Organisers of a comedy gig featuring “Father Ted” co-creator Graham Linehan have called on an Edinburgh venue to apologise after it cancelled their show.
The venue said it had taken the action because the show didn’t align with its “values.”
On Tuesday, Leith Arches announced on Instagram that it was cancelling a sold out Comedy Unleashed show due to take place on Thursday after learning that Mr. Linehan would be the “special guest.”
The venue said the comic’s views would “violate its [inclusive] space.”
Mr. Linehan is a highly successful sitcom writer, having co-created some of the most well known comedies such as “Father Ted,” “Black Books,” and “The IT Crowd.”
In the past few years, he has been ostracised from the comedy scene for his outspoken criticism of transgender ideology, which he sees as encroaching on women’s, children’s, and gay rights.
‘Cancellation Announcement’
Leith Arches claimed it did not know Mr. Linehan would be appearing.The venue wrote: “We would like to thank members of the public and our community for bringing to our attention a comedy act billed to perform at our venue this Thursday.
“We were not made aware of the line-up of this show in advance.
“We have made the decision to cancel this show, as we are an inclusive venue and this does not align with our overall values.”
Advertising for the Comedy Unleashed event had said a “famous ‘cancelled’ comedian” would be among those performing.
Speaking to TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer on Wednesday morning, Mr. Linehan said: “It was cancelled within a couple of hours. So I had two hours of excitement and fans saying they were going to go.
“It was a sell-out. But you do get used to this kind of thing after a while. It never really makes you feel good.
“The only good thing about it is that it’s drawing more attention to the fact that, essentially, a group of highly ideological cultists have taken over institutions across society.
“If they apologise and put the gig on, I’ll say no more about it but otherwise I’ll be looking at legal action.”
Last year SNP MP Joanna Cherry threatened to sue The Stand Comedy Club after it cancelled the Edinburgh Festival Fringe show she was set to appear in because of her views on trans ideology.
The venue eventually took legal advice and U-turned on the decision.
On Twitter, Ms. Cherry, who is a lawyer, cited her own case and said that Mr Linehan’s cancellation was a “pretty clear case of belief discrimination.”
‘Groupthink Bubble’
Comedy Unleashed’s Andy Shaw told The Epoch Times that they have found another venue, but they would like Leith Arches to apologise to Mr. Linehan.He noted that last August, veteran Scottish comedian Jerry Sadowitz had his show at the Edinburgh Festival cancelled by the Pleasance Theatre, which claimed the content was “extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia, and misogyny.”
“What’s interesting, what’s different about when they banned Jerry Sadowitz last year, they cancelled him because his show was ‘offensive’ and it made people feel ‘unsafe,’” he said.
“What’s different here is they’ve cancelled it and effectively banned it because of Graham’s personal views. So it’s not about his act. It’s not about what was going to be on stage. It’s about his personal views,” he said.
“And that is a bit of a step change, because if had they waited until tomorrow night, they would have found out that Graham’s act was about self-aware pizza boxes, about pretending you’re busy when you hear the wife come home, and little vignettes on everyday life,” he said.
He said that he believes what has “fundamentally changed” is that “activists aren’t interested in winning you over to their ideas” and that organisations, particularly in the arts, have “become activist organisations.”
Mr. Shaw told The Epoch Times that he was surprised by the question about vetting acts, which he said was “impossible” with live comedy.
“So the implication of this is that you need to be very careful about what you do and pre-plan it and end spontaneity,” he said.
‘Comedians Signing Their Own Death Warrants’
Scottish comedian and GB News host Leo Kearse, who has also performed for Comedy Unleashed, told The Epoch Times that he thinks the situation is “ridiculous.”“The Fringe is founded on providing everybody a voice,” he said.
“So to start excluding people, particularly that they actually said ‘we are an inclusive venue’ so he’s banned, that’s not how inclusion works,” he said.
“It would be more accurate to say this is a ’very discriminatory venue so he’s banned,'” he added.
Mulling on the wider issue of progressive forces transforming comedy, he said that “when you’re an ideologist, the idea is king.”
“Under communism, you can slaughter thousands of people, because you’re pursuing this idea and it’s the same with this, the idea matters not not the reality.”
He said that “they don’t care who gets killed, who gets maimed, who gets sterilised, who gets cancelled,” because “the idea is so noble that any means are justified.”
Mr. Kearse also criticised the many comedians supporting Leith Arches’s decision to cancel the gig and said the situation was “hugely dangerous.”
“There’s also a lot of comedians who are signing their own death warrants,” he said.
He noted that Mr. Linehan, as well as “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling, were known a few years ago as “perfect lefties,” but have now been “cancelled” for their views on gender and biological sex.
“If you’ve created this precedent where people are being cancelled for their opinions, if you don’t stand in solidarity with people getting cancelled even if you disagree with them, then you know you can get cancelled as well,” he said.
The Epoch Times has contacted Leith Arches for comment.
