SCOTTISH comedian Frankie Boyle has called out the BBC for a report claiming he had questioned the existence of “cancel culture”.
The BBC ran a story on its website on Sunday about the comic’s appearance at Latitude festival in Suffolk.
Headlined, “Latitude Festival: Frankie Boyle questions the existence of cancel culture”, the piece claimed in its opening line that Boyle had “questioned whether cancel culture – where people are ostracised for making controversial comments – really exists”.
Similar stories appeared in other news outlets such as the NME, who cited the BBC as the source of their reporting.
However, Boyle has publicly questioned the article, saying he did not talk about cancel culture in his stand-up set.
He wrote on Twitter: “Got some column inches saying I supposedly did a routine about cancel culture. I didn’t, and I never use the phrase, because it’s a right-wing frame.”
“Funny old game, journalism,” he added.
Got some column inches saying I supposedly did a routine about cancel culture. I didn’t, and I never use the phrase, because it’s a right wing frame. Funny old game, journalism.
— Frankie Boyle (@frankieboyle) July 26, 2022
According to the BBC’s report, the star spoke about people being “silenced”. He told crowds at the festival: "I'm not one of those comedians who's like, 'Ooh, I've been silenced'.
"I hate those people. Anytime I hear someone saying that, I always think, 'How come I can still hear you?'"
The comedian has made headlines for his controversial jokes in the past, leading to charges of hypocrisy after he criticised other comics such as Ricky Gervais for “lazy” material aimed at trans people.
The BBC article suggested that, during his Latitude set, Boyle “admitted he had stopped posting jokes on Twitter because of the potential repercussions”.
It goes on: “He cited one example where he considered making a joke about the death of legendary James Bond actor Sir Sean Connery but thought better of it.
“The Glasgow-born comic was known for courting controversy early in his career, and has been criticised for making jokes about the Queen, and Katie Price's son Harvey.”
However, these final two paragraphs were copy and pasted almost verbatim from an article published in The Sun in late June.
The BBC has been approached for comment.
