Comedians defending Jerry Sadowitz

[FenlandFuckwit]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-62533592

His latest gig has been cancelled after he told racist jokes and got his dick out. Why are other comedians defending his right to do this? This behaviour is not ok, AIBU to think this is indecent and disgusting behaviour and the venue were correct in cancelling him.

It was a prothestic.....😂

I always thought freedom of speech was an American belief..

"You can't shout fire in a theatre"

I think it's fairly safe to say this has backfired on the theatre, the people that complained, and the Edinburgh festival as a whole.

Don’t remember Daniel Radcliffe getting cancelled for full nudity in Equus (or any other showing of Equus) His run was sold out and he had good reviews as I recall.

This behaviour is not ok, AIBU to think this is indecent and disgusting behaviour and the venue were correct in cancelling him.

I can't say I would pay to go & see this man, but we need to be very, very careful about trying to censor ideas & talk we don't like or agree with.

I’m not a fan of JS, never have been. I wouldn’t attend one of his gigs because I know what to expect. It’s been no secret for the past 30+ years.

He’s quite a clever comedian though who usually (but not always) does offensive comedy right, but it’s cerebral stuff and it requires a degree of critical thinking. It doesn’t have you laughing the victims (eg of rape, racism etc) but instead belittles the perpetrators ( the rapists and racists). It takes a degree of intelligence to work that out. He does it in such a way that many comedians have tried to emulate (eg Frankie Boyle)and fail because they don’t grasp the subtle difference between appraising a situation/behaviour and highlighting/questioning how
awful they are by putting it to you in very blunt situational terms.

Sometimes he gets the mood wrong, what comedian doesn’t? but people going to see him know exactly what they’re going to get. It’s in all his marketing, he doesn’t hide from
being offensive, he wears it as a badge of (dis)honour. He’s always got his cock out at shows too. I remember being told of him standing on a table lowering his cock into someone’s pint and that was almost 30
yeaRs ago now. It takes a certain kind of
juvenile to find that entertaining but many do and people go expecting it.

I think it’s ridiculous a venue, knowing exactly what his material is like, chose to cancel the rest of his fringe shows because of
complaints, and I read they were from staff as well as customers.

I don’t believe in censorship in the arts. By all means warn his act may offend, he even does that himself but cancelling just treats the public like children unable to decide for themselves what they’re willing to listen to. The complainers clearly hadn’t done their research, that’s not the fault of JS.

I actually hadn't heard about him till now! I need to be fair in any comments I make about him so will be youtubing him once kids are in bed!! I will ensure I have some pearls next to me should I be offended.

Statement from the venue:

"As previously stated, The Pleasance chose to pull Jerry Sadowitz's second and final show. Due to numerous complaints, we becme immediately aware of content that was considered, among other things, extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny.

'We will not associate with content that attacks people's dignity and the language used on stage was, in our view. completely unacceptable.

'A large number of people walked out of
Jerry Sadowitz's show as they felt uncomfortable and unsafe to remain in the venue. We have received an unprecedented number of complaints that could not be ignored and we had a duty to respond.

'The subsequent abuse directed to our teams is also equally unacceptable. At the Pleasance, our values are to be inclusive, diverse and welcoming.

'We are proud of the progress we have made across our programming, which includes significant investment and support for Black Asian and Global Majority artists, LGBTQ+ voices, those from working class backgrounds, and the strong representation of women. We do not believe that racism, homophobia, sexism or misogynistic language have a place in our venues.

'In a changing world, stories and language that were once accepted on stage, whether performed in character or not, need to be challenged. There is a line that we will not cross at the Pleasance, and it was our view that this line was crossed on this occasion.

'We don't vet the full content of acts in advance and while Jerry Sadowitz is a controversial comedian, we could not have known the specifics of his performance.

'The Pleasance has staged his work numerous times over the years, but as soon as we received complaints from those in the building which caused us great concern, we knew we could not allow the final performance to go ahead.

'The arts and comedy in particular have always pushed the boundaries of social norms but this boundary is always moving. Our industry has to move with it. However, this does not mean that we can allow such content to be on our stages."

Interesting that they note that they know it is a character and is meant to be offensive but deliberately being offensive is now not ok.

You won't find anything on YouTube. He is very, very, very protective of his intellectual property, anything that does find its way online is swiftly removed.

If you want to experience Sadowitz, you have to go and see him live.

After the statement linked by noblegiraffe, they've seriously reduced their options. What comedy will they have left to air?

Earlier in the thread I said the theatre needed to explain further. They have thrown Sadowitz to the wolves here, making some serious allegations in the process. And look at the language - "unsafe" "great concern" - it is a "changing world" alright.

Someone's crossed a line alright. Comedy can't really be the same after this.

(It may well be JS is everything he has been accused of. I am not a fan. He may well have said or done something truly indefensible in which case I will stand corrected. But for now this really does look like censorious horseshit.)

YABVU. This is blatant censorship. I don't give a fuck what he said or did in his performance - it doesn't justify censorship. Of course any comedian worth his or her salt will be defending JS.

‘Unsafe’ - that word is to shut down anything and everything these days. A comedian made you feel unsafe, well piss off then.

Wow. The implications here are huge. JS’ act is just that - a character you are meant to vehemently disagree with, because of his unacceptable views. Enough people have been dim enough not to realise this, and ready enough to be affronted despite the warnings, they’ve taken it at face value that this is what Sadowitz actually thinks. I’ve long been convinced that average intelligence is falling and this is yet another example that’s confirming it.

Talk of feeling unsafe at a gig like this is extraordinary. I can imagine some of the big name comics really weighing in to the issue, because of how big the implications are.The Pleasance might not be the centre of the Fringe for much longer.

It's Jerry Sadowitz, he's been doing the same thing for decades, why the fuck would you go and see him if you didn't want to see his knob?
There are plenty of other Fringe performances involving nudity.

And what comedian would now perform there, in the knowledge that, should their act be deemed sufficiently not-with-the-times, the theatre will not have their back but rather publicly denounce them?

In a world where words are "literal violence" I would have thought all those people feeling "unsafe" should probably not go to a shock comedians Fringe show.

I wonder if anyone said he 'exposed himself to a woman'

'A large number of people walked out of
Jerry Sadowitz's show as they felt uncomfortable and unsafe to remain in the venue. We have received an unprecedented number of complaints that could not be ignored and we had a duty to respond.

Felt Unsafe. Oh do fuck off people who spout shite like this. Walk out if you want but that should be it. Don't actively try to stop others seeing something just because it makes you feel uncomfortable and unsafe ffs.

But didn't JS say there were no walk outs that night? While the Pleasance claim there was 'a large number'? So which Is it?

Unsafe? My days.

It is a venue hosting a comedian, not the colosseum on feed the tigers day.

Watch it or walk out. Go or don’t go. But don’t censor it on the word of the ‘unsafe’.

As I didn’t hear the act, it’s difficult to say.

There is a difference between intelligent comedy and lazy comedy. When intelligent comedy tackles controversial topics - it’s often under the context of - are you right to laugh at this, or you laugh at the stupidity/awkwardness of the character tackling the subject. Poor/lazy comedy just outright makes fun or ridicules the subject.

I do think censorship is needed : 18 certificate films, the BBFC for films etc. Censorship is needed when harm can be caused to others. So it depends on whether what he said was harmful. And it’s where that bar lies - what constitutes harm.

If it was just stupid comedy, with an adult audience went in pretty much knowing that the comedian would be controversial - then was it harmful? Probably not.

Love the fringe (to the extent I paid £20 to access shows online as I cannot get up there this year) and Pleasance was always a great venue. I just don't see how they can justify their ignorance on the act in question. It takes a tiny amount of googling reviews to note his act has been designed to push every taboo and boundary for nearly four decades. The diatribes from 2019 as no doubt as offensive as anything from the 80s. Not someone I personally would see twice but not for others to censor. Have just watched Jen Ives - not that entertained by the material or opinions given but by God, I'd defend their right to say them.

Unsafe. Give me fucking strength. Anyone using this term who isn't actually in a bomb shelter in Kiev or similar really should have some respect for language and shut the fuck up.

Feeling unsafe, what guff.

This rhetoric has managed to seep into our classrooms, our lecture halls, our theatres. It's very very concerning.