The Scottish Conservatives have labelled comedian Jerry Sadowitz “abhorrent” after an alleged on-stage racial slur about leadership candidate Rishi Sunak. It’s claimed Glasgow comic Sadowitz referred to Sunak as a “p***” in a gag, and also exposed himself to a female member of the audience during a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe on Friday.
Last night, a spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “The racist and sexist comments widely attributed to Jerry Sadowitz in the media are totally abhorrent. We respect everyone’s right to freedom of speech but these remarks are beyond the pale.
"The general consensus has been that if you go to a comedy show like his, you know what you are getting. But this is straying into hate crime territory and that will be why his show has been cancelled.”
The 61-year-old’s Not For Anyone show at the capital’s Pleasance theatre was cancelled by the venue after it received complaints. He is also believed to have told the audience that the economy was a mess because it was run by “blacks and women”.
Director of The Pleasance Anthony Alderson said: “While we acknowledge that Jerry Sadowitz has often been controversial, the material presented at his first show is not acceptable and does not align with our values.”
The Pleasance claimed a "large number" of people walked out as they "felt uncomfortable and unsafe to remain in the venue".
In a further statement yesterday, the venue said: "We became immediately aware of content that was considered, among other things, extreme in its racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny.
"We will not associate with content which attacks people's dignity and the language used on stage was, in our view, completely unacceptable. We received an unprecedented number of complaints that could not be ignored and we had a duty to respond."
Some fellow comedians spoke out against the move. Scottish right-wing comic Leo Kearse tweeted: “If the Islamic fundamentalists don’t get you, the wokeists will.”
But Pakistan-born broadcaster Safraz Manzoor said: “I’m all for free expression and taking comedic risks ... but is calling Sunak the P word edgy or just lazy, racist abuse masquerading as humour?”
Sadowitz was approached for comment.
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