It is often said that comedy is under fire. No, not like the shooting at the North Carolina comedy club where the Office alumni Craig Robinson was playing. That was bad in a different way.
Rather, it’s a more insidious, subtle type of fire. Comedians are getting cancelled for being funny. If the left objects to the subject matter, unless you are Bill Burr or Andrew Schultz, then heaven help you, you might get cancelled.
Even heavyweights like Louis CK and Dave Chappelle have been under fire for their material, and actions as in CK’s case.
Speaking of Dave Chappelle, despite the blowback from his controversial Netflix specials, he still plays sold out shows. Chappelle is the last line of defense before comedy is completely watered down and ruined.
Recently, Dave suffered a massive blow in Minnesota. Lets check with Outkick for the not so funny details:
An iconic Minneapolis club canceling Dave Chappelle’s July 20 gig didn’t happen in a vacuum.
Cancel Culture impacts comedians across the culture, suggesting they can’t share certain jokes or riff on groups considered vulnerable in Western societies.
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For some, Chappelle did the latter via his 2021 Netflix special “The Closer.”
The former sentiment coaxed First Avenue — where Prince shot scenes from his beloved 1984 movie “Purple Rain” — to cancel Chappelle’s appearance at the last minute.
'NOBODY SHOULD BE CENSORED': Comedians defend Dave Chappelle in wake of canceled show https://t.co/Rtf2tBR95S
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 23, 2022
The ironic thing here is First Avenue is where Prince developed his art, often pushing the limits of what was considered socially acceptable at the time. Prince was sexual, dirty, and groundbreaking. Now this venue is so gutless that the left scared them into cancelling a show from arguable the biggest comedian on the planet, because less than one percent of the population (trans) might get offended. What exactly is going on here?
For a change, other big name comics, mostly conservative leaning ones, have spoken out in defense of Chappelle and free speech.
Podcaster and comic Adam Carolla mocked First Avenue‘s social media message explaining its decision.
“I can’t stand when people talk about how much they love expression and free speech and in the same breath call for censorship and cancellation. Do you even hear yourself?”
“There’s no impact. We keep changing the language from offended to affected and now it’s ‘impacted.’ If you don’t like Dave Chappelle don’t go to his show. Problem solved, no impact,” Carolla said.
Adam Corolla, former host of The Man Show with, of all people super left lib Jimmy Kimmel, is one of the most respected, influential voices in comedy, particularly amongst those with a conservative bent.
Comedian Josh Denny, previously canceled for his sharp-elbowed comments on race and abortion, spent years in Minnesota and knows First Avenue well. He called it “the house that Prince built,” given the late musician’s deep ties to the venue.
“It was a holy place in the minds of every artist who has ever spent time in the land of 10,000 lakes,” Denny said. “In one fell swoop, that entire legacy and reputation is now destroyed, as the venue has abandoned the spirit of artistic integrity that it was built upon.”
Denny is spot-on with his assessment. Prince built the venue, and libs have destroyed it. One can only imagine what the Purple One himself would say if he were still with us.
https://twitter.com/errantaurora/status/1550125924787490817?s=21&t=m084CO97tQJlkIX118jRpA
It has long been a bucket list item of mine to visit First Avenue. Much like the Viper Room, Rainbow and Whiskey A GoGo in Los Angeles, First Avenue is/was legendary. No more. I can mark it off my list now. It’s ruined for me. Thankfully I saw the other venues pre pandemic before Los Angeles was forever ruined.
Openly conservative comic Nick Di Paolo slammed the cancellation as anti-American.
“They actually described Dave as danger to the trans community…Like they found the decomposing corpse of Chaz Bono and RuPaul under his house,” says Di Paolo, co-starring in the indie comedy “Fourth of July” with canceled comic Louis C.K.
“I love the fact we live in a country where a minuscule group of people … have the rest of the population terrified of their canceling power for lack of a better term,” Di Paolo says.
Di Paolo, as usual is correct. The host of a hilarious, unfiltered, unabashedly conservative podcast, Di Paolo brings the heat with his live set as well.
Sadly, strong conservative voices are being shouted down. Comedy NEEDS Chappelle, Di Paolo, Denny, Corolla and their ilk to keep comedy funny, dangerous, and free. Otherwise what are we left with? An unfunny country. That’s not ok.