Aussie comic speaks out after being condemned for “disgusting” joke

A Sydney rapper has spoken out after he was condemned for making ”sick” jokes about domestic violence at a comedy show.

An Aussie comic has spoken out after he was condemned for making “sick” and “disgusting” jokes about domestic violence at a comedy show in Brisbane.

Sydney rapper Fortay was performing his first stand-up show at the Drop Bear Comedy Club in Brisbane on Saturday night when he made remarks about disgraced former NRL star Ben Barba, who was alleged to have been involved in a physical altercation with his partner Ainslie Currie in 2019.

Barba pleaded guilty to two counts of public nuisance over the incident, in which he grabbed Ms Currie by the throat and pinned her to the wall at Ville Casino in Townsville, Mackay Magistrates Court heard.

Ms Currie did not press charges and Barba was sentenced to community service.

Fortay referenced Barba as well as other NRL players as part of a “10-minute joke” about how different his life would have been if he had followed his childhood aspiration of becoming an NRL player rather than a musician.

Fortay referenced made remarks about Ben Barba during Saturday night’s show. Picture: Instagram

“His (Ben Barba’s) fairytale NRL return was cut short after the former Dally M medallist was banned for assaulting his girlfriend at a Townsville casino on Australia Day,” Fortay said during the show, which was captured in a 45-second clip shared on Instagram.

He then proceeded to make a joke about how women sometimes “need a good smack in the face”.

“But hang on a second, I’d like to say hitting women in an RSL is completely wrong and unacceptable,” he continued.

“There’s way too many cameras in that place,” he said, as the audience erupted into laughter.

Fortay shared the video on social media, where it quickly sparked outrage. He has since deleted the video.

“This is truly disgusting. I fear for humanity,” one person wrote on social media.

“What kind of vile human thinks that is comedy,” another added.
“That’s not funny. That’s not comedy. That’s sick,” said another.

Former NRL superstar Ben Barba faced court in 2019 after being charged with public nuisance. Picture: Fergus Gregg

Anti-DV campaigner and founder of the Red Heart Campaign, Sherele Moody, re-shared the footage, asking: “What sort of man jokes about bashing women?” and “What sort of men laugh along?”

“He’s welcome to explain to me what the funny part of this is and why it’s OK to joke about domestic violence! Then I’m going to explain to him about the 118 women killed (in) the past 15 months and the link between misogyny and male violence,” she wrote.

Speaking to news.com.au, Fortay said he understood his comments were “distasteful” but insisted they were “a joke”.

“I can understand the taste and … it’s not for everybody. Domestic violence is not a joke in real life, but I think in the comedic world, everything can be a joke.”

He also pointed to the wider context of the remark.

“It wasn’t just (saying) ‘let’s just bash women’. There was a big lead up, and that just happened to be a part of it. I already had the crowd on a roll, and that’s why the energy was so high, they weren’t just laughing at that,” he said.

“It was just me doing what comedians do, taking news and twisting it to whatever view to make it seem funny, and I’m not just saying domestic violence. I mean any topic, death, sickness, cancer, anything like you can, you know, it’s comedy.”

“I understand cancel culture these days is a new thing, but I just think it’s starting to get a bit extreme … people are trying to act like I hit a woman.”

Fortay insisted his comments were a joke. Picture: Instagram

The video sparked outrage online. Picture: Instagram

When directly asked about his comment that women sometimes “need a good smack in the face”, he again said it was a joke, adding: “I don’t think women, any woman, deserves to get hit in the face.”

Fortay said no one complained about the joke on the night, but after he shared the clip on social media, he said he received “hundreds” of angry and threatening messages.

“I feel the bullying and harassment I’ve received since feels like almost worse than the actual act of me telling a joke on stage where people are threatening me and doing all this sort of stuff over a joke.”

Fortay claimed he is a victim of domestic violence.

“People are going ‘oh you think domestic violence is funny’, no, but sometimes comedy is the way to deal with trauma. And I’ve learned a lot from this, but people don’t know my background.”

He said he would be happy to have a conversation with those who have taken issue with his remarks about ways to address violence in Australia.

“If they want to come to the table, I’m willing to come to the table. It’s a serious thing in our society, and I’m not trying to increase violence against women so in any way that I can prevent it, I’m happy to agree to sit down with whoever wants to sit down.”

Fortay said he would take a different approach when performing comedy shows in the future.

“I’ve learned a lot. Nothing’s going to be posted on Instagram in the future. What happens in the club and stays in the club (and) I’ve learned a lot on the way I approach my material on subject matter.”

Originally published as Aussie comic speaks out after being condemned for “disgusting” joke