7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
It takes a twisted mind to bookmark a city's pain as potential comedy material.
While so-called comic Andrew Lawrence defends his right to laugh about Liverpool victims, private clubs have the right not to book him
We are the knee deep in a generation determined to exercise its right to set its own trousers on fire for likes, retweets and attention.
In our post-truth era, where standards, morals and actual shame are relics of a bygone age, anything goes.
Which leads us to a performer - this column is not referring to him as a comedian - called Andrew Lawrence.
Most of us have been with Liverpool, a city still reeling the incident in which a car was driven thrown crowds at the Premier League club's title-winning parade last week.
While the carnage included firefighters needing to rescue three adults and a child trapped under a car, attention-seeking Lawrence saw their trauma as an opportunity to road-test some new material.
His remarks on social media remain too offensive to repeat in this column. His attempts to double down on them equally so.
For people like Lawrence there would appear to be no line, no boundaries of taste and decency.
He woulds go on dismiss his offensive posts as 'mild', adding a string of further, despicable remarks attacking the people of Liverpool.
A reminder here that at least 65 people were injured in that Liverpool incident. It remains a miracle that nobody died.
So it takes a twisted mind of some proportions to bookmark the pain of a nation as potential comedic material.
Mercifully, the response from comedy establishments across the country has been swift and decisive.
One, Caddies in Southend, immediately cancelled an upcoming gig at which Lawrence was scheduled to perform, saying it did not "condone or support" his remarks.
The Comedy Store in London went further.
'He is not welcome at any of our events or venues. His name will never appear on a bill associated with us,' it said.
In a hard-hitting statement, the world-renowned venue added: 'We work with brilliant comedians from across the UK and beyond and we believe in the power of comedy to challenge, uplift and connect - not to target people in moments of real pain.
'That's not comedy. It's cruelty, plain and simple. Mocking a hurting community says far more about him than it ever could about this city.
'Promoters and comedians who continue to book or share a stage with him should think carefully about what that says to audiences.
'If you're standing by him, you're standing against everything this industry should represent.'
Lawrence responded by insisting in his Instagram defence that he has just finished a nationwide tour and has no plans to do another one any time soon.
Predictably, some of the entitled comedy set - convinced they have a pass to try and elicit laughter from every single scenario, regardless of how traumatised the victims - tried to put their heads above the parapet on this one.
But real comedy is when we punch up, no down. If kids trapped under cars is suitable material for clowns who want to make a name for themselves then our meltdown as a society really will be faster than first thought.
Laughably, Lawrence is still taking aim at his critics, claiming selective outrage.
Tellingly, however, he has been disabling replies to his tweets and has even embarked on a blocking spree.
Yep, he was brave enough to dish it out but too terrified to take it.
Even some fans of his right wing humour decided he'd crossed a bridge too far, treating his words and his disgraceful defence of them with the derision they deserved.
Lawrence also accused Caddies, the venue that axed him, of 'losing their courage after being bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls'.
It was an attempt to mischaracterise the justified anger from the sensible majority questioning whether his puerile remarks were really going to be indulged at the venue.
Because while he might believe he can say what he likes with no limits, private comedy clubs have the absolute right to decide who does and does not perform at their establishments.
Thank goodness his 15 minutes of fame are approaching the final few seconds.
