I’ve learned a bit more about the ridiculous case of the comedian who was banned from City Comedy Club and grassed up to the filth over a ‘transphobic’ joke. I’m not going to name the comedian as I’m sure he probably doesn’t want any more publicity about this, but I can confirm that:
The joke was not transphobic - the butt of the joke was the comedian himself. Only a moron would think it’s transphobic.
A couple of morons, a cis woman and a nonbinary model/activist/grifter called Jude, took offence and walked out.
The comedian reacted by saying “The trannies are leaving then”, not knowing that any of the people leaving were actually trans or why they were walking out. Jude passes as a common-or-garden twink.
Now it’s definitely not ideal to call people trannies, but the term was used thinking that the people leaving weren’t actually trans. If a couple of people are leaving for unclear reasons and it’s disruptive, you’ve got to address it. So this is a case of an unfortunate off the cuff ad lib leading to a threat of prosecution (luckily I don’t think it’s going anywhere).
Jude rolled out the predictable “literally shaking” post and tried to launch a hashtag campaign. One of the complaints in the comments to that post is that the club hadn’t properly ‘vetted’ the comic although the joke had apparently been on his social media before.
Am I being cynical if I suspect that Jude had seen the joke before and went along with the deliberate intent to get offended, so they can grift comedy clubs into paying for their services as a sensitivity consultant vetting the acts or some shit?
Gig dates
Sunday March 20th 3:30pm - G&B, Kings Cross
Free show, decent food. Apparently the pub is going to stay open until 9pm from now on, so you can have a drink after the show is over without going anywhere.
Star of Kings, 126 York Way, London N1 0AX
Thursday March 24th 7:30pm - Quintessential Comedy, Camden
This night has a good standard of acts and the pub has a great range of Belgian beer. This is a bringer, so get in touch if you fancy this.
Quinn’s, 65 Kentish Town Road, London NW1 8NY
Tuesday March 29th 7pm - G&B Showcase, Kings Cross
This is the final showcase for a course I’m doing about preparing for gong shows. You’ll get to see me (and 6-8 other comics) do 5 minutes of our most appealing and laugh-dense material. PLUS you’ll get to see a preview of Donal Vaughan’s Science Magic XXX show (Donal teaches the course and is a properly hilarious award-winning professional comedian). If you come as my +1 you get in for free, which is a very good deal.
https://www.facebook.com/events/504006121319699
Star of Kings, 126 York Way, London N1 0AX
Sunday April 3rd 3:30pm - G&B, Kings Cross
Might be doing something weird and experimental at this one.
Star of Kings, 126 York Way, London N1 0AX
Sunday April 10th 7pm - Ding Dong Gong, Vauxhall
Don’t bother coming to see this, as there is a good chance I will be voted off after 2 minutes.
Wednesday April 20th 7:30pm - Comedy In Your Eye, Camden Town
Come and see me do a 10 minute set to close the first half! It’s a fun format where if you mention one of the forbidden subjects you incur the wrath of the Eye - which works well with my ‘persona’. I had a blast doing this last time - here is the video in case you missed it.
Camden Eye, 2 Kentish Town Rd, London NW1 9NX
Sunday April 24th 7:30pm (doors 6:30) - Sunday Shtick, Kentish Town
Craig Smalls is a great MC and the lineups here are strong. This is a bringer so please let me know if you’re interested.
https://www.designmynight.com/london/pubs/kentish-town/the-rose-and-crown/sunday-shtick-comedy
Rose & Crown, 71-73 Torriano Ave, London NW5 2SG
Wednesday April 27th 7:30pm - Quintessential Comedy
As above. Bringer so you know the drill.
Quinn’s, 65 Kentish Town Road, London NW1 8NY
Thursday April 28th 8pm (doors 7:30) - Wheel of Death, Kentish Town
Some kind of high concept format that I don’t fully understand. Exciting!
The Gipsy Queen, 166 Malden Road, London NW5 4BS
Links to things
I’m glad that Channel 4 is just ignoring the joyless scolds trying to get Jimmy Carr in trouble.
Here I am trying to do crowdwork with a guy who is studying psychology: https://www.tiktok.com/@trinktlonk/video/7073201546611215622
Louis CK has been running this half-hour infomercial for his new special on US TV: