Comedian Russell Kane has dismissed claims that 'woke culture' is damaging comedy, insisting he does not know a single performer who has been 'cancelled' for their act. The 50-year-old told The Mirror that comedians willing to 'offend a minority group' are often successful today.
'I don't know a comedian who's been cancelled for doing comedy,' Kane said. 'If only I was brave enough to say some slightly more outrageous and hurtful things, I'd probably be number one on Netflix. It's not my type of comedy but my point is, I think there's more freedom of speech now than there was.'
Addressing criticism faced by Jimmy Carr and Jack Whitehall for performing at the Riadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, Kane argued: 'That wasn't for the comedy, that was for where they went to do comedy. A comedian might be cancelled for someone he's touched or something he's done to someone, I don't know anyone who's been cancelled for a joke.'
On 'woke culture', he added: 'It's such a weird word because the opposite of woke is asleep. I don't want to be asleep. Just because I recognise that someone of colour has had a different life journey to me - I'm not woke, I'm just not f**king ignorant. It's ignorance.'
Kane is teaming up with This Morning's Sian Welby to host ITV's The Spin Off, a free quiz app. He also revealed his ambition to become a Chaser on the quiz show, saying: 'I'd love to go up to the level where I could be a Chaser.'
