23.07.2015
HUFFPOST UK - THE BLOG (Online)
Getting Touchy: Reg D Hunter and Offensive Comedy - Part 2
Whether or not Hunter was within his rights to say those jokes or whether the audience members were within their rights to complain, one thing occurred to me. They weren't even on the same page.
In part one of this blog I talked about the responsibility an act has in terms of considering the material he or she shares with audiences, focusing specifically on Reg D Hunter's recent show at the Hammersmith Apollo. This isn't really a particularly unique topic. The issue of 'where's the line?' is consistently revisited with varying results. In the last blog I threw my thoughts into the mix.
As I mentioned however, the gig in question was rather dramatic in that it ended with a large amount of heckling and some back and forth between Hunter and two audience members. I included a link to another audience member's blog which outlines exactly what happened but I'll try to give you a summary. Essentially there were two vocal complaints about a couple of Hunter's jokes which focused on rape and molestation. The other account I linked to doesn't point out that Hunter did enter into debate with these women and that is something I think he should be praised for. However, ultimately, he didn't see eye to eye with them and angrily cut them off in order to end his show.