by Just when you thought it was safe to tell jokes in Canada…
Wait. You thought it was safe to tell jokes in Canada? Don’t let the extravagance of Just For Laughs fool you. For all of the “ethnic” and “nasty” shows at JFL Montreal each July, there are comedy bookers and audiences so sensitive they’re willing to sue you over a joke, or not even book you at all.
Ward has appealed the decision. He told me today that his lawyer argued in court on Ward’s behalf last month, and expects the comedian to prevail in his appeal. “I don’t know,” Ward told me via email. “People are way more sensitive than they were a couple of years ago.”
New case in point: This letter that an independent Canadian producer recently sent to comedian Aaron Berg, a Canadian native living and performing in New York City, which has rocketed through the comedy community through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. As Berg wrote on Twitter, this is just one comedy producer in Canada. Nevertheless: “It is what comedy can become if we aren’t vehement.”
This was sent to me from an independent producer. It in no way reflects on any of the people or the amazing festival mentioned. It is what comedy can become if we aren't vehement. pic.twitter.com/JS0zaqoIXW
— Aaron Berg – Morris Plains NJ – Dec 11 (@aaronbergcomedy) December 6, 2017
OK. So this one producer has decided to stop accepting “any project that has a sexual content that may offend anyone.”
Just about all other venues in America, at least, know how to take preventative steps with audiences when booking a potentially offensive or “dirty” comedian. They warn customers over the phone from the box office. They put signs at the entrances. They may call the show R-rated. They don’t stop booking comedians who joke about sex.
And if your idea of comedy is just plainly offensive and not funny, you shouldn’t be getting work anyhow. You should be getting funnier first.
