Jerry Sadowitz, a 60-year-old American-born Scottish comedian, had his second performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival “canceled with immediate effect” owing to complaints about the content of his previous act. The Pleasance hosted the comedian’s inaugural gig, Not For Anyone, on Friday night. The venue issued a warning regarding the comedian’s act before the concert started. It was stated:
“This program includes harsh language and topics that some viewers may find upsetting.”
Staff and audience members allegedly complained about several of Sadowitz’s jokes, which made them “uncomfortable and dangerous to stay in the venue.”
According to Metro, a Pleasance Theatre Trust spokeswoman stated:
“Due to multiple complaints, we were instantly aware of the material that was regarded severe in its racism, sexism, homophobia, and misogyny, among other things.”
They went on to say the following about the situation:
“We will not engage with stuff that assaults people’s dignity, and the language used on stage was utterly inappropriate in our opinion.”
. @RealJSadowitz returns to @ThePleasance EICC tomorrow with his stand-up show ‘Not for Anyone’. It’s not one to miss this #EdFringe!
Grab your tickets 🎟️ https://t.co/sjv56euMqM pic.twitter.com/HpYZF1o7Dx
— EICC (@eicc) August 11, 2022
Everything you need to know about Jerry Sadowitz and his Edinburgh Fringe dispute.
Jerry Sadowitz is a Scottish-born American stand-up comedian who has often been involved in issues owing to the gloomy tone of his humor. In 2010, he was chosen the 33rd best stand-up comedian, while in 2007, he was rated the 15th greatest stand-up comedian. He is also a close-up comedian and a skilled practitioner of sleight of hand, a kind of entertainment employed by performers. Sadowitz is also recognized for authoring a number of books about magic. Sadowitz has been barred from playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival because he “got his p***s out on stage,” which was not well received by the crowd, according to The Daily Mail. He allegedly also used a racist slur to allude to Rishi Sunak, the Conservative leadership candidate in the United Kingdom.
A female audience member who objected to the comic stated that he called Sunak “a p***” and said that “the economy is terrible because it is managed by ‘blacks and women.’” This is not the first time the comedian has been involved in a scandal. During one of his gigs in 1991, Jerry Sadowitz was knocked unconscious on stage by an enraged Canadian audience member. Jerry Sadowitz responded to the situation on Twitter, claiming that his comedy act has been “cheapened and reduced as dangerous, homophobic, sexist, and racist.” Sadowitz went on to say:
“A lot of thought goes into my shows, and while I don’t always get it right, especially given how fast 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.”
Jerry Sadowitz also posted on Twitter:
“There’s also a lot of ridiculous, overdone sarcasm and nonsense, genuine false and exaggerated fury and venom, and even pulling my d*** out is for the sake of the next humorous phrase.”
The Pleasance Theatre Trust also said that “racism, homophobia, sexism, or misogynistic words” had no place in their establishment. They started to Metro:
“At the Pleasance, there is a line that we will not cross, and we believe that this line was crossed on this occasion.”
It is unknown if Jerry Sadowitz will return to the venue at a later date.