Ah there’s more today. Daniel O’Reilly aka “Dapper Laughs” is getting cancellations left and right. Could people have finally figured out that rape and misogyny aren’t funny?
A UK tour by the controversial comedian Dapper Laughs has been cancelled following the axing of a second series of his ITV2 show.
A string of dates due to be played at top venues such as the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and the O2 Academy in Leeds have been pulled following outrage over content that derides women.
And treats rape as a funny haha joke.
During the performance at London Scala, Dapper Laughs – real name Daniel O’Reilly – said of a female audience member: “She’s gagging for a rape.”
He’s still doing some gigs though, Tara Conlon reports.
A quick trawl of bookings for the Dapper Laughs shows reveals that booking is still open for gigs in February at the Institute in Birmingham and the Ritz, Manchester.
That could always change, of course.
A spokeswoman from Academy Music Group said that refunds would be available from venues for those who had bought tickets: “As a major UK venue operator we regularly host events of varying styles and content in music and comedy. In light of the cancellation of the second series of the Dapper Laughs ITV2 show and significant criticism, Dapper Laughs (Daniel O’Reilly) has himself apologised for any offence caused by his material, and we are aware that Dapper Laughs’ brand of comedy may not be to everyone’s taste.”
Sigh. It’s not a matter of “offence” and it’s not a difference in “taste.” They always insist on trivializing it…no doubt because they don’t want to admit what kind of thing they’re promoting.
He appeared on Newsnight, in a masterful interview with Emily Maitlis, which you can see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBt3fr5viAE#t=327
Seriously, Paxman. If you’re reading, that is how one conducts an interview.
I should add that I personally guarantee that you’ll enjoy that interview. Maitlis has him exactly where she wants him and knows it. Her timing is exquisite.
Let’s not be too self-congratulatory here. This no-mark Youtube “celebrity” managed to swing a late-night show on ITV2, which if you don’t live in the UK is a channel practically nobody watches, way down the EPG. The second series has NOT been “axed”. It was never commissioned and realistically never would have been commissioned. All ITV have done is make it certain and explicit that this is the case.
We can still pull a half full glass out of this, can’t we?
A bad show, commissioned by a fairly important, very well-established channel, which sells its shows all over the planet, is not getting a second series because the channel suddenly realised (because of activism, for the most part) that it had fucked up.
I’m not seeing the part where this isn’t win.
ITV isn’t paying for a second series either because it realised that it’s horrific or because it realised that there were a lot of complaints. Either way, it reasoned that it would lose more money by showing it than it would gain.
Again, I’m not seeing the loss here. We have so few wins and it pisses me off when people don’t celebrate the few we have.
Dapper Laughs has also had his tour cancelled and various other gigs, largely because of ITV’s decision and the footage of his shows that has emerged.
There are actually people to be congratulated here: the people who organised the petition, which probably helped. Don’t be so grumpy.
He’s “retiring the character”, the tour has now been cancelled, and his career, such as it was, is basically over. Get your tiny violins ready: ‘Dapper Laughs wrecked my life’: Daniel O’Reilly kills off comedy character after rape joke.
Come in, Mr O’Reilly, your 15 minutes are up.
I can only assume that he’s shaved his beard off to reduce the chance of people recognising him in the street.
Definitely prepared to be glad. OK, it isn’t earth-shattering news – but it’s a step in a happy direction. Time was – not long ago at all – when I would never have dreamed it even remotely possible for an arsehole like this to lose as much as a single gig over misogyny.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, this is excellent news, BUT ITV2 is not now and never will be “a fairly important, very well-established channel”. It’s where ITV (already the downmarket coat-tails-chaser that wishes it was 10% as good as the BBC) dump repeats, cheap imports, casino and bingo shows and the shows not good enough to be on ITV1, its only legitimately mainstream channel. That’s where this guy was plying his trade.
What IS good news is that the reaction to this plonker will make it LESS likely that the clueless old suits at the dinosaur mainstream broadcasters will be quite so undiscriminating the next time they desperately trawl Youtube for someone who might appeal to “the youth”, who are abandoning 20th century style one-to-many broadcasting in much the same way their predecessor abandoned horses and carts when cars came along. Television will be better… but television is increasingly irrelevant anyway.
I think your assessment is too gloomy – his audience figures were unspectacular, but not abysmal by ITV2 standards, and the main point is that, whatever the reason for the decision, ITV has made a very positive statement in response to the criticism:
It clearly links the decision not to recommission the series with the objectionable nature of his material. That is not the sort of statement TV producers usually make about comedy – normally there would be a full-blooded defence based on pretexts of free speech and provocative material, even as they decided not to renew due to dissappointing viewing figures.
The timeline alone, of criticism, organised protest, and response and “axing”, sends a very positve message. That media coverage has been swift and constructive is also unusual – no ostensible mainstream voice has been offered to question whether the material is problematic (only the disgusting Katie Hopkins seems to have mounted a defence, and of Ched Evans too, which tells you just how badly in want of support he was).
Instead, the story has been a catalyst for further discussions about everyday sexism and misogyny, and that simply wasn’t happening a year or two ago. The media seems to be markedly less likely to try to artificially balance the debate by giving a platform to contrary, fringe opinions. All of this is in the context of ongoing awareness and examinations of these issues, tied up with the publicity surrounding the various abuse scandals and celebrity sex offenders.