A comedy troupe set to perform at a show in a New Westminster comedy club has had its show cancelled after a T-shirt sparked significant outrage.
The T-shirt, which featured convicted serial killer Robert Pickton, was being sold on the Danger Cats website, and based on what we saw yesterday, the T-shirt was sold out in all sizes.
We also heard from Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy, the club where the Danger Cats were set to perform. While the club initially said they would stand by the performance, they have reversed that decision.
Daily Hive reached out to the House of Comedy on Instagram, and the club stated in response: “The danger cats are no longer scheduled. We have no further comment.”
Outrage spread across various social media platforms, and a petition garnered over 1,500 signatures before the show’s eventual cancellation.
On Monday, Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy told Daily Hive they would stand by the March 24 performance.
“We have taken note of the merch on Danger Cats’ website that pokes fun at the Robert Pickton case. We understand that this is a sensitive subject, and we have recommended to Danger Cats that they reconsider and remove this particular merchandise. We believe it is important to acknowledge and respond to concerns raised by our community while also respecting the autonomy of the artists,” it said in that earlier statement.
On the New Westminster subreddit, someone posted encouraging residents to protest a March 24 show set to take place at Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy.
“Comedians should punch up, not down. When people talk about how comedy shouldn’t be censored, what they’re talking about is that powerful people shouldn’t silence comedians who want to take them down a peg. Murdered women don’t need to have their egos deflated,” someone on the New West subreddit said.
Others pointed out that this isn’t the only time this comedy group has made light of sensitive topics, adding, “Being locally cancelled is the nicest thing that can happen to them.”