![First Amendment News logo with Ronald Collins signature](https://i0.wp.com/www.thefire.org/sites/default/files/styles/379x213/public/2023/06/FAN__Web%20image%20w-%20Signature.png?ssl=1)
As a comedian, I’ve watched the lanes of speech narrow over the course of my career. The people behind cancel culture are basically deploying weaponized censorship. And they’re not censoring things because they’re offended. They’re censoring things because there’s a currency that comes with saying you’re offended.
Jimmy Failla, “Cancel Culture Dictionary”
These are cancel culture times: the times that test the spirit of uninhibited comedians. Be it race or religion, gender or politics, culture or “cultural appropriation,” it is so easy to offend so many on so many topics — and so often! Virtually no topic is safe when the PC (today, we might say “woke”) police are patrolling anything that may offend anyone at any time. And while conservatives are quick to condemn such canceling, their “commitment” to free speech can be just as relaxed (or nonexistent) when anyone mocks their “orange-colored Jesus” or their jurist who is subservient to an uncontrollable, flag-waving spouse.
Comedians who trade in anything deemed offensive risk blowback that can affect their livelihood, though the censorial reason is rarely revealed.
“[Because] of the extreme left and P.C. crap . . . people [are] worrying so much about offending other people.” — Jerry Seinfeld
Case in point:
First Ave: Don’t platform transphobe Dave Chappelle!
Dave Chappelle has a record of being dangerous to trans people, and First Avenue has a duty to protect the community. Chappelle’s actions uphold a violent heteronormative culture and directly violate First Avenue’s code of conduct. If staff and guests are held to this standard, performers should be too.
Subsequent Headline: “Dave Chappelle show canceled by Minneapolis venue citing a public backlash” (2022)
It seems these days being a stand-up comedian is no laughing matter. And no one knows that better than Dave Chappelle.
On Wednesday, Minneapolis’ First Avenue canceled the comic’s show, citing public outcry.
“We believe in the diverse voices and the freedom of artistic expression, but in honoring that, we lost sight of the impact this would have,” First Avenue said in a statement on Twitter. “We know there are some who will not agree with this decision; you are welcome to send feedback.”
![Dave Chappelle T-shirt purchased by Ron Collins at a Dave Chappelle show in New York City](https://i0.wp.com/www.thefire.org/sites/default/files/styles/417xy/public/2024/06/Dave%20Chappelle%20T-shirt%20purchased%20by%20Ron%20Collins%20at%20a%20Dave%20Chappelle%20show%20in%20New%20York%20City_0.jpg?ssl=1)
2024 Headline: “Julia Louis-Dreyfus, too, has an opinion on political correctness in comedy: ‘It’s just good to be vigilant’”
Move over, Jerry. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has entered the chat.
Last month, comedian Jerry Seinfeld sparked discourse online when he told the New Yorker in an interview that he felt there isn’t any “funny stuff” to watch on TV anymore, complaining that it was “the result of the extreme left and P.C. crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people.”
Asked to respond to her former “Seinfeld” co-star’s much-talked-about comments during a recent interview with the New York Times, Louis-Dreyfus replied thoughtfully, saying “I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing.”
“If you look back on comedy and drama both, let’s say 30 years ago, through the lens of today, you might find bits and pieces that don’t age well,” she said.
[. . .]
Political correctness, she later said, “insofar as it equates to tolerance, is obviously fantastic.” She added that she still reserves the right to “boo anyone who says anything that offends me, while also respecting their right to free speech.”
“I think it’s just good to be vigilant,” she added.
Question:
Should the cultural norms for comedy clubs be different from those of the public at large? If so, why? If not, why not? Why, as a matter of a cultural norm, should we expect more free expression in a comedy club than, say, in a public park? Do such venues speak to the idea that certain venues, by their very nature, invite greater freedom — and those who enter them should know that?
Related
“Having the last laugh: The comedians who won’t be silenced,” Index on Censorship (2023)
I think it’s important to continue to hold a mirror up to society; one of the best ways we do that is through comedy. If we start to handpick words and label them as not worthy of saying out loud then we are not only squashing the First Amendment principles but also taking away people’s right to decide how they actually feel about things.