Katie Hopkins thinks she's a comedian now
Hatemonger defies protests to stage a 'comedy' tour
She may be better known for spreading hate than joy – but Katie Hopkins is to embark on a comedy tour.
The far-right commentator has been dumped by the likes of the Daily Mail and LBC for her odious views, but will now get them heard in a dozen shows across the UK, billed as comedy.
Blurb for the show vows: ‘In a world that seems upside-down, Katie will lift your hearts and make you laugh at the madness we face’, adding that Hopkins wants ‘to give people a reason to gather and feel better together’.
Although that may not apply to those she has built a career vilifying. She has called refugees ‘cockroaches’, says Islam ‘disgusts’ her and called gypsies ‘ferrel’, misspelling ‘feral’.
Publicity for Hopkins’ show carry the quote ‘bloody funny’ – but decline to mention who delivered that verdict, while other posters proclaim her ‘the funniest woman in 40 years’, credited to Jon Conway, but not mentioning he is a theatre producer and former Brexit and Ukip candidate.
Protesters in Stamford, Lincolnshire, set up a petition against calling on her date at the Corn Exchange in May to be cancelled, saying ‘we do not believe that hate speech should be encouraged and profited from’. However, the venue stood firm and the show has already sold out.
Theatre manager Judith Mackie told Lincolnshire Live she would never ban a show ‘on the grounds that someone, somewhere might find the contents of that performance objectionable ‘, adding: ‘We had no concerns that the show will be anything other than the comedy show promised.’
Hopkins thanked her supporters, writing on social media: ‘I don't know how to thank you all enough. To the venue. To those attending. To those who emailed the venue in support. Thank you. From the bottom of my big old heart.’
And at Blackpool’s Longthorne Theatre, which also attracted protests, general manager Martine Hagel said: ‘People really love her. This is a funny comedy show, not a heavy political thing, and Katie pokes more fun at herself than anybody else.’
The theatre also erected a massive poster advertising the show, delighting Hopkins.
However, her planned date at the council-run Bedford Corn Exchange was cancelled amid protests.
Hopkins has been permanently banned from Twitter for breaching its hateful conduct policy and was sacked from LBC after evoking the Holocaust when she called for a ‘final solution’ as part of an anti-Muslim tirade in the wake of the Manchester bombings. She has called on non-Muslims in Britain to arm themselves and ‘fight for your country’.
In 2018, she was detained in South Africa for allegedly spreading racial hatred and in 2021 was deported from Australia after boasting that she had deliberately breached Covid regulations. She has spoken out against vaccines, appearing at rallies alongside Dacid Icke.
In 2016, the Daily Mail group settled a libel case brought by a family Hopkins falsely accused of being Muslim extremists and in 2018 she had to apply for an insolvency agreement in a bid to avoid bankruptcy after losing a libel case for spreading lies about food writer Jack Monroe. The case also cost Hopkins her Devon home.
Perhaps surprisingly, Hopkins does have some comedy credits, having appeared on 8 Out Of 10 Cats The Friday Night Project and Celebrity Juice soon after first shooting to fame on The Apprentice.
Published: 23 Jan 2023
