Latest news with #AndrewLawrence
Spectator
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Don't cancel Andrew Lawrence for his Liverpool joke
Andrew Lawrence has some claim to being Britain's most-cancelled comedian. For more than a decade now, the 37-year-old stand-up has been losing himself work, friends and representation due to his wilfully offensive style of comedy / commentary. In a 2014 Facebook post, he took aim at BBC panel shows on which 'aging, balding, fat men, ethnic comedians and women-posing-as-comedians, sit congratulating themselves on how enlightened they are about the fact that Ukip are ridiculous and pathetic'. After England's Euros penalties defeat in 2021 he wrote on Twitter: 'All I'm saying is, the white guys scored.' Given the tournament began with a row over England players taking the knee and ended with a moral panic about racist England fans abusing black players online (when the posts predominantly came from overseas), his timing couldn't have been more explosive.
Sky News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Andrew Lawrence: Comedian barred from venues after making 'vile' joke about Liverpool parade collision
A comedian who made a "vile" joke about the Liverpool parade collision has been barred from performing at several venues across the UK. Andrew Lawrence had written on the social media site X: "To be fair, if I was in Liverpool, I'd drive through crowds of people to get the f*** out of there as well." The post attracted criticism from thousands of users - with many urging him to delete his comment and apologise. 0:43 Lawrence had been due to perform at a comedy club in Essex on 15 June, but the gig has now been cancelled. In a statement, the Caddies venue said: "We do not condone or support the comment that has been made online, and we send everyone impacted by the tragic events in Liverpool our support and prayers." The comedian struck a defiant tone, writing: "This venue lost their courage after being bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls." He has vowed to reschedule the show and perform at a different location in Southend. But a number of other comedy clubs have issued statements to say that Lawrence is no longer welcome on their stages. 2:11 The Hot Water Comedy Club - one of Liverpool's best-known venues - said on Instagram: "That's not comedy. It's cruelty, plain and simple." Its statement added: "We believe in the power of comedy to challenge, uplift and connect - not to target people in moments of real pain." The club said he will no longer appear at any of its events because "his brand of cruelty has no place in the kind of comedy we stand for". It also urged other promoters and comedians to "think carefully" before deciding to book Lawrence or share a stage with him. "If you're standing by him, you're standing against everything this industry should represent," the Hot Water Comedy Club added. 1:21 The Comedy Store, which has venues in London and Manchester, confirmed it has also barred Lawrence and "stands beside" the people of Liverpool. Merseyside Police confirmed on Wednesday that 79 people are now known to have been injured in the collision on Bank Holiday Monday. As Liverpool FC's trophy parade came to an end, a car drove into crowds on Water Street - with panicked fans watching in horror and trying to avoid being hit. A 53-year-old man is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Comedian's show cancelled over Liverpool parade crash joke
A comedian's show has been cancelled after he joked about Monday's Liverpool parade crash in an X post. Andrew Lawrence, 37, said he would 'drive through crowds of people' to get out of the city, just a day after 65 people were injured when a Ford Galaxy ploughed into onlookers at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade. He wrote on X: 'To be fair, if I was in Liverpool, I'd drive through crowds of people to get the f--- out of there as well.' Video footage of the attack showed the Ford Galaxy being driven at speed through supporters on Water Street, with people flung across the bonnet for 200 yards before some were crushed under its wheels when it came to a halt. The driver, a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area, was arrested at the scene. 'Support and prayers' On Wednesday, Caddies, a Southend-on-Sea comedy club, announced that Mr Lawrence's performance had been cancelled in the wake of his social media post, which it said it did not 'condone or support'. Posting on X, the venue wrote: 'The event organisers who had hired our comedy club for the Andrew Lawrence night have cancelled the event. 'We do not condone or support the comment that has been made online, and we send everyone impacted by the tragic events in Liverpool our support and prayers.' 'No free press in this country' Responding to the announcement on social media, Mr Lawrence wrote: 'This venue lost their courage after being bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls. Understandable, but disappointing. 'I will reschedule for later in the year at a different venue. Southend, sorry for the inconvenience, have a great day.' Mr Lawrence's X page displays a location tag with the words 'cancelled bin'. He has more than 100,000 followers on the social media site. He previously commented on the Liverpool crash on social media, writing: 'Everything being written about the Liverpool incident in the MSM reads as if it's being directed by the Government and the security services. There is no free press in this country.'
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Andrew Lawrence's controversies after disgraceful Liverpool parade crash 'joke'
Andrew Lawrence sent out a string of vile and racist tweets after England lost the Euro 2020 tournament, as he comes under fire again for joking about the Liverpool parade crash that left 65 people injured on Monday Andrew Lawrence has hit headlines yet again for his jokes that have been branded "disgraceful" - and has now had his show cancelled following social media backlash. Andrew Lawrence, 37, said he would "drive through crowds of people" to get out of Liverpool in a post that has prompted more than 7,000 responses on X. As a result, the comic has had his show in Caddies, Southend, cancelled as the venue say it did not "condone or support" the comment. He responded by saying he was disappointed the venue had "lost their courage after being bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls". It's not the first time that the stand-up has shocked people with his views. The comedian sent out a string of "vile and racist" tweets after England lost the Euro 2020 tournament, resulting in more of his shows being cancelled at the time. Despite him admitting that he has "some right-wing views" on a blog post on his website in October 2020, he added that he "just as many that are not" before claiming he doesn't "subscribe to any political ideology." He added in the lengthy message: "Because I am critical of left-wing hysteria on the internet, and the left-wing establishment in comedy, does not automatically mean I am right-wing." Standing by his jokes, he added: "I have never said at any time that I am a 'right wing' comedian and I reject that label" before continuing that he is "just interested in finding new and interesting ways to make people laugh." Here is a look at Andrew's controversial views over the years. Racist slurs to England football stars In 2021, Andrew's account targeted the black football players on the England squad after a nail-biting penalty shoot out against Italy. His account took aim at Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho failed to score during the penalty shootout. "All I'm saying is, the white guys scored," one of the tweets read, with another post adding: "Equality, diversity, s*** penalties." Another post shared read: "I can see that this has offended a lot of people, and I'm sorry that black guys are bad at penalties." The social media posts were met with a swift backlash from a number of people. It wasn't long before representatives for the venues Andrew was due to perform at confirmed on social media that they had removed his upcoming shows. Joking about killing a woman During one of his 2005 stand-up routines, Andrew performed a song where he joked about killing a woman after she suggested he performed oral sex on her. In an unearthed clip of the performance, he can be seen strumming a guitar to the crowd and singing the tune he wrote titled "The b**** in the lake." In a bid to get a laugh, he sang lyrics about choking the woman he was on a date. Andrew can be heard belting out in the footage: "Her filthy suggestions filled me with hate it was too late. "I saw the terror in her eyes as I held down her face and watched her blue, blue eyes as she choked in the lake. The very next day they dragged her out with a rake, 18-hours too late. She was dead 'oh sh*' for a year and a day she kept me awake she would haunt me and say 'I am the bitch from the lake you, left me floating there like a chunk of fish bait.'' Mocking suicide In 2015, Andrew caused a stir when he penned a Tweet mocking suicide. He took to the micro-blogging site to write: "Given that about 80% of suicides in the UK last year were committed by men, if feminists truly wanted equality, they'd kill themselves ;)" After people began condemning him for the message, he hit back with another tweet reading: "Currently being dogpiled by feminazis. I think I like it ;p." Following this, a petition was launched on the website calling on the BBC - who Andrew has often worked on TV and radio for - to "stop giving airtime to Andrew Lawrence who jokes about women committing suicide." An open letter alongside the petition read: "Whilst humour can take many forms and is a matter of subjective taste it is a crossed boundary to incite others to take their own lives. "Some feminists declare themselves such as retaliation to having experienced male violence. This might sometimes lead to suicidal feelings. That is not a matter of fun. Dead women are not funny. Raped women are not funny. "Two women a week are killed at the hands of men, some of whom say they love them. Those women may have suffered feelings of suicide as they fought to stay alive. "78,000 women are raped. Some of them will have suffered suicidal feelings as they fought to survive the trauma. "The men Lawrence mentions are not a source of humour. Whilst mental health services are being cut as a result of austerity this figure can only rise. "The BBC has a duty to respect it's listeners with poor mental health and should refuse to give airtime to Andrew Lawrence." Sympathy for Ukip and blasting "ethnic comedians and women-posing-as-comedians" In 2014, Andrew posted an essay on Facebook expressing sympathy for Ukip - which gained him praise from Nigel Farage. During the post, he also blasted the BBC and claimed the channel has "liberal bias". He added that there were too many TV comedians cracking jokes at the party's expense and then accused them of hypocrisy. Andrew said: "Particularly too much moronic, liberal back-slapping on panel shows like Mock The Week where ageing, balding, fat men, ethnic comedians and women-posing-as-comedians, sit congratulating themselves on how enlightened they are about the fact that Ukip are ridiculous and pathetic." He also wrote: "The upshot of all that is that there are still many women coming across incredibly badly on panel shows, which is helping to perpetuate the myth that women aren't funny." After the backlash at the time, he did not stop and followed up with more posts online. "Perhaps I'll spend some time polishing my Nazi memorabilia today, and I really should alphabetise my page 3 cuttings," was one of his flippant comments. Others he added read: "Must remember never to say anything remotely critical of any woman at all ever, as it means I'm a 'misogynist'" and "Just waiting now for the police to come and arrest me for my 'racism'. Don't know what's keeping them.'"
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Comedian's show cancelled over Liverpool parade crash joke
A comedian's show has been cancelled after he joked about Monday's Liverpool parade crash in an X post. Andrew Lawrence, 37, said he would 'drive through crowds of people' to get out of the city, just a day after 65 people were injured when a Ford Galaxy ploughed into onlookers at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade. He wrote on X: 'To be fair, if I was in Liverpool, I'd drive through crowds of people to get the f--- out of there as well.' Video footage of the attack showed the Ford Galaxy being driven at speed through supporters on Water Street, with people flung across the bonnet for 200 yards before some were crushed under its wheels when it came to a halt. The driver, a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area, was arrested at the scene. On Wednesday, Caddies, a Southend-on-Sea comedy club, announced that Mr Lawrence's performance had been cancelled in the wake of his social media post, which it said it did not 'condone or support'. Posting on X, the venue wrote: 'The event organisers who had hired our comedy club for the Andrew Lawrence night have cancelled the event. 'We do not condone or support the comment that has been made online, and we send everyone impacted by the tragic events in Liverpool our support and prayers.' Responding to the announcement on social media, Mr Lawrence wrote: 'This venue lost their courage after being bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls. Understandable, but disappointing. 'I will reschedule for later in the year at a different venue. Southend, sorry for the inconvenience, have a great day.' Mr Lawrence's X page displays a location tag with the words 'cancelled bin'. He has more than 100,000 followers on the social media site. He previously commented on the Liverpool crash on social media, writing: 'Everything being written about the Liverpool incident in the MSM reads as if it's being directed by the Government and the security services. There is no free press in this country.' Police in Liverpool are continuing to question the driver of the car, who was allegedly high on drugs at the time, and is said to have followed an ambulance through a police barrier before ramming the vehicle into supporters. The suspect, who has not yet been named, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving offences and driving while unfit through drugs. Merseyside Police, which took the unusual decision to reveal the suspect's ethnicity when he had not yet been charged, did not confirm what illegal substance he was believed to have taken. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
