Rowan Atkinson has lashed out at cancel culture and claims comedians should "be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything”. The legendary actor and comedian, known for his roles in Blackadder, Mr Bean and Johnny English, insists that "the job of comedy is to offend" and believes cancel culture should not get in the way of that.
While speaking to the Irish Times about his new Netflix series, Man vs Bee, the 67-year-old who was born in Consett said every joke has a “victim”, and criticised the idea that it should always be powerful people. “It does seem to me that the job of comedy is to offend, or have the potential to offend, and it cannot be drained of that potential,” Rowan said.
“Every joke has a victim. That’s the definition of a joke. Someone or something or an idea is made to look ridiculous. I think you’ve got to be very, very careful about saying what you’re allowed to make jokes about.”
