Jerry Sadowitz defends exposing himself on stage after cancellation of ‘unacceptable’ Fringe comedy show

‘Getting my d*** out is for the purpose of the funny line which follows it,’ comedian said

Jacob Stolworthy
Monday 15 August 2022 08:03 BST
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Comedian Jerry Sadowitz has defended exposing himself on stage in his Edinburgh Fringe comedy show that has now been cancelled.

The controversial Scottish comic was set to play two nights at the Pleasance at Edinburgh International Conference Centre, but, on Saturday (13 August), the second performance was called off at short notice.

According to The Pleasance Theatre Trust, Sadowitz’s material was “not acceptable” and “did not align with [the theatre’s] values”.

The organisation told The Independent that it had received an “unprecedented number of complaints” following Sadowitz’s first show that “could not be ignored”.

It said: “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.”

There were also reports that Sadowitz exposed himself during the set, which the comedian himself confirmed in a statement shared with The Independent.

“I don’t wish to humiliate The Pleasance but they are doubling down on their position and I don’t want to be made the victim of that,” he said, adding: “I did a 75 minute show for 600 people that went pretty well and left with no hint of anything going wrong.

Sadowitz, who accused the organisation of “cheapening” his set “as unsafe, homophobic, misogynistic and racist”, continued: “A lot of thought goes into my shows and while I don’t always get it right, especially at the speed of which I speak… and I don’t always agree with my own conclusions (!)...I am offended by those who, having never seen me before, HEAR words being shouted in the first five minutes before storming out without LISTENING to the material, which I am stupid enough to believe is funny, sometimes important and worth saying.”

Jerry Sadowitz has defended his comedy set after it was cancelled at Edinburgh Fringe

Sadowitz said his sets include “lots of silly, exaggerated irony and nonsense, real and exaggerated ange and bile”, adding: “Getting my d*** out is for the purpose of the funny line which follows it. (No I won’t tell you what it is… see the show for yourself… or better still... just stay at home).”

He concluded: “I ask nobody to agree with anything I say or do on stage... God forbid they should end up like me... and I have never ONCE courted a mainstream audience to come to my shows because guess what??? In real life, I really DON’T don’t want to upset anyone. The show is what it is, for those who enjoy it. The rest of you... please stick to Carry On films.”

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