'I am offended by those who storm out' says comic after Fringe cancellation

Jerry Sadowitz has complained that his act has been ‘cheapened and simplified as unsafe, homophobic, misogynistic and racist’ following the row over his cancellation at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The controversial comic has issued a statement on social media amid the ongoing controvesy over the cancellation of the second of two shows at the Pleasance’s EICC venue.

It came in response to a statement from the venue saying his material was ‘extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny’ adding: 'We will not associate with content which attacks people’s dignity and the language used on stage was, in our view, completely unacceptable.'

The venue said people 'felt uncomfortable and unsafe to remain in the venue' during Sadowitz's first gig – and said staff faced abuse after the cancellation of the second was announced. 

Sadowitz’s statement  said: ‘I don’t wish to humiliate The Pleasance but they are doubling down on their position and I don’t want to be made the victim of that.

‘I repeat... I did a 75-minute show for 600 people that went pretty well and left with no hint of anything going wrong.

‘In addition to now being told there were multiple walkouts and "abuse of staff" my act is now being cheapened and simplified as unsafe, homophobic, misogynistic and racist.

‘I am not J** D******* folks. [We presume he means Jim Davidson]. A lot of thought goes into my shows and while I don’t always get it right, especially at the speed of which I speak… and I don’t always agree with my own conclusions(!)… I am offended by those who, having never seen me before, HEAR words being shouted in the first five minutes before storming out without LISTENING to the material which I am stupid enough to believe is funny, sometimes important and worth saying.

‘Additionally, there's a lot of silly, exaggerated irony and nonsense, real and exaggerated anger and bile, and even getting my dick out is for the purpose of the funny line which follows it. (No I won't tell you what it is… see the show for yourself… or better still... just stay at home). 

‘I ask nobody to agree with anything I say or do on stage... God forbid they should end up like me... and I have never ONCE courted a mainstream audience to come to my shows because guess what??? In real life, I really DON'T don’t want to upset anyone… including Anthony Alderson [director of the Pleasance].

‘The show is what it is, for those who enjoy it. The rest of you... please stick to Carry On films. 

‘PS: If the Pleasance can't apologise to me they should at least apologise to the 300 people who paid for and travelled to see the show on Saturday.’

The only report about the exact nature of the offensive content was one punter telling the Scottish Sun: ‘He called Rishi Sunak a "p***'"; said the economy was awful because it is run by "blacks and women".

‘He got his penis out to a woman in the front row. The problem was not the audience - I knew he was an acquired taste. It was his indefensible content.’

It is unlikely the nudity would have been the trigger as several Fringe shows feature such scenes.

The Pleasance’s latest statement reads, in full: ‘As previously stated, the Pleasance chose to pull Jerry Sadowitz’s second and final show.  Due to numerous complaints, we became immediately aware of content that was considered, among other things, extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny.

‘We will not associate with content which 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.’

Comics were quick to support Sadowitz afte the news broke, with Simon Evans saying: ‘If you can identify the Iine that got you cancelled then I for one am willing to nick it. And I think every other comic should too. This is our Spartacus moment.’

Mitch Benn said: ‘Going to see Sadowitz and complaining that he was offensive is like going to see Metallica and complaining that they were loud.’

Richard Herring said: ‘Jerry is a challenging comedian but that’s the whole point of his act. The Fringe should not be cancelling shows in any case. Very worrying development.’

And comedy writer Emma Kennedy said: 'Going to a Sadowitz show and thinking you’re not going to be offended is like jumping into a tank of sharks with a bloody leg thinking you’re not going to be bitten. You get what you pay for. Cancelling him is ridiculous.’

Stand Up and GB News regular Leo Kearse appeared to liken the ban to the stabbing of Salman Rushdie, posting: 'If the Islamic fundamentalists don't get you, the wokeists will.’

Published: 15 Aug 2022