Woke Seattle comedy club CANCELS four comics who didn’t align with areas ‘progressive values’

A Seattle comedy club has canceled four comedians after the venue decided their acts were “not aligned with the neighborhood’s progressive values.”

It may seem like a bad joke, but the Capitol Hill Comedy Bar, known for promoting the voices of the queer community, had booked comics Jim Florentine, Dave Smith, Luis Gomez and Kurt Metzger for a number of upcoming shows before they were dropped.

But Florentine, known for his sharp and outspoken style, is one of the four whose shows were canceled. He now predicts that the club will eventually close after the decision.

“We got this email saying, listen, we’ve done some research and you can’t actually come to the club,” Florentine said KOMO.

“There was a lot going on: We were a progressive area, and we reached out to the community and your values, and my values ​​don’t match the other comics.”

The Capitol Hill Comedy Bar, pictured, said the decision was based on concerns raised by the community about the upcoming shows “not being in line with the ethos of the neighborhood.”

The comedians were informed of the change by the club’s booker, Jes Anderson, who explained in a letter that the decision was based on community concerns about the upcoming shows “which were not in line with the ethos of the neighbourhood’.

The club promotes ‘vibrant voices from the queer community’ with a weekly ‘Queers to the front’ open mic night.

Among his stand-up, Florentine was the voice behind a mentally disabled teenage character called ‘Special Ed’ on a comedy Central prank show called ‘Crank Yankers’.

Florentine describes his action as foolish and non-political, but believes his straightforward approach and willingness to tackle controversial topics, including transgender issues, played a role in the decision.

‘I speak my mind on stage, I’m tense, I don’t kiss the audience’s a**. I will talk about the transgender issues,” he told the New York Post.

The comedians were informed of the change by the club’s booker, Jes Anderson, who explained in a letter that the decision was based on community concerns about the upcoming shows “which were not in line with the ethos of the neighbourhood’.

Recognized as an “LGBTQ+ epicenter,” the neighborhood gained national attention during protests in 2020 when it was declared a “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone”

An aerial view of a Black Lives Matter mural in Seattle, in what was first called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, which included several blocks around the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct

“Given the feedback and to avoid any potential negative impact on both our club and the artists involved, and to maintain harmony within our community, we believe that not moving forward with the shows is the most responsible course of action,” wrote in a letter to the comics.

Recognized as an “LGBTQ+ epicenter,” the neighborhood gained national attention amid protests in 2020 when it was declared a “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.”

Florentine expressed amusement at the idea that the club would contact local residents before inviting cartoon characters to perform.

‘I didn’t know you had to check with the neighborhood. I called my friends who own comedy clubs all over the country and said, ‘I’m coming in a few months, you should check around to see if they’re okay with me performing there,'” he joked.

He thinks the club may have reconsidered after seeing his work or listening to his non-PC podcast.

“A million things could have come up where they said, ‘Hey, we don’t want this guy,’” he said. ‘What usually happens is a club vets you before they book you, (and decides) we don’t want that kind of comedy – a lot of places won’t book you and you’ll never even know. But in this case they booked us,” Florentine said.

The Florentine, centre, known for his sharp style and portrayal of a Crank Yankers character, believes his outspokenness on controversial topics has led to the disapproval

Florentine says he holds no grudge against the Capitol Hill Comedy Bar (pictured), but doesn’t believe it will last much longer if it continues to operate with such restrictions.

Despite his willingness to change his act when performing in more liberal venues, he believes comedy can play a role in pushing boundaries.

“That’s why I started comedy, to push boundaries,” Florentine emphasized.

‘Like sometimes you cross the line somewhere and think: ‘oh that went a bit too far’… That’s the goal as a comic: try to find where that line is and just go with it.’

Florentine says he holds no grudge against the Capitol Hill Comedy Bar, but doesn’t believe it will last much longer if it continues to operate with such restrictions.

“If that’s the way they’re going to run their business, I don’t see how they’re going to survive that long.”

The other comedians involved also had their own opinions on the situation with Gomez speculating that local comics could influence the decision, while Metzger criticized the club for practicing groupthink and predicting its failure.