Comedy event cancelled at the Fringe because of Glinner?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

I hadn't seen anything about this on X/Twitter previously, but apparently some activists have been putting pressure on the venue and they've cancelled an upcoming event called Comedy Unleashed because one of the comedians is Graham Linehan. How utterly pathetic. https://twitter.com/UnleashedComedy/status/1691476377793409024?s=20 Seems to be organised by/associated with Andrew Doyle, aka Titania McGrath.

Also, having apologised to Count Duckula and made new contacts amongst the other heretic comedians such as Andrew Doyle and the Triggernometry chaps, I’m hoping Glinner feels stronger and less isolated this time around?

Obvs he’s always had our ragtag gaggle of GCers standing beside him but that’s not the same as support from inside your own industry,

it must feel healing, having at least some fellow comedians and comedy writers on his side now?

Elliot Steel’s Fringe show is getting 4 and 4.5 star reviews (it’s called Love & Hate Speech and his material reportedly includes stories about growing up in a very lefty household with a famous lefty dad, Mark Steel).

Also, having apologised to Count Duckula and made new contacts amongst the other heretic comedians such as Andrew Doyle and the Triggernometry chaps, I’m hoping Glinner feels stronger and less isolated this time around? Obvs he’s always had our ragtag gaggle of GCers standing beside him but that’s not the same as support from inside your own industry.

Good point @NicCageisnotNickCave - things feel a bit different now, don’t they?

Funnily enough Nic Mark Steel was recently on Triggernometry, certainly backing away from the label of 'lefty' and the concept of a coherent 'left' which speaks volumes.

Elliot Steel, Henning Wehn, Josh Howie, Rob Schneider and Geoff Norcott are some of the names I've seen speaking out against the cancelled gig - again not necessarily to support anyone involved but on the understanding this is how they make a living and it could happen to anyone.

Except perhaps bumhole selfie guy.

I don't think the Equality Act covers this sort of thing.

What don't you think it covers, exactly?

It is always interesting that they never actually specify what the exact 'hate speech' is. It's always some nefarious description of Terrible Person with Wrong Views - they don't even have the bottle or integrity to specify exactly what the issue is.

Is he the first man to be cancelled for this view? It is always women who generally get cancelled and I can't actually think of another man being cancelled for it? Ricky Gervais gets away with it without even a shrug or eyeroll.

If so, it is an interesting move taking on the GC men. I applaud it in some ways as that is when the battle will seriously commence!

They've been discriminated against because of their protected beliefs, so I think it does. IANAL though, so we'll see.

(*Dankula! I just proved myself correct re: reverting to older names
out of habit. As far as I know Glinner had no now-resolved beef with the OG Duckula)

Jerry Sadowitz’s cancellation last year shifted the dial a bit, what with Sadowitz being a comedian’s comedian, admired by insiders but not that famous outside of the comedy circuit (largely by choice, as he had a TV presence in the 90s/early 00s and gave it up, I think most of his income comes from inventing magic tricks for other people to use?)

I see Sadowitz’s 2023 appearances are titled ‘Last Year’s Show’ which made me chuckle.

But overall, I just feel like the fashion has changed. Cancelling someone for not agreeing with the full set of SJW opinions just seems like old hat.

Perhaps Elliot Steel, who admits to being a nepo baby and (lovingly) mocks his left wing upbringing is the perfect illustration of where the trend is going? All those ‘alt’ comics of the 80s and 90s are parents and grandparents now…

(I miss 90s comedy. I’ve always been a live music person really but there was a point in the 90s where indie/rock music and stand up sort of became one scene. I remember spending a lot of The Phoenix Festival in the comedy tent and genuinely being torn between headline acts on the music stages and headline acts on the comedy stage)

I don't think the Equality Act prevents discrimination against speakers - the venue is entitled to discriminate on protected characteristics in choosing who appears.

Do you think the venue would be able to legally discriminate against someone just because they were black or gay? If not why not?

It depends on the facts of the individual case as to whether it's considered by a court that it was his belief being discriminated against rather than the venue choosing to exclude a particular individual for specific things he said that they objected to. The Equality Act definitely covers this sort of situation in theory. That's how Joanna Cherry challenged it in her case.

Joanna Cherry's legal communications with The Stand are here.

joannacherry.scot/news/stand

Which protected characteristics in this particular case? Let's see your thinking here.

Have a click on this: https://www.x.com

It's a domain name Musk has had for a very long time, originally for a payment platform. Here's the background: https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/10/15949862/elon-musk-x-com-paypal-tesla-spacex-domain-name

Mark Lamarr is currently equated people who are pro genital mutilation (FGM) with people who are anti genital mutilation (terves).

Hopefully this is the beginning of his peakening because other wise I am very disappointed in him.

https://x.com/lamarr_mark/status/1691722569013944760

Any of them.

I just had a look at the opinion posted by @Ereshkigalangcleg (thank you). It deals with lots of aspects of Cherry's cancellation, but only superficially with "provision of a service". Without knowing more about Glinner's relationship with the venue it's hard to say, but I'm doubtful that they were providing him with a service.

What service were Maya's employer providing her?

It’s a venue for hire.

You can’t cancel an agreement to hire out a venue because you don’t agree with the protected beliefs of the people planning to use it.

That would be a disgusting precedent to set and would lead to things like a village hall refusing to accommodate a minority religious group.

The venue’s hire agreement was with Andrew Doyle’s comedy unleashed btw.
https://comedyunleashed.co.uk/

Screenshot from the front page of the website:

Yes, good point.

But it wasn't a case in provision of services as I remember, it was an employment case.

More from the Comedy Unleashed website:

It rather depends on Glinner's place in the process. If anything I would guess that he is providing a service.

I am glad to see Jo Caulfield's ill considered tweet is getting ratioed.

Glinner’s contract would be with Comedy Unleashed, not the venue.

The venue’s contract will also with Comedy Unleashed, and yes, hiring a threatre/bar for a performance involves a contract for provision of service:

https://sprintlaw.co.uk/articles/why-you-need-a-venue-hire-agreement/

FGM is illegal in the UK, Mark Lamarr.

Thanks I didn't know that. In which case the provision of services is by the venue to Comedy Unleashed. I don't see any provision of services to Glinner. In which case discrimination against him is not unlawful under the Equality Act.