Yes, comedians are being cancelled

Despite the official insistence that cancel culture is a myth, the list of performers who have been banned or blacklisted continues to grow.

Culture warriors will never learn that the denial of reality does not change it. When Keir Starmer claims ‘we’re not censoring anyone’ while pushing through draconian censorship policies, nobody is fooled. When Humza Yousaf in his role as justice secretary asserted that the SNP’s hate speech bill ‘does not undermine free speech’ but rather ‘protects it’, people recognised that this was a childish effort to invert the truth.

We see a similar phenomenon when it comes to the parlous state of the comedy industry in the UK. Everyone who is trying to make a name in comedy knows that the gatekeepers demand conformity to the new orthodoxy, and that to speak out of line will scotch their chances of securing an agent or being booked for panel shows. Even those regime comedians who benefit from the status quo understand what is going on. It’s just that they have nothing to gain and much to lose by acknowledging the reality.

But let’s leave aside the stifling creative climate, the demands for ideological purity, the widespread self-censorship, the throttling of genuinely subversive and innovative acts, and the promotion of mediocrity. What about the oft-repeated claim that ‘no comedians are being cancelled’? This is one of those infantile assertions that can be quickly disproven by looking at the facts.

To that end, here is a list of just some of the acts who have faced cancellation for refusing to restrict their material to the approved topics. Those who claim that ‘no comedians are being cancelled’ should be asked to explain why I am able to compile this list at all.

• In July 2025, two Jewish comedians – Rachel Creeger and Philip Simon – had their shows cancelled at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. They claimed that the venues had justified the cancellations due to ‘staff discomfort at hosting Jewish shows’.

• In August 2022, Jerry Sadowitz had his show cancelled after the first night of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Pleasance Theatre Trust defended the cancellation on the grounds that the show ‘is not acceptable and does not align with our values’.

• In 2014, Daniel O’Reilly’s ITV television series Dapper Laughs: On the Pull was axed after a media storm in which his jokes were condemned for misogyny.

• In September 2024, Kelli! Taylor was cancelled from her appearance at a show in Leeds by a promoter who objected to her support for women’s rights.

• In January 2019, Leo Kearse’s show Right Wing Comedian was cancelled at the Perth Fringe in Australia after accusations of ‘transphobia’, even though material for the show had been co-written by the trans person he was dating at the time.

• In April 2019, Alistair Williams performed a routine that mocked those who had attempted to overturn the result of the Brexit referendum. He was subsequently banned from YouTube and blacklisted from most major comedy clubs.

• In February 2022, Mary Bourke was removed from a line-up at a comedy club in Brighton following complaints from audience members that her material made them feel ‘unsafe’.

• Since 2018, Graham Linehan – the BAFTA-winning creator of sitcoms such as Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd – has been unable to work in the entertainment industry due to his opposition to gender identity ideology. His musical adaptation of Father Ted has been cancelled by the rights owners, Hat Trick Productions.

• In June 2019, comedian Jo Brand was investigated by police following an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Heresy show in which she joked about throwing battery acid on Nigel Farage.

• In April 2023, Raurie Williams (aka ‘NoHun’) had his tour cancelled for pointing out that men cannot get pregnant.

• In February 2023, Samantha Pressdee’s show at the Leicester Comedy Festival was cancelled after she had written an article in defence of women’s single-sex spaces.

• In March 2024, Lewis Schaffer was pulled from a charity benefit gig in London on the grounds that his material was offensive to the LGBTQ+ community.

• In May 2024, Scott Capurro was informed that police had contacted a club he was due to play because an audience member had claimed he was ‘homophobic’ (which would certainly come as a surprise to his husband). Two months previously, his booking at a Dublin comedy club was cancelled after he refused to censor his material on Israel and Palestine.

• In July 2023, Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown’s show at the Strathpeffer Pavilion in Scotland was cancelled following a ‘public outcry’ regarding ‘the language and material associated with this individual’s show’.

• In July 2021, Andrew Lawrence was dropped by his agent and had his tour cancelled following accusations of racism due to jokes he had posted on Twitter after the final of the UEFA European Football Championship.

• Comedy Unleashed – a stand-up night in London that I co-founded with Andy Shaw – was cancelled by venues in England and Ireland when on tour in 2022 and 2024 following activist complaints.

• In 2023, a one-off Comedy Unleashed show at the Edinburgh Fringe was twice cancelled by venues due to pressure from trans activists. The comedians on the line-up – Graham Linehan, Bruce Devlin, Dominic Frisby and Alistair Williams – ended up performing on a makeshift stage outside the Scottish Parliament.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and it does not cover countries outside the UK (in June, for example, the Brazilian comedian Leo Lins was sentenced to eight years in prison due to jokes that were deemed ‘bigoted’). So please feel free to add any others in the comments. And by all means, share with the denialists!

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