant it is to single out any specific comment, unless the point is that society regards some minorities as more worthy of protection than others? But I've never seen show and therefore so far, this is all speculation and I'm open to persuasion.

What does seem beyond dispute is that this is an adult only show, that there are prominent warnings about offensive content and nudity, and that the only way to see it is to buy a ticket and go to the theatre. I cannot comprehend how anyone in the audience could have been unaware of what they were about to see, or how the venue didn't know when they hired him.

There does seem to be an inconsistency in the TRa line.

No, it's quite consistent – you can get your dick out anywhere you like as long as women present DON’T consent to seeing it.

It’s only when women have bought tickets and are aware there might be a dick on show that it’s bad.

There does seem to be an inconsistency in the TRa line.

If only he'd done it in a women's spa or shelter to an unwilling audience including girls - then he'd have a black-clad masked mob turning up in support.

His mistake was to perform to a paying audience of adults who'd specifically come to see him. Have to nip that sort of thing in the bud and make sure the next audience can't get what they paid for.

There does seem to be an inconsistency in the TRa line.

Rainbow dildo Butt monkey for kids = fine

Famously offensive comedian getting dick out for adult comedy show- heinous

Also see you adored Frankie Boyle is because he trots out the right phrases while making jokes about rape phantasy.

This is the first time I've read that he specifically targeted a woman in the front row and waved his dick at her as a statement of absolute fact.

Where did you get this information from?

Unless you go to Bristol and then you can take your 5-year-old child to see the Family Sex Show.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11110575/JK-Rowling-wades-Jerry-Sadowitz-row-comedians-Edinburgh-Fringe-cancelled.html

JK Rowling weighs into Jerry Sadowitz row after comedian's Edinburgh Fringe show was cancelled: Author likes tweet branding decision 'beyond shameful' as backlash grows at venue bosses for 'destroying free speech'

I'm puzzled by Glinner's take, which was published before any of the other accusations of racism and flashing

it does seem like the TRAs have lined up on the anti-Sadowitz side though. (And are, insanely, pretending to be concerned about flashing! Presumably some of them are just mad that no one will ever pay for tickets to see their dick.)