Little Britain creator David Walliams says cancel culture is ‘exhausting’ – after his comedy series was pulled off streaming services
Famous British comedian David Walliams has criticised ‘cancel culture’.
Speaking ahead of a series of live shows in Australia next month, the 53-year-old author and co-creator of the cheeky satirical TV series Little Britain said Comedy must have a ‘sharp edge’ to be ‘explosively’ funny.
“It’s all tiring, isn’t it?” he said The Daily Telegraph of the ‘woke’ trend that has seen shows taken off the air and comedians cancelled.
“Things that are extremely funny are often on the edge, aren’t they?” the comedian continued.
‘[The issue] is complicated, but you just take each joke as it comes.
‘If you were afraid that anything you said or did would offend someone, of course you couldn’t say or do anything on stage.
“I don’t think people have lost their sense of humor, as is often portrayed.”
Elsewhere in the chat, Walliams said he thought the point of comedy was to “make people happy”.
Famous British comedian David Walliams (pictured) has criticised ‘cancel culture’
Walliams found himself in hot water over ‘cancel culture’ when the series he co-created with Matt Lucas in 2003, Little Britain, was pulled from Netflix in 2022 (pictured)
Walliams found himself in the hot seat of ‘cancel culture’ when the series Little Britain, which he co-created with Matt Lucas in 2003, was pulled from air in 2022.
The hit sketch show, which poked fun at British societal stereotypes, featured segments featuring white actors in black faces.
In an apparent response to the Due to the Black Lives Matter protests, Netflix has pulled the series, along with Come Fly With Me, also created by Walliams and Lucas.
Later the BBC and BritBox confirmed that they had also decided to remove Little Britain, saying that ‘times have changed’ since the series first aired.
The hit sketch show, which poked fun at British social stereotypes, featured segments featuring white actors in black face masks.
The shows feature scenes where the comedians portray characters from different ethnic backgrounds using makeup.
The British comedian will debut his An Audience with David Walliams World Premiere Tour at Sydney’s Darling Harbour Theatre on September 6.
It comes after Walliams and Kate Ritchie revealed the truth about rumours of on-set flirting while starring together on the 2022 season of Australia’s Got Talent.
The 45-year-old British comedian and Australian radio star reunited with Kate Ritchie on Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa in May to discuss the rumors, and Kate couldn’t help but heap praise on her co-star.
“When I sat next to David, we started talking about so many things… we started talking about his wardrobe,” she enthused.
“I mean, make way for Chris Hemsworth who wore Tom Ford to the Met Gala the other day.”
“I was hoping that next time you’re in Australia we’d be sitting next to each other at the table sharing stories and talking fashion!” she added.
Walliams is pictured with the cast of Australia’s Got Talent and Kate Richie, second from right