A STAND-UP comedian has cancelled a Scottish tour date because the venue’s Edinburgh branch is hosting an event with SNP MP Joanna Cherry.
Trans comic Bethany Black, from Lancashire, has cancelled her upcoming Glasgow date at The Stand comedy club because its sister venue in Edinburgh will host an event with the MP during the Fringe later this year.
In a statement on Twitter, Black accused the SNP politician of wanting to “exclude people like me from public life”, in reference to Cherry’s opposition to self-ID policies for transgender people.
Black said she did not want to ask the trans community to "fund their own oppression" by purchasing tickets for the show, which was due to take place on May 15. It is not known whether Cherry would be paid for her Fringe show.
Gutted to have to announce this pic.twitter.com/30DcK1qTbq
— Bethany Black (@BeffernieBlack) March 31, 2023
She said: “I’m very sad to announce that I will be cancelling the Glasgow date of my UK tour.
“I have been informed that The Stand has programmed ‘An Evening with Joanna Cherry’ during the Edinburgh Fringe’ and I feel strongly that it’s inappropriate of me to perform at a venue promoting someone who has dedicated the last few years of their public life to trying to exclude people like me from public life.
“I feel I also have a duty to my fans and my community not to ask them to help fund their own oppression.
“I have always enjoyed playing Glasgow and playing The Stand has been a huge part of making me who I am as a comedian, so this is not a choice I make lightly and wish it wasn’t a choice I had to make at all.”
Cherry has previously strenuously denied accusations of transphobia and said she is opposed to the Scottish Government’s gender recognition reforms which she believes would endanger the rights of women.
The Stand comedy clubs were founded by Cherry's SNP colleague Tommy Sheppard but it is understood he is no longer involved with the venues.
The SNP were approached for comment.
