Jerry Sadowitz…No, you’re not me!
Ustreme founder Jim Davidson has come out in support of “cancelled” Edinburgh Fringe comedian Jerry Sadowitz, telling those behind the decision: “Shame on you. Comedy should never be censored.”
It comes despite Sadowitz “throwing him under the bus” by saying he was “not Jim Davidson…folks…” in his response to The Pleasance venue that axed his show.
Sadowitz had the second of his two nights at the venue cancelled after bosses said they had received an “unprecedented” number of complaints about the show’s content.
The comedy show operator said Sadowitz’s act was “extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny” and also saw the comic expose himself on stage.
But the 61-year-old said he had left the venue with no hint of anything going wrong, and took to his Twitter page to respond to the decision – taking a swipe at Jim in the process.
Jim – himself no stranger to comedy cancel culture – has regardless offered an olive branch of support.
On his YouTube channel, he said: “I don’t know you, Jerry, but you apparently know me because when you were cancelled I believe you said, ‘listen here you lot, I’m not Jim Davidson.
“I do think ‘why would another comedian throw me under the bus to protect himself’?
“But I feel for you mate and I don’t blame you for trying to grab a branch. If you’re floating down the river, any branch will do and that just happened to be me.
“But let’s look at why you’ve been cancelled. And I am on your side with this – apart from the having a go at me!
“Jerry was booked to play in a room for two nights but after the first performance the theatre said they HAD to cancel the next show because someone had complained.
“Then they said as a way to back up their decision that the room was only half full. Well, that is a big room, and to be half full in a place where millions of other comics are performing is no mean feat.
“They’d already put a poster up telling people that if they were offended to stay away because they knew the act would feature bad language etc etc…but then say they had to cancel because of complaints.
“But who has complained?
“If you don’t like the show, then walk out. They said they couldn’t have known what the act was going to contain but of course they knew who you are as a comedian and your brand of comedy.
“Jerry, I feel really sorry for you because you’ve been treated badly.
“You were right when you said you are not me. I don’t think we’ll be sharing any material. But shame on you to those people in Edinburgh. We should not be censoring comedy and telling people what they can and can’t laugh about.”
Visit https://youtu.be/gsa5vnCBXao for the full video.
