Adelaide media personality Peter Goers reacts to Biddy O’Loughlin’s cancelled Cranker gig
Is there room in the arts for all kinds of views? Yes, but that’s not the critical question, says Peter Goers in the wake of Adelaide’s latest “cancel culture” controversy.
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An SA arts luminary says there’s one key question that must be asked of controversial comedians, as two right wing firebrands weigh-in on controversy over an Adelaide comic’s take on gender identity.
Their comments come after Biddy O’Loughlin, the daughter of well-known comedian Fiona O’Loughlin, said she was dumped from the line-up for the upcoming Cranker Comedy gig on October 15.
She attributed it to her views on trans and gender identity after a complaint from a staff member at the iconic Adelaide venue.
The Crown & Anchor Hotel has declined to comment
South Australian arts identity, comic and critic Peter Goers said while he had not seen O’Loughlin perform, he had “enormous regard” for her mother who he described as “one of the funniest comedians this country has produced”.
He is listed to perform at the Cranker Comedy gig Biddy O’Loughlin was removed from.
“I think a comedian’s first role is to laugh at him or her or their self,” Mr Goers said.
“Once you laugh at yourself, it gives you permission to laugh at others, but I think comedy has become very constrained.”
Mr Goers said he believed comedy should “shoot up rather than down” but should also consider the question of taste.
“Rules are meant to be broken and comedy should be breaking rules, but is it funny?” he said.
“If it is hurtful then it’s not good in comedy, and also I think you need to decide whether you’re offending everybody equally or you’re offending nobody.”
He said cancel culture had gone too far, and while he did not agree with famed author JK Rowling’s views on gender, he wouldn’t burn her books.
“Where does that stop? We read Agatha Christie and everybody in the world loves Agatha Christie but she was racist, she was sexist, she was homophobic,” he said.
“And the arts should speak for itself.”
Two high-profile right-wing Liberal politicians also weighed in on the controversy.
South Australian Senator Alex Antic said he had not seen Biddy O’Loughlin’s material but encouraged comedians like her including, who describes herself as the “JK Rowling of Adelaide”, to continue speaking their minds.
“Comedy should be about pushing the envelope otherwise we will end up with a world filled with the sort of boring anti-Trump and pro-climate alarmist jokes you find on the ABC,” Senator Antic said.
“I have never seen her perform but comedians like Biddy should just keep speaking their minds.”
An overwhelming majority of more than 1800 people in an Advertiser poll said stand-up comedy had become too politically correct, with 88 per cent saying it had against 7 per cent saying no.
Another 5 per cent said they had never liked stand-up comedy.
Former Liberal MP and comeback candidate for Boothby Nicolle Flint said she had not seen Biddy O’Loughlin perform but said she was standing up for women’s rights.
“Thank goodness for strong and principled women like Biddy O’Loughlin who are willing stand up for women and our rights even when cancelled by people in their own industry,” she said.
Ms Flint says she was “a big fan of her mum’s work” and wanted to see her show.
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Originally published as Adelaide media personality Peter Goers reacts to Biddy O’Loughlin’s cancelled Cranker gig
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