Is British Comedy Under Threat?

Yet another comedian has fallen foul of Ofcom, the "Independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries." (Their words, not mine)

Frankie Boyle, known for his controversial comedy on Mock the Week, has had a series of complaints lodged against him for his outspoken antics on his Channel 4 show, Tramadol Nights.
Conservative MP John Whittingdale (No, I don't know who he is either) has branded Boyle a "serial offender" whose words are "deeply offensive to a large number of people," after Boyle used 'racist' words on Tuesday's show. The MP also said "I don't think even in comedy it is justified."
He is already being investigated by Ofcom after Katie Price (aka Jordan - I will say no more about my opinion of her!) complained about a "vile" joke Boyle made about her disabled son on an earlier episode.
He has also been slated for a parody of an advert designed to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, described as "Misleading and Offensive" by Mark Davies, director of communications at mental health charity, Rethink.

So I am left wondering, has the government now put a tax on laughter?

I recall an incident a few years ago on "Hell's Kitchen" where one of my favourite comedians, Jim Davidson, was kicked off the show for referring to Big Brother's Brian Dowling as a "shirt-lifter." The Daily Mail called it a "homophobic slur." (Please note here that Jim Davidson regularly flies out to entertain the British Troops on tour in Afghanistan and Iraq, something that I admire him greatly for - What has Brian Dowling done for our boys??)
Yet I don't recall any complaints about his "Shirt-lifter Song" or indeed the "Skirt-lifter song" from his adult Pantomime's "Boobs in the Wood" (1999) and "Cinderella Comes Again" (2004)

Why not? Maybe because they were released so long ago that there was no gay men or lesbians to offend.
Or more likely, because people who don't like him DIDN'T WATCH THEM!!

So my advice to those of you who find any comedian offensive:

CHANGE THE DAMN CHANNEL!!!

If you watch Alan Carr, he openly takes the piss out of himself for being gay.
If you watch Eddie Murphy, or Chris Tucker, they get away with saying a lot of things that, had they been said by a 'caucasian' (hey, look at me, I can be PC!) comedian, would have been termed "Racist."
It seems that nowadays, you are only allowed to make jokes about a minority or social group if you belong to it.
So look out, Jo Brand. You are going to have to edit your material to cover overweight women. (I include myself here!
But you can't do that, because it might cause us to weep silently as we dig in to our family size Galaxy bars....

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