Stewart Lee

[FalloverBoy]

He’s on tour and I’ve just seen a Twitter post by someone saying he had a dig at Ricky Gervais’ Transphobia. That he hates Ricky Gervais is no surprise (I’m more of a Stewart Lee gal myself) but has anyone seen him live on this tour? I want to stick my fingers in my ears if he is because I bloody love his comedy.

Yes Bridget Christie is TWAW.

Re the other comedians saying nothing, I think this is partly to do with the way comedy has changed. You can earn megabucks by doing arena tours, or getting onto Netflix or branch out into acting/presenting. But only if you toe the line. Unless you are already hugely established and a white male such as Ricky Gervais. There are probably GCers about, but not on the BBC or with a big profile.

Yep. Lots of comedians are transphobic. We get so used to being told "saying woman = AHF is transphobic" that I sometimes forget how much actual hateful stuff is out there.

Mumsnet was cited about 4-5 times during Lee's routine. Derogatory, inference of bigotry, alongside Daily Mail, Brexiteers etc.

So very depressing, HandsOff. I was hoping for better.

I think the people talking about the IRA sketch may have missed the point. I'm not labouring under the misapprehension that SL is a fan. i just don't want to spend my scarce time and money watching a comedian who tries to get me to do something (applaud the IRA) so he can wag his finger at me about it later. you might love being treated like this. different strokes for different folks innit?

I saw ben elton in december, and while he clearly understands that there is a difference between the sexes, I was a bit about the portion of the show where he said that your 'gender' should be determined by whether you can out flat pack furniture together or believe you're awesome at reverse parking.

i know he was being ironic, but the problem is so many fuckers seem to believe that shit (and many of them are our bloody elected representatives), that it feels a bit close to the bone frankly, and totally establishment

but i'd still much rather watch BE who seems to actually like his audience.

Seconded, Bernard

I’m sure to the comedy purist, the way SL sets up his jokes and plays with the audience is a thing of beauty and the work of a virtuoso to be admired. I get that.

I just can’t be arsed to work that hard when it comes to comedy. Just make me laugh, and then maybe think a bit, in that order! Don’t tie me up in knots wondering what bit I’m supposed to find funny, afraid to laugh in case it outs me as a thicko, who is then the butt of the joke, and all the intellectuals can smug about how they totally got the joke, because they’re clever like he’s clever.

It’s not for me, in the way that doing sudokos is not for me, and for broadly the same reason. Too much hard work. If it’s based on laughing at women, only no, we’re not really laughing at women, it’s more meta than that, we’re laughing at the kind of people who think it’s funny to laugh at women, and maybe that’s you, did you ever think about that, while you’re laughing at the kind of people who thinks it’s funny to laugh at people who like to laugh at women...

I’m sure Stuart can survive my indifference

I've just been to see him, never heard of him before. My conclusion is that he is just really annoying. I had no problem with the content of the show but his delivery was awful. I feel like I came out to enjoy a rare evening of freedom and actually just paid to have someone ignite the same feelings I get when asking my toddler to get dressed. I also didn't have any cash to get an ice cream in the interval. Prick.

Seems like the biggest joke is on him.

He's been easily manipulated to declare that he believes some men have female minds/souls/essences, and has added that those of us with female bodies (which no doubt he could easily be persuaded to declare both exist and definitely don't exist, simultaneously) must subjugate ourselves to the female essence possessors by declaring them "one of us" and immediately abandoning all our rights to distinguish ourselves from the opposite sex because lady-essence-with-(or without)-penis always trumps our sex.

And he's still hoping there won't be a punchline showing him to be a fool.

Stewart, you ARE the punchline.

Chris Morris from the Day to Day who I sincerely hope is GC

Chris Morris of fucking Brass Eye. One would hope.

He is Chris Morris from Brass Eye, On The Hour and the Day Today.

And he's still hoping there won't be a punchline showing him to be a fool.

Stewart, you ARE the punchline.

Yep. All of these comedians are. That they can't or won't see how absurd this is is really quite funny, in a depressing sort of way.

He is Chris Morris from Brass Eye, On The Hour and the Day Today.

Yes, but Brass Eye took the critique up a notch or two, didn’t it!

Chris Morris from the Day to Day who I sincerely hope is GC

I would give my right arm to see Chris Morris bring back Brass Eye for a TWAW special. Problem is, how would anyone know it was satire?

Well yeah, it’d just be a documentary, with Chris Morris Nice easy job.

Can we crowdfund for that Brass Eye special? I’d sell an organ to see what Chris Morris could do with identity politics in 2020

You’re right, though, don, it really is beyond satire, and the wokerati would have him and everyone involved sent to the Tower.

Robin Ince has written a gushing review of his pal's current show. He does, however, mention how male the audience are.

Remind me, hasn't Ince's view on gender ID been disappointing too?
cosmicshambles.com/words/blogs/robinince/stewart-lees-little-women

I would also pay good money to see a Brass Eye special on gender ideology, but agree that it would be impossible to distinguish between satire and the current state of affairs.

Robin Ince has written a gushing review of his pal's current show. He does, however, mention how male the audience are.

Have literally just finished watching Richard Herrings podcast with Robin Ince. Can only speak for myself, but it was interesting and funny by turns.

Ince's view on gender ID been disappointing too?

Ince's views are disappointing in many ways.

I've never chosen to see him again after he (and every other male comedian) chose the sceptics' 9 Carols (or whatever it's called) to base a disproportionate amount of their routine around rape 'jokes.'

Oh really Arran? The mutual appreciation makes sense now. Both men using rape jokes in their routines.

Men do love to wax lyrical about other men's freedoms at the expense of women - until it affects them...

A la Dr Harrop...

We all remember the Brass Eye paedophile special, right? It was hilarious but the joke was that people were panicking about paedophiles unnecessarily. Not sure why proponents of child safeguarding would go to the writer of it for more satire?

I don’t think it was that people were panicking unnecessarily but that people were panicking about the wrong thing.

I went to see Stewart Lee this week in Leicester, and his references to Mumsnet have dropped down to only once in the whole show - so perhaps he is still reading this thread, and maybe even listening.

His only mention of Mumnet was after the very long impression of Ricky Gervais attempting to say the unsayable (which actually gave me a stomach and face-ache from laughing), that "someone on Mumsnet says that bit goes on too long".

I would like to think that the one reference to the "Transgender community" earlier on in the show is more of a dig at Ricky Gervais than an actual statement of his position on gender.

I'm a massive fan, though, and have been disappointed with many of the people I love coming out on the wrong side of this issue before - so perhaps it is wishful thinking.

Stu - if you are reading this, please have a long think about the male fetishists who are hiding under the 'trans' umbrella and whether you would like to subject your daughter to sharing changing and toilet facilities with them. I'm as left wing as they come generally, and saw through it immediately. But I'm a woman, so I have a stake in this that you personally don't. Gender identity is no different than believing in souls so please take a sceptical, atheist approach to thinking about it.

We saw him on Thursday. We both love him and laughed a lot, as well a 'agree the fuck out of him'.

The reason I searched out this thread is that Mumsnet was mentioned. But only once - the early post about the Gervais 'saying the unsayable', nothing else. The Mumsnet comment was funny, too.

I agree, he's not for everybody. But if you know him already this show doesn't have any surprises.

What it provoked me to think about is bubbles - surrounding yourself (perhaps not intentionally) with people who think and feel like you. Everybody in the theatre laughed and clapped in exactly the right moments - the whole place was full to the brim of liberal snowflakes. Just like us. It's not given me any ideas as to how open conversations or include people who are different to me. I guess that's not was Stu is for, thank goodness we have The Guilty Feminist for that!

The ending song's last bit has become my new earworm.

The Guilty Feminist provides ways for people with different views to have open conversations with each other? That's very different to my experience of it.

I’m hoping Andrew and Douglas can provide ways for people with different views to have open conversations, seeing as Doyle is on the left and Murray on the right:

www.entertainment-focus.com/theatre-section/theatre-news/resisting-wokeness-an-evening-with-douglas-murray-and-andrew-doyle-on-tour-spring-2020/

Because The Guilty Feminist certainly can’t.