Comedian Jerry Sadowitz's Edinburgh Fringe show axed by venue bosses for 'unacceptable material'

14 August 2022, 08:03 | Updated: 14 August 2022, 17:42

Jerry Sadowitz had his second show cancelled by Edinburgh Fringe.
Jerry Sadowitz had his second show cancelled by Edinburgh Fringe. Picture: Jerry Sadowitz

By Sophie Barnett

Controversial comedian Jerry Sadowitz had his Edinburgh Fringe show cancelled by the venue after he "got his penis out" on stage and allegedly made a racial slur about Rishi Sunak.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The Scottish comedian, known for his deliberately offensive standup comedy, played just one show on Friday, before he was banned from performing again.

He was due to play again on Saturday but the American-born Scot took to social media to reveal that his second night would not be going ahead.

Pleasance confirmed that it had been pulled because his material "does not align with our values", after reports he had used a racist term and exposed his penis to an audience member.

Yesterday Mr Sadowitz tweeted: “Did a show last night, 75 mins, thought it went well. Didn’t see any walkouts. Today I’m told my show’s been cancelled. Great stuff. I’m truly sorry for everyone who travelled to see the show tonight.”

Read more: Salman Rushdie off ventilator and able to talk after being stabbed in face and neck 12 times

The Pleasance’s director, Anthony Alderson, said: “The Pleasance is a venue that champions freedom of speech and we do not censor comedians’ material.

“While we acknowledge that Jerry Sadowitz has often been controversial, the material presented at his first show is not acceptable and does not align with our values.

“This type of material has no place on the festival and the Pleasance will not be presenting his second and final show.”

The move came after a female audience member claimed he got his penis out in front of a woman on the front row and used a racial slur to describe Rishi Sunak, the Scottish Sun reported.

It was not clear if the allegedly exposed genitals were a prop.

Read more: Dog show slammed for going ahead during 35C heatwave despite RSPCA health warning

She told the paper: "I was at the show. He called Rishi Sunak a 'p***'; said the economy was awful because it is run by 'blacks and women'.

"He got his penis out to a woman in the front row. The problem was not the audience - I knew he was an acquired taste. It was his indefensible content."

The Pleasance has so far refused to confirm what part of the act was deemed offensive.

Some furious fans who were ready to watch Mr Sadowitz perform on Saturday, slammed the venue for being "pathetic".

While fellow comedians also hit out at the Pleasance for cancelling the show.

The comedian and writer Viv Groskop tweeted in response: “If the cancelling of Jerry Sadowitz’s Edinburgh show is about nudity, then loads of other shows should get cancelled too … If it’s about content … then let grown adults Google acts before they buy tickets. It’s not difficult.”

While Comedian Leo Kearse wrote: "Jerry Sadowitz is the funniest comedian I've ever seen. If you don't like him, don't watch him. I don't like sushi so I avoid sushi restaurants - I don't demand that sushi is banned. It's disgusting that intolerant bigots at @ThePleasance have cancelled his Edinburgh show."

The Pleasance said that refunds would be issued to those who bought tickets to the Saturday performance.

The Pleasance said in a statement to LBC: "As previously stated, the Pleasance chose to pull Jerry Sadowitz’s second and final show.

"Due to numerous complaints, we became immediately aware of content that was considered, among other things, extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny. We will not associate with content which attacks people’s dignity and the language used on stage was, in our view, completely unacceptable.

" A large number of people walked out of Jerry Sadowitz’s show as they felt uncomfortable and unsafe to remain in the venue. We have received an unprecedented number of complaints that could not be ignored and we had a duty to respond. The subsequent abuse directed to our teams is also equally unacceptable.

"At the Pleasance, our values are to be inclusive, diverse and welcoming. We are proud of the progress we have made across our programming, which includes significant investment and support for Black, Asian and Global Majority artists, LGBTQ+ voices, those from working class backgrounds, and the strong representation of women. We do not believe that racism, homophobia, sexism or misogynistic language have a place in our venues.

" In a changing world, stories and language that were once accepted on stage, whether performed in character or not, need to be challenged. There is a line that we will not cross at the Pleasance, and it was our view that this line was crossed on this occasion.

"We don’t vet the full content of acts in advance and while Jerry Sadowitz is a controversial comedian, we could not have known the specifics of his performance.

"The Pleasance has staged his work numerous times over the years, but as soon as we received complaints from those in the building which caused us great concern, we knew we could not allow the final performance to go ahead.

"The arts and comedy in particular have always pushed the boundaries of social norms but this boundary is always moving. Our industry has to move with it. However, this does not mean that we can allow such content to be on our stages."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Greece Confidence Vote

Greece’s government survives no-confidence motion called over rail disaster

A council has had to apologise following the incident.

Fury as parents offered version of school class photo without complex needs pupils

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto

Firefighters at the scene of a bus crash in Limpopo

Bus plunges from bridge in South Africa and erupts into flames, killing 45 and leaving child, 8, as lone survivor

Israel Palestinians Britain Aid

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza

Music-Green Day UN

Green Day to headline UN-backed global climate concert

Exclusive
Starmer has vowed to resurrect Boris Johnson's 'Levelling Up' policy

Failure to ‘level up’ Britain would be ‘catastrophic’, Wes Streeting admits, as Starmer vows to resurrect Johnson policy

Border Force staff will walk out from April 11

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport to stage four-day strike

Stephen Bear was ordered to pay Ms Harrison £5,000.

Disgraced reality TV star Stephen Bear ordered to pay £27,000 over revenge porn conviction or face nine months in jail

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud

Exclusive
Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says

Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says

France Valentino

Former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele named Valentino creative director

Know your limits this summer, Brits have been warned

‘Know your limits’: Brits heading to the Euros this summer warned against drinking ‘too much German beer’

Russia Shooting

Russia arrests another suspect in concert hall attack that killed 143

Sam Bankman-Fried has been jailed for 25 years for a $8bn crypto fraud

'Crypto King' Sam Bankman-Fried jailed for 25 years for stealing billions of dollars from his customers