Awwww. Gutless Comics Have Their Own Little Blog

Punchline – Here’s what we think: We obviously don’t condone the act of making fun of people based on whom they like to have sex with—especially if it’s not done with any sense of tact, art or humor. But we also don’t condone people showing up late to a comedy show, sitting in the front row and acting like complete assholes to the comedian onstage. One of the signs of a seasoned comedian is the ability to skillfully – and that sometimes includes being harsh – deal with hecklers…

Both parties were out of line.

The Pardy Effect (Or: The Gutless Chumps That Make Up Canada’s Comedians)

CBC – A discrimination complaint before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has cast a chill over stand-up comics in the Lower Mainland, a comedy club manager says….

“I go out and I frequent rooms in the city because that’s how I find my talent. And I would say that people who are performing in rooms on a regular basis are a little bit more careful about their interaction with the crowd.

“I know that comics who have usually taken an antagonistic approach with the crowd are a little bit more — they sugar-coat their words now.”

Smyth: Earle’s Comedy Sucks, But He Has The Right To Suck At It

The Province – But is his vicious spat with a heckler in a late-night comedy club really a matter for a state arbiter? If this is a choice between offensive “humour” by bad comedians in half-empty neighbourhood nightclubs, versus an all-powerful government joke regulator, I think I’ll take the offensive gags.

Human Rights Commission A Joke

Montreal Gazette – Is there some contest to see how silly a complaint Canada’s human-rights commissions will try to take seriously? If so, there’s a new front-runner, as B.C’s Human Rights Tribunal grapples with a complaint from a woman who was insulted in a Vancouver comedy club. Talk about people unclear on the concept.

The Illegality of Being An Asshole

Globe and Mail – “It’s been three years of shite,” says Guy Earle, whose comedy career is currently on hiatus. “I didn’t think being an asshole was illegal in this country.”

Post Editorial: Comedy Under Siege

[National Post] If it were only the career of one stand-up that were at stake, the Earle affair might not be so troubling. (Mr. Earle is holding a “Comics for Freedom” benefit on Saturday at Toronto’s Comedy Bar, 945a Bloor Street West.) But if hecklers are legally protected — and stand-ups have to worry about facing legal expenses for having defended themselves verbally on stage from distracting drunks and drama queens — stand-up comedy will die like a fish out of water in Canada. Who would put in the brutal hours needed to master it under such a threat, or dare come to this country to perform? An entire art form will have been euthanized in the name of preventing “offensiveness,” and what others can then regard themselves as safe?

The rest.

The Joke’s On You: Stand-Up Comedian To Face BC Human Rights Tribunal

That sound you hear is comics calling their agents to cancel flights.

Pat yourself on the back yet again for keeping the human rights commissions in business by paying their salaries. Where would they be without you?

The BCHRT is really leading the charge in questioning what people are allowed to say in New Canada. First a magazine, now a stand-up comic. Shakespeare and Twain can’t be far behind.

[Vancouver Sun] A Canadian stand-up comedian will face a human rights tribunal hearing after a woman complained she and her friends faced a “tirade of homophobic and sexist comments” while attending one of his shows.

In a decision released this week, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruled there is enough evidence to hear the case of Vancouver woman Lorna Pardy against Toronto comedian Guy Earle. Zesty’s Restaurant in Vancouver, where the May 22, 2007, show took place, was also named in the complaint. The restaurant has since closed.

The rest.

You can read the actual decision here, signed by the chair of the BCHRT herself. The short of it:

[24] I also cannot find that the complaint would not further the purposes of the Code, which are set out in s. 3.  They include fostering a society in which there are no impediments to full and free participation in the social and cultural life of British Columbia and promoting a climate of understanding and mutual respect where all are equal in dignity and rights.

Look out comedians: no more jokes to anyone, about anything, ever.