WAS THE PLEASANCE RIGHT TO CANCEL SECOND SADOWICZ SHOW?
THE ROW over the cancellation of Jerry Sadowwitz’s show at the EICC shows no sign of abating.
The Pleasance axed the controversial comedian’s second show at the venue following ‘an unprecedented number of complaints’. Pleasance chose not to go into further detail about the nature of the complaints following the cancellation of Saturday’s show.
However in a further statement yesterday, The Pleasance said: “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.
“We received an unprecedented number of complaints that could not be ignored and we had a duty to respond.”
Late last night Sadowicz, a veteran of the Edinburgh Fringe, tweeted:
It seems incredible that any Scottish venue would be unaware of the controversial nature of Jerry Sadowitz’s humour – it’s not as if he’s some unknown new kid on the block!
If Jerry Sadowitz’s brand of humour ‘does not align with the Pleasance values’ why book him in the first place?
Ipsos study finds over 4 in 5 adults are concerned about harmful content online
68 per cent want more action from social media firms on racism, homophobia and misogyny on their platforms
Comes as the Online Safety Bill moves to Report Stage in the House of Commons this week
A clear majority of the public want social media companies to do more to protect their users from harmful content, according to new research published today.
Polling by Ipsos shows over four in five (84 per cent) adults in the UK are concerned about seeing harmful content – such as racism, misogyny, homophobia and content that encourages self-harm – with two in five (38 per cent) reporting having seen it in the last month. This comes as the Online Safety Bill moves to Report Stage in Parliament this week.
The government commissioned study found strong public support for the measures contained in the Bill. For instance, seven in ten adults (68 per cent) believe social media companies should do more to protect people online.
Four in five adults (78 per cent) want social media companies to be clear about what sort of content is and isn’t allowed on their platform.
In a stark warning to social media companies, 45 per cent of respondents also said they will leave or reduce the amount of time they spend on their platforms if they see no action.
Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Online abuse has a devastating impact on people’s lives, and these findings definitively show the public back our plans which will force social media companies to step up in keeping their users safe.
“It is clear people across the UK are worried about this issue, and as our landmark Online Safety Bill reaches the next crucial stage in Parliament we’re a big step closer to holding tech giants to account and making the internet safer for everyone in our country.”
The survey also found that women have high levels of concern about legal but harmful content, with 45 per cent feeling unsafe when talking to people on dating or messaging apps.
Most women (65 per cent) agree there should be limits to the types of content people can post online. Nearly half (47 per cent) of those living in households with at least one child report having seen abusive content in the last month.
The safety of women and girls across the country is a top priority. The measures we’re introducing through the Online Safety Bill will mean tech companies have to tackle illegal content and activity on their services, women will have more control over who can communicate with them and what kind of content they see on major platforms, and they will be better able to report abuse.
In addition, we are continuing to implement our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy to bring about real and lasting change offline as well as online.
The Online Safety Bill was introduced to Parliament in March and is a major milestone in the government’s mission to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. The new laws will protect children, tackle illegal content and protect free speech, as well as requiring social media platforms to uphold their stated terms and conditions.
If they don’t, the regulator Ofcom will work with platforms to ensure they comply and will have the power to fine companies up to ten per cent of their annual global turnover – which could reach billions of pounds – to force them to fulfil their responsibilities or even block non-compliant sites.
When the Bill comes into force, firms will be required to identify and implement solutions to protect their users. Firms hosting content that is harmful to children such as pornography, will have to prevent them from accessing it, for example by using age verification.
Social media platforms will also be required to safeguard people’s free speech, and their access to journalism and content that is democratically important. The poll follows the announcement of a series of amendments to the Bill last week to strengthen protections for freedom of speech, including tougher protections to guard against the arbitrary removal of articles from recognised news outlets shared on social media.
Last week the government published the list of legal but harmful content social media companies will need to address under the Online Safety Bill.
The categories consist of types of online abuse and harassment which can fall below the threshold of a criminal offence, but which still cause significant harm to adults online such as misogyny, homophobia and content that encourages self-harm.
This threshold is important to ensure that the online safety framework focuses on content and activity which poses the most significant risk of harm to UK users online.
Free speech within the law can involve the expression of views that some may find offensive, but a line is crossed when disagreement mutates into abuse or harassment, which refuses to tolerate other opinions and seeks to deprive others from exercising their free speech and freedom of association.
Flyering Fringe performer encounters homophobic abuse on the streets
Fringe performer Nick Cassenbaum has encountered some extreme reactions on the Edinburgh streets when promoting his show.
Nick’s show is about his childhood hero, a TV personality loved by millions and once the highest paid man on British television. His name: Michael Barrymore.
Barrymore fell from grace 17 years ago, enduring tabloid fury after a tragic incident at his home left a young man dead and the star came out about his bisexuality.
The show, My Kind of Michael, chronicles Cassenbaum’s childhood infatuation with the Strike it Lucky presenter and how he was inspired by Barrymore to take to the stage himself.
But flyering the show around Edinburgh has proved eventful.
“After all this time I thought people may be prepared to accept him as a brilliant “working class boy made good” entertainer, but it’s become apparent that not only do some people hold strong views about him but that they are prepared to use blatantly homophobic language to make their point”, said Nick.
‘He’s as bent as a ten-bob note. He killed a man. He raped a man. He’s a pervert’ ‘He raped a man and drowned him’ ‘He’s alwight in the back hole’ ‘Get that murdering pervert away from me’ (referring to a cardboard cutout of Barrymore)
Others have accused Barrymore of being known for preying on young boys.
“I have been flyering for this show for two weeks now and this type of language has shocked and surprised me. Especially at a ‘liberal’ arts festival that is known for controversial and cutting edge productions’ said Cassenbaum.
“Barrymore has had to put up with this for nearly 20 years now. I want to make it clear that he was never charged for anything, yet people treat him as if he is a perverted murderer and child molester, tarring him with the same brush as those convicted following Operation Yewtree. It seems that old fashioned homophobia and trial by tabloid is alive and well at the Edinburgh Fringe.”
But not everyone shares these views. Recent audience members have included comedian Mark Thomas (above) and TV actor and musical theatre star Claire Sweeney.
Leaving the show Thomas described Barrymore as a ‘comedic hero in fact the last great working class hero to strut the boards.’
Sweeney said: ‘I Loved the show, it was so lovely about Michael and I’m glad about that as he was brilliant and such a nice man, I really enjoyed it.’
You can judge for the show yourself. My Kind of Michael runs at Summerhall to 26th August at 7.30pm (no show 20th).
