Connect with us

Culture

Comedian Rowan Atkinson: Cancel Culture ‘Like A Medieval Mob’

British star has a long history of defending free speech against the language police

Published

1 year ago

on

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Rowan Atkinson, famous for portraying the characters Mr Bean and Blackadder, has once again hit headlines for slamming the rise of a destructive cancel culture.

In an interview with the UK’s Radio Times, Atkinson described online trolls trying to ban everything as “the digital equivalent of the medieval mob.”

“The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society,” he said.

“It becomes a case of either you’re with us or against us. And if you’re against us, you deserve to be ‘cancelled’,” the British comedian emphasised.

Atkinson also blasted social media, saying that it fills him with “fear about the future,” because it continues to lower tolerance for differing opinions, which widens divisions in society.

“What we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn,” Atkinson urged.

He noted that he has been on the end of the hate mob, not only owing to some of the skits in Mr Bean, many of which were written 30 years ago, but also because of his long history of standing up for free speech.

“It is scary for anyone who’s a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future,” Atkinson declared.

Atkinson opposed the introduction of so called ‘hate speech’ laws in 2005, describing the legislation as like taking “sledgehammer to crack a nut”.

Atkinson also opposed the introduction of homophobic ‘hate speech’ clauses into UK law in 2009.

At the time in 2009, Atkinson outlined where such moves to quell speech were heading, prophesising “a culture of censoriousness, a questioning, negative and leaden attitude that is encouraged by legislation of this nature.”

The comedian warned that it would only be “considerably and meaningfully alleviated by [a] free speech clause.”

In 2012, Atkinson further railed against “insulting” behaviour being classed as a criminal offence.

“The clear problem of the outlawing of insult is that too many things can be interpreted as such. Criticism, ridicule, sarcasm, merely stating an alternative point of view to the orthodoxy, can be interpreted as insult,” Atkinson stated at the time during an impassioned defence of free speech:

In 2020, Atkinson was again targeted by the mob he speaks about when he publicly opposed Scotland’s ‘hate crimes’ bill, saying that it “risked stifling freedom of expression, and the ability to articulate or criticise religious and other beliefs”.

Several other comedians have railed against the rise of cancel culture, including Monty Python star John Cleese, The Office creator Ricky Gervais, the ‘podfathers’ Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla, as well as Bill Burr and ‘politically incorrect’ star Dave Chapelle, to name just a few.

Cancel culture has seen some comedians self-censoring in order to appease the mob:

Comedy is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to cancel culture, however. There are signs that its tentacles are penetrating deeply into all aspects of society.

A recent study by leading education focused think tank Civitas revealed that free speech at the world’s leading universities is being eroded at an alarming rate.

The study found that within the past three years, more than 68 per cent of universities in the UK have seen free speech severely restricted, with academics unable to meaningfully discuss the nuances of issues such as race and gender.

The report notes that universities including Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews, three of the world’s premiere institutions are among those that have fallen into a “red” category for free speech following instances of “no platforming” of scheduled speakers.

Last year, 150 of the world’s top intellectuals, authors and activists signed an open letter decrying leftist cancel culture, censorship and the totalitarian march of “ideological conformity.”

The letter warned that cancel culture is creating a climate of risk aversion that is preventing anyone from dissenting from the monolithic consensus of social justice rhetoric, creating a “stifling atmosphere will ultimately harm the most vital causes of our time.”

In the US, the Deputy Secretary of The Department of Homeland Security also recently warned that the actions of tech companies in embracing cancel culture, and censoring opinions they do not agree with constitutes a “grave threat to national security.”

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Comments

Culture

Netflix to Fire Another 150 Employees as Subscriber Base Continues to Decline

Wokeflix is going the way of CNN+.

Published

6 hours ago

on

18 May, 2022

SOPA Images via Getty Images

Streaming giant Netflix confirmed it was firing a further 150 employees in response to slowing revenue growth and a massive loss of subscribers.

“As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company,” a Netflix representative told CNBC.

“So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-based. These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues. We’re working hard to support them through this very difficult transition.”

The new round of dismissals comes after Netflix fired an entire team of writers for the Tudum website, almost all of whom were “women of color.”

Netflix has lost over 200,000 subscribers this year and is set to hemorrhage another 2 million by the end of the year, while its share price has plummeted by 70 per cent since January.

Price hikes, the end of lockdown and increasing competition has badly impacted the company.

In addition to a worsening economic picture, Netflix has been plagued by its takeover by the woke mob, who relentlessly protested Dave Chapelle’s comedy special.

The decision to platform the 2020 movie Cuties, which sexualized underage girls, also had a negative impact on the company’s reputation.

Last month, Elon Musk asserted that Netflix embracing “the woke mind virus”‘ is making it “unwatchable”.

The tech giant wasted a whopping $75 million on signing up Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to make more preachy, woke content that no one will watch.

If things continue in the same vain, it might not be long before Netflix goes the same way as CNN+.

Oh no, how awful.

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube:

Follow on Twitter:

———————————————————————————————————————

Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/

PJW Shop

ALERT!

In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch.

I need you to sign up for my free newsletter here.

Support my sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.

Get early access, exclusive content and behinds the scenes stuff by following me on Locals.

———————————————————————————————————————

Continue Reading

Culture

Romania Claims Eurovision Changed Their Vote to Give First Place to Ukraine

EBU replaced the votes of six different countries.

Published

2 days ago

on

16 May, 2022

picture alliance via Getty Images

Romanian broadcaster TVR has accused the European Broadcasting Union of assigning a different set of scores to the ones they provided, incorrectly giving the highest score to Ukraine, which went on to win the competition.

The Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra easily won the competition, finishing on 631 points, with the United Kingdom in second place with 466 points.

However, despite the margin of victory, the official Romanian Eurovision representatives complained that the EBU ignored their vote to give Moldova first place and instead awarded it to Ukraine.

“We were surprised to discover that the result of the Romanian jury’s vote was not taken into account in the calculation of the final ranking,” said TVR in a statement. “The organizers assigned a different set of points to the participants of the final, on behalf of the jury of our country. We specify that the Romanian jury decided to give maximum score to the representatives of Moldova.”

Representatives of each country also normally appear on the live broadcast to announce their country’s voting results, but Romania’s Eda Marcus was nowhere to be seen.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) responded by claiming they had noticed “irregular voting patterns” which “forced them to replace scores from six countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino.”

“In order to comply with the voting instructions of the competition, the EBU collaborated with its voting partner to calculate a replacement aggregate result for each country concerned, both for the second semi-final and for the grand final (calculated on the basis of the results of other countries with a similar voting history),” they said in a statement.

In the final vote tally, neither Romania or Moldova awarded any points to each other, something that would never happen in reality.

TVR said Eurovision organizers had “replaced the jury score in Romania with a ‘substitute’ calculated in a non-transparent way,” and had not even informed them of what they were doing during the competition.

Although part of the vote is also down to the viewing public, the claims suggest that there may have been some chicanery behind the scenes to ensure Ukraine won the competition, thereby fulfilling a preset narrative to support ‘the current thing’.

The Eurovision Song Contest is notoriously political and has been beset by similar voting scandals in the past.

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube:

Follow on Twitter:

———————————————————————————————————————

Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/

PJW Shop

ALERT!

In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch.

I need you to sign up for my free newsletter here.

Support my sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.

Get early access, exclusive content and behinds the scenes stuff by following me on Locals.

———————————————————————————————————————

Continue Reading

Culture

‘Family Sex Show’ Aimed at Kids Cancelled After Backlash

Production company claimed its staff received threats and abuse.

Published

4 weeks ago

on

20 April, 2022

ThisEgg via Facebook

A production called ‘The Family Sex Show’ aimed at children aged 5 and over that was described by the theatre company responsible as “an alternative to porn” has been cancelled after thousands of people signed a petition opposing it.

The company invited parents to bring their kids to the show, advertising that there would be full nudity and discussion of topics completely unsuitable for children.

The show was due to be performed at Bristol’s Tobacco Factory next month but that venue has become the second to bow out after a backlash.

Typically, the company is claiming the deluge of criticism they received included “unprecedented threats and abuse” from “extremists” and that this is why the event was called off.

A petition signed by over 38,000 people stated, “Children should not be de-desensitised to the sight of naked adult bodies or introduced to topics surrounding adult sexual pleasure which this production promotes and celebrates.”

“This is nothing more than a blatant and extremely concerning attempt to sexualise children prematurely and is abusive.”

The explicit show was funded by the Arts Council, which is in turn funded by the taxpayer.

The company claimed they had liased with “child safeguarding experts,” however, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children had apparently never heard of it.

Susan Glaholm, a social worker in mental health and child protection, expressed her concerns about the show, noting, “I am compelled to say there is something seriously wrong in our society and culture if we accept that this is appropriate for young children to experience.”

No doubt the same leftists who assert that “cancel culture doesn’t exist” will uphold this as an example of it.

“It’s not OK when you do it!”

Groomers take the L.

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube:

Follow on Twitter:

———————————————————————————————————————

Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/

PJW Shop

ALERT!

In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch.

I need you to sign up for my free newsletter here.

Support my sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.

Get early access, exclusive content and behinds the scenes stuff by following me on Locals.

———————————————————————————————————————

Continue Reading

Trending