ARTS chiefs in Worcester have condemned hate speech in any form after cancelling an upcoming show from controversial comedian Andrew Lawrence.
Worcester Live swung the axe after the 41-year-old posted a series of inflammatory “jokes” on Twitter following England’s penalty shoot out defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday (July 11).
Mr Lawrence, whose ‘Pale, Male and Stale’ tour promised the ‘funniest and possibly most offensive jokes you’ve ever heard’, caused furore when he posted ‘Equality, diversity, s*** penalties’ before stating ‘All I’m saying is, the white guys scored’.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed from the spot in England’s defeat and all three were exposed to racist comments on social media in the aftermath of the final.
On Monday morning, Lawrence responded to the anger on social media and said: “‘I can see that this has offended a lot of people, and I’m sorry that black guys are bad at penalties.”
The comedian finished his diatribe with a swipe at Rashford’s inspiring campaign to ensure school children continued to receive free school meal vouchers during the pandemic.
The 22-year-old Manchester United striker was awarded an MBE in October last year for his efforts. But Mr Lawrence wrote: ‘I’d rather he practised his penalties and the kids go hungry.’
The comedian, who has now deleted his Twitter account, has criticised those who have branded him ‘right-wing’ for his views but has spoken out on the ‘left-wing hysteria on the internet, and the left-wing establishment in comedy’.
Following the row, Worcester Live chiefs cancelled his August 7 date and said: “Following recent tweets from Andrew Lawrence’s account we have stopped selling tickets for his show and removed from our website.”
“Worcester Live do not support hate speech in any form and we are currently liaising with Andrew’s agent. We will be in touch ASAP with an outcome.”
It’s unlikely any date will be restored as Mr Lawrence’s agents RBM Comedy have also confirmed they have severed ties with the comedian.
