Dame Maureen Lipman has warned that cancel culture could kill comedy, warning that “we’re on the cusp of wiping out comedy”.
However comedian Russell Kane said the notion that comedians are self-censoring is “complete nonsense”.
The comments were made as part of a BBC feature on “cancel culture” in the sector.
A YouGov poll shared with the BBC suggests that 57 per cent of people keep quiet on their views on topics such as immigration and trans rights, especially if their opinions are “less politically correct”.
Speaking to the BBC, Coronation Street actress Lipman said she thinks it’s a “revolution”, adding: “It’s in the balance, whether we’re ever going to be funny again.”
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She said: “It’s a bit like laughter in church. Something has to be forbidden to make you really laugh, to make you really belly laugh, it’s when you shouldn’t be laughing. And so therefore all the things that are being cancelled out are, I’m afraid, the things that have always made people laugh.
“This cancel culture, this punishment, it’s everywhere. An eye for an eye. ‘You said that therefore you must never work again’. We’re on the cusp of wiping out comedy.”
However Kane, who presents Radio 4’s Evil Genius, said: "I don’t think anyone is saying you can’t be offended, nobody is saying that, what we’re saying is you can’t use hate speech that would prompt a gender-related crime, a sex-related crime or a race-related crime."
"There’s been a massive, much-needed shift in the conversation around gender, around men’s attitudes to women, around consent. Society has moved on."
He added that comedians do worry about how their past jokes may look now, with Kane himself signing up to a website that deletes tweets that are older than six months.
After an article was published last night and the segment featured on Radio 4 this morning, people took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
Some disagreed with Lipman, with one Twitter user writing: “If you have to be offensive, you ain’t funny, you’re a bully. Comedians can make anything at all funny, that’s their gift”.
if you have to be offensive, you ain’t funny, you’re a bully.
— Legally Privileged #TheResistanceUK 💙 Human (@LPrivileged) December 22, 2021
comedians can make anything at all funny, that’s their gift.
maureen lipman isn’t a comedienne… obviously https://t.co/7Qq0AhBPIZ
Comedy that relies on being "offensive" and reinforcing negative stereotypes is just lazy. Comedians that are smart enough and funny enough don't need to resort to it. There are ways to talk about 'the forbidden' without being nasty about it.https://t.co/E42g5Lx1yY
— Jon Matthews (@jonmatthewsuk) December 22, 2021
The freedom of speech thing seems so often to resolve into ‘freedom to say horrid things about those with less power than me, without consequences.’
— Dr Rachel Mann (@RevRachelMann) December 22, 2021
Maureen Lipman: Cancel culture could wipe out comedy https://t.co/0WGN8Gro6S
With respect, they may have been the things that made some people laugh for years & years but they’re also the things that made many people, at best, constantly feel like the bullied kid at school. And that’s not on, Maureen Lipman. We’re moving on. #r4today
— Garrie Coleman (@garrie_coleman) December 22, 2021
My eyes rolled so fast and furiously reading this that I fear they may never stop. Thank you @russell_kane for speaking sense! https://t.co/EqP6dl5Qgx
— Simon Blake (@Simonablake) December 22, 2021
Some responded to her comments with sarcasm:
Maureen is right. If we don't start laughing at marginalised groups immediately, comedy is probably over. https://t.co/ANrg8gFay0
— THE SECRET TORY (@secrettory12) December 22, 2021
Quick everyone, start telling offensive jokes about Maureen Lipman to save comedy https://t.co/oo4hqhWbUF
— Kolley Kibber (@camcamdamn) December 22, 2021
Writer Joshua Seigal even wrote a poem for Lipman:
Others agreed with her however:
Totally agree … don’t understand it .. if u don’t like it .. don’t watch or listen .. don’t buy tickets … voice your opinion by all means but don’t try to influence the powers that be to cancel anyone
— karen martin (@karanmartin52) December 22, 2021
It's already happened. The club circuit is awash with trite left-wing patter and consequently absolutely on its arse, and most TV comedy is so unwatchably woke that it's been relegated to Dave.https://t.co/0bqEK25ikX
— Andrew Lawrence (@andrewlawrence) December 22, 2021
What do you think?
