The comedian Jim Davidson has been described as a “throwback”. Criticisms that his style of humour cynically courts outrage are not confined to the politically correct. It takes a lot for me to feel sympathy for someone who jokes about rape victims.
I think what happened to him in 2013 qualifies as “a lot”. In fact a better description might be “kafkaesque”. Daniel Finkelstein writes in the Times (paywalled), regarding Davidson’s book No Further Action:
Perhaps the most fascinating part of the book was to read detailed accusations put to Davidson that couldn’t possibly be true: someone who claimed to have been assaulted in an upstairs bar of a place that doesn’t have an upstairs bar, or to have travelled with him in a gold-coloured Bentley that Davidson didn’t possess. Someone who said that they were assaulted at the London Palladium stage door and then, when that was disproved, said it was at the Slough Pavilion, which couldn’t have been right either.
And
Yet I think the most important aspect of the Davidson case is just how long the whole thing took. He spent the best part of a year waiting for the allegations to be dismissed.
It is hard not to warm to him as he tells of the strain he was under. The whole thing cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost income and more in legal fees.
So we return to the justice of the Devil’s Mark and the extra teat.
But he’s “the sort of person who would” to certain minds so to those same certain minds that is enough. Reality matters not a jot. I have only one objection against Jim Davidson. I shrink from calling him a “comedian”. I never found him funny but hey! When was that against the law? I don’t find Ben Elton funny so should I go to jail?
Guilt or innocence is not the point. The point is to harass and silence those with whom the PC Police disagrees. If they can also destroy them financially, that’s just a bonus.
You don’t find Ben Elton funny? Well why would you? You implying he is a comedian or something!
Didn’t Ben Elton have some connection to ‘Ab Fab’? That WAS funny! But maybe his role was small.
I think we will soon reach the stage where you can only tell correct jokes, or your comedian license will be revoked. Most comedy seems to be about minorities, though puns are just in bad taste allround. Therefore they are against human dignity, like not being allowed to sell your own organs. (Yes, even though New Zealanders are so thick they can’t find any jokes about themselves offensive, someone will want to include them as well- and who would want an organ from a New Zealander?)
Mr Davidson is a working class, patriotic English comedian, who supported the Conservative Party, those are his crimes in the eyes of the PC brigade. That he has became wealthy and successful on the back of his brand of humour is even worse. All those involved in causing his ordeal should be in jail, but allowed a luxury of a TV, but one showing endless repeats of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, but only should a Bill of Attainder to that effect be passed. We must never discard the law in pursuit of its enemies.
Otherwise, charges of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office should be brought as the case may be, and/or conspiracy to commit the same.
Agreed Natalie.
And good comments people.
I warned our local bookshop they were risking the wrath of Trading Standards by placing Ben Eltons work under “Humour”
They took it quite well all in all.
I recall Elton in his spangled suit, tipping his specs and saying, “Ohh, err, this one is going to be a bit political!”.
Rapt attention.
“Maggie Thatcher is such a cow!”
Epic applause.
Now, regardless of whatever you thought of Mrs Thatcher that is not a joke.
But, it’s true so who cares. OK?
If Lenny Henry didn’t exist then Ben Elton would be the unfunniest man who ever lived.
I remember Jim Davison from humpty-eight years ago. Still irreverently-funny, it seems. I know his stand-up was universally-reviled, back in the day, but it also has to be said that, back then, he fearlessly caricatured white racism, including police racism, when very few other would. Sure, Chalky was a caricature, but Davison also speared whites and indigenes with a very sharp spear indeed. Maybe that was why he was so unpopular with the ‘better sort’ of person.
A point to bear in mind is that Davison has plenty of resources to maintain his innocence. You have to ask yourself what happens to people with a lot fewer resources when faced with this sort of accusations and a CJS apparently willing to spend (essentially) endless resources to pursue them.
It’s piqued my interest enough that I’ll read the book and see just how far they were willing to take this.
llater,
llamas
If you look into the actual details of the Rolf Harris case as well, it’s equally as shocking. What’s worse in his case, of course, is that the blatant paucity and absurdity of the “evidence” against him actually got him jail time and left him with the life-long stigma of a “child abuser”.
Talking of Jim Davidson, I’ve got a joke for you:
What’s the difference between Jim Davidson and Frankie Boyle?
One is reviled as a right-wing Tory and thus an obvious racist whilst the other is an ardent far-lefist whose jokes about black mentally handicapped babies are not racist but absolutely hilarious and the sign of comic genius.
BOOM BOOM!!
Jim Davidson was a familiar figure around town to us residents of Bristol, back in the 80’s. He was married to Allison Hollaway, an HTV presenter. Not a marriage made in heaven, so he appeared to spend most of that decade permanently pissed.
I was in Renatos, a late night bar and restaurant frequented by Theatre and Muso types one night when Jim came in, ordered a couple of large ones and a Pizza. By the time the Pizza turned up he had passed out. Ma Renato cut it up and passed it out to us conscious patrons. When he finally came round he paid up like a lamb and left. He had no idea that he hadn’t actually eaten the Pizza.
So when the allegations came out against him, I thought… You poor fucker! You have no idea what you did during that decade, you were off your face, so no defence to chancers after a handout. Fortunately the allegations have proved to be so ludicrous as to be laughable.
And from what we knew of him, he is very old fashioned in his sexual tastes, a blonde with big boobs, rather than a groupie groper or kiddie fiddler. He is the typical serial adulterer type really.
But like many of the others caught up in Savilegate, he has had to spend hundreds of thousands to prove his innocence. The Process really is the Punishment if the MAN is really out to get you, just like Plebgate.
Thanks for making me comment of the day with my first post! As I’m on a roll, here’s another one for you. You’ll like this one…
What’s the difference between Little Britain and Ukip?
If you’re a Ukip member and mention the “Ting Tong” character from the TV show Little Britain in a throwaway remark, you are only a couple of goose steps away from the gas chambers but if you actually invent the character of Ting Tong in the first place, you are not racists for perpetuating nasty racial stereotypes but are a much loved pair of “National Treasures.”
It’s the way I tell em’!
Anyway, my mother-in-law, right…no, I’ll stop there.
From the Wikipedia entry on Davidson:
Am I the only one who finds this mind-boggling?
Boom-boom? “Nick-nick”, surely?
Alisa,
The source article is the Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/oct/21/arts.artsnews1
Perhaps he felt it would be ungallant to mock people to their faces?
Yes Ed, I got that part. What I find surreal in this whole thing is the entire combination of these facts: that people in wheelchairs are willing to pay to see his show while probably knowing full well that he would be mocking them, and while he finds their presence disconcerting. Maybe I’m missing something?
Rob
No, Sir, I won’t have that said, a disgraceful calumny, I challenge you to laugh with Marcus Brigstocke, BBC New Comedian 1996, he of the Pac-Man joke.
I’ll see your Marcus Brigstocke, and raise you Alexei Sayle…
In fairness to Elton; His stand up was dire, but he did co-write The Young Ones and Blackadder the Third…
Alisa,
They are English, and not PC. I recall reading an interview with (typical clip in link) Bernard Manning, a comedian of a generation before Mr J Davidson OBE, and he was asked why he made jokes about Chinese people but not disabled people. His reported reply both baffled and satisfied me as to his powers of reasoning:
Alexei Sayle used all his good material in the first season of Alexei Sayle’s Stuff and has never been funny since.
What has happened to Alexie Sayle? He seems to have completely disappeared. Any sightings?
This is a prime example of the process being the punishment.
Its quite possible nowadays for people of the “right’ sort to shut up people of the “wrong” sort permanently by running them through a couple of tribunals run, staffed and for the benefit of the “right” sort of people.
A couple of cases spring to mind, The Andrew Bolt one in Australia, Mark Stein in Canada, Erza Levant, 13 year old girls at the football…. (If you want a cynical laugh check the link and the picture of the chap in question, hes a multi-millionaire athlete who is trying to par-lay his talent for agitation and taking offence into a political career)
In each case the offences are against “my hurty feels”, a seriously low bar to set for fucking people over.
Oh and for a sense of irony…
“To hear a 13-year-old girl call me an ape … it was shattering,” Goodes said.
“Racism has a face. It’s a 13-year-old girl.”
And what does he promote with his next text..?
Goodes later revealed the girl had called him to apologise. He tweeted: “Just received a phone call from a young girl apologizing for her actions. Lets support her please #racismitstopswithme #IndigenousRound.”
Just received a phone call from a young girl apologizing for her actions. Lets support her please#racismitstopswithme #IndigenousRound
— Adam Goodes (@adamroy37) May 25, 2013
The girl told Channel 10 news she was sorry.
“I didn’t mean it in a racist way and I’m sorry to the club and the AFL,” she said.
Goodes, one of the sport’s most decorated indigenous players, stopped play to point out the girl to security staff following the offensive comment and she was later escorted from the ground by security staff.
Goodes said the fan’s offensive remarks had shocked him.
“I was just like, really? Wow could that happen?”
“I don’t know if it’s the lowest point in my career, but personally I’ve never been more hurt.
So he was shocked by racism, at a racist event, the “indigenous round”…
Whilst it’s a shame that some people have thin skins, it’s also a shame that others are not taught better manners. I am glad that the girl apologized, but how much better if she had freely chosen to not insult players from the other team. Where have good manners gone? And why aren’t they being more widely taught? You can be a libertarian without ranting.
If Goodes – whoever he is – is upset at being called an ape, he should think himself lucky he’s not an Englishman living in Scotland.
Any time a comedian goes to doing a show of their own, they’re almost always backed by a team of writers and style and quality of the comedy reflects that. It can go both ways though.
Nick, Wikipedia says
So there’s that.
TFM: Some would argue she was correct in any case.
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Humans-are-apes-Great-Apes