When it comes to cancel culture and comedy, we know the routine. A standup boasts on Netflix about “saying the unsayable”. Some people protest. Clickbait articles ensue – and the delighted comic cashes in with a new TV special or lucrative tour. You could, just about, squeeze into this template the row over the cancellation of veteran comic Jerry Sadowitz at this summer’s Edinburgh fringe. Sadowitz has, after all, booked a gig at prestigious London venue the Hammersmith Apollo off the back of it. But he’s not exactly delighted. “Do you think it makes me feel good that I’m doing a gig at Hammersmith because of adverse publicity? Really? Do you not think I’d prefer to have been given the opportunity because I’m a good comedian?”
This is Sadowitz’s first published interview since the second of his two shows at the Pleasance was axed in August. His offence, according to reports, was to upset audience members and staff by making sexist remarks, exposing himself onstage – not for the first time – and using the P-word to describe Rishi Sunak. The Pleasance duly announced that, while it was “a venue that champions freedom of speech” and does “not censor comedians’ material”, Sadowitz’s second night was to be pulled because his material “does not align with our values”.
