Russell Kane has dismissed claims that so-called woke culture is restricting comedy, insisting performers today enjoy more freedom of expression than ever before.
The 50-year-old stand-up maintains no comedians have been cancelled purely for the jokes they tell.
Mr Kane’s career began in 2004 when he won the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competition, followed by an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for Best Newcomer in 2006.
His major breakthrough came in 2010 when he won the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award for Smokescreens & Castles, which was later filmed in his hometown of Westcliff-on-Sea and released by Universal Pictures.
Russell Kane denied that comedians have been cancelled purely for the jokes they tell
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Since then, he has sold out national tours and presented programmes across BBC Three, ITV2 and Channel 4, including Big Brother’s Big Mouth, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here Now, Live at the Electric and Stupid Man, Smart Phone.
Speaking about the state of modern comedy, he said: “I don’t know a comedian who’s been cancelled for doing comedy.”
He that performers today operate with fewer restrictions than comedians of previous generations, who faced far more rigid taboos.
The comic added that those willing to target minority groups are thriving, not silenced. “If only I was brave enough to say some slightly more outrageous and hurtful things, I’d probably be number one on Netflix,” he said, clarifying that such material does not align with his own style.
Russell Kane said he doesn’t know a single comedian who’s been cancelled for doing comedy
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Mr Kane continued: “It’s not my type of comedy but my point is, I think there’s more freedom of speech now than there was.”
He went on to draw a distinction between comedians who face backlash for their behaviour versus those criticised for their material.
Referring to criticism levelled at comics who performed in countries such as Saudi Arabia, he said: “That wasn’t for the comedy, that was for where they went to do comedy.
“A comedian might be cancelled for someone he’s touched or something he’s done to someone, I don’t know anyone who’s been cancelled for a joke.”
Ricky Gervais said that today’s “woke” generation will eventually be cancelled by the next
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Mr Kane also questioned the language used in debates around cultural awareness. “It’s such a weird word because the opposite of woke is asleep. I don’t want to be asleep,” he said.
He rejected the suggestion that recognising others’ experiences amounts to excessive political correctness. “Just because I recognise that someone of colour has had a different life journey to me — I’m not woke, I’m just not f**king ignorant. It’s ignorance,” he told The Mirror.
Mr Kane’s views on cancel culture in comedy appear to stand in stark contrast to those of several high-profile British comedians.
Numerous performers have warned so-called “cancel culture” threatens creativity, arguing that controversial humour is essential to the art form and that audiences, not online mobs, should decide what they wish to watch or listen to.
Rowan Atkinson is among the most outspoken critics. The Mr Bean and Blackadder star has argued “the job of comedy is to offend” and that comedians in a free society should be allowed to joke about “absolutely anything”.
He has repeatedly warned about growing intolerance for differing viewpoints, describing cancel culture as the “digital equivalent of the medieval mob”.
Ricky Gervais has also taken aim at cancel culture, often joking that today’s “woke” generation will eventually be cancelled by the next.
He maintains being offended does not automatically make someone right and continues to defend the right of comedians to push boundaries.
David Walliams called cancel culture “exhausting”
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David Walliams has expressed similar concerns. After Little Britain was removed from several streaming platforms over its characters and use of blackface, he called cancel culture “exhausting”.
He argued that “explosively funny” comedy often exists on the edge and that creators face an unfair burden when older work is judged by modern standards.
This is not the first time Mr Kane has spoken about cancel culture. In 2022, he argued modern audiences are more relaxed than ever, and that comedians today have more licence to joke about sex and to swear.
While he accepted that comics must be aware of audience sensitivities, he rejected the notion that any topic can be used for comedy “irrespective of the offence it could generate”.