Rita Panahi: Barry Humphries cut down by comedy’s grim reapers in era of political correctness
Welcome to comedy in 2019, where the laughs are scarce and offence-taking is at epidemic proportions. Removing Barry Humphries’ name from a comedy award is another sign that humour is under siege from the woke brigade, writes Rita Panahi.
Rita Panahi
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So, a bunch of painfully unfunny comics attack a comedic genius, Barry Humphries, for being “transphobic” and remove his name from a once prestigious award.
Welcome to comedy in 2019, where the laughs are scarce and offence-taking is at epidemic proportions.
The decision by festival organisers to dump Humphries’ name from the major prize and rename the Barry Award the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award illustrates how comedy has lost its way in the age of political correctness.
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But why stop at renaming the Barry? In the interests of truth in advertising most modern comics should be renamed activists or smug preachers or, if we’re being generous, woke social commentators.
Take Hannah Gadsby, a Barry winner, who is “comfortable” not being funny after the success of her comedy special, Nanette which she admits “wasn’t funny”. You don’t say.
Grievance porn has replaced what was once cutting-edge stand-up in which the purpose of the work was to make the audience laugh.
As long as it was funny it didn’t matter if the material was offensive, insensitive or just wrong; sometimes the funniest jokes are rooted in tragedy and uncomfortable truths.
The late, great Joan Rivers wasn’t afraid to include taboo topics in her routine, including jokes about the Palestinian conflict, transgender women, her husband’s suicide and caring for a handicapped partner.
“Comedy is to make everybody laugh at everything and deal with things, you idiot,” Rivers shouted at a heckler who was offended by her jokes about Helen Keller.
But now we are in the age of post-comedy comics who would rather bleat about their Trump obsessions, tortured childhoods, the evils of the patriarchy and other assorted grievances.
Making the audience laugh is an indulgence when there is perceived injustice to be exposed.
Comics who would rather be funny even if it means pushing boundaries are declared offensive and slandered as misogynists, racists, homophobes, transphobes and/or Islamophobes et al.
And, woe betide any comedian who dares commit wrongthink and expresses a view outside the echo chamber of far Left leaning comics and their band of media enablers.
Humphries is ostensibly being punished for his views on transgender rights.
Last year, he said: “How many different kinds of lavatory can you have? And it’s pretty evil when it’s preached to children by crazy teachers.”
And, let’s not forget Humphries’ most famous alter ego, Dame Edna, would be considered “problematic” by hypersensitive whiners.
Gadsby is among the modern comics to lambast Humphries for his worldview.
Last year she tweeted: “Barry Humphries loves those who hold power, hates vulnerable minorities and has completely lost the ability to read the room. That’s not a comedian, that’s an irrelevant, inhumane dick biscuit of the highest order.”
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It’s adorable when fringe dwellers think they speak for the majority.
Humphries’ views on transgender toilets and the indoctrination of children in radical gender theory is far more mainstream, and amusing, than anything uttered by Gadsby; but not among the woke cohort of comics appearing at the MICF.
So, it’s not surprising that the festival has succumbed to pressure and removed Humphries’ name from the award, although it is claiming it’s in the name of gender neutrality.
Don’t for a second allow these humourless malcontents to fool you into thinking that laugh-free comedy is for the greater good or for the benefit of put-upon minorities.
There is nothing positive about comedians turning into hectoring hard-Left preachers telling us what to think rather than making us laugh.
Have a look at late-night talk shows in the US hosted by once-funny comics who now forgo laughs for righteous applause.
We can’t say we weren’t warned. The great Mel Brooks said: “We have become stupidly politically correct, which is the death of comedy.”
Just about every comedy great from Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese to Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Chappelle has warned about the toxic, destructive influence of PC sensitivities on the craft.
Sadly, more and more comics are self-censoring to avoid the wrath of the perpetually outraged which now includes their own colleagues.
But the greats continue to churn out material that is funny, insightful and clever. Ricky Gervais, South Park and Book of Mormon creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and closer to home Chris Lilley ignore the PC police to produce hilarious content.
The last word goes to the wonderful Stephen Fry: “It’s now very common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that’. As if that gives them certain rights. It’s actually nothing more than a whine. ‘I find that offensive’. It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. ‘I am offended by that.’ Well, so f---ing what?”
— Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist
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