He’s had a life-long career as a much-loved comedian, impressionist, actor and singer and Bobby Davro has said he will never become a victim of cancel culture.
The household name, 65, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered five months ago – thinks that comedians shouldn’t be afraid to joke about whatever they like – as long as they are not propagating violence or hatred.
Appearing on the My Dirty Laundry podcast, Bobby said: ‘I haven’t got an ounce of racism or homophobia or transphobia, I speak to everyone. But you can be picked up on something.
‘I think it’s mad. Well, we’re comedians. We don’t go out to offend. Nobody goes out to offend. Offence isn’t given. It’s taken. And you can be offended about anything…
‘And you have every right to be. But it doesn’t mean to say we have to be offended along with the same thing. And it shouldn’t cause cancel culture. It’s very bad.’
Bobby Davro, 65, has insisted he won’t get cancelled and he says no topics should be off limits to comedians – as he quips ‘if you don’t like the joke, don’t laugh’
Bobby, (pictured in the 80s) had a life-long career as a much-loved comedian, impressionist, actor and singer and received a standing ovation when he returned to the stage after suffering a stroke five months ago
Appearing on the My Dirty Laundry podcast, Bobby said: ‘I haven’t got an ounce of racism or homophobia or transphobia, I speak to everyone. But you can be picked up on something’
He continued: ‘As long as you’re not propagating violence or hatred, I’m out there trying to make people laugh. If you don’t find it funny, don’t laugh. That’s okay.’
While the likes of Jimmy Carr have said they are just waiting for the joke that gets them cancelled, Bobby thinks he’s pretty safe where that’s concerned.
He said: ‘hopefully people like, well… I do enough that I’ve got an audience, I won’t get cancelled. I wouldn’t have thought so.’
Then he added playfully: ‘The amount of gigs I’ve got, my God.’
Bobby insists that if you don’t like an act, then simply don’t listen to them.
He said: ‘Don’t go around and cancel them just because you don’t like it. You can always get up and leave or turn the TV off or turn it off. You can always do that.
‘A lot of people… What’s the phrase? They want to be virtuous, don’t they? They want to be seen. I’m standing up for such and such. I’m standing up.
‘Sometimes, if you’re doing a joke, if someone did a joke about disabled people, they don’t need you… They can stand up on their own. no, they can’t can they?’ he quipped controversially.
He said: ‘I think it’s mad. Well, we’re comedians. We don’t go out to offend. Nobody goes out to offend. Offence isn’t given. It’s taken. And you can be offended about anything…’
‘People will say, “You told a joke about a disabled person”. I’ve got loads of disabled friends. They’d laugh at it. They don’t want to be… a lot of disabled people… They don’t want to be segregated.
‘They want to be accepted as, as like the rest of us. And that’s the way it should be. So why shouldn’t they have jokes to include them?
‘As long as you’re not picking on them, as long as you’re not selling hatred, as long as you’re laughing with them and not at them, then that’s the most important thing. People say, “you mustn’t say this. You mustn’t say that”. Yes. You MUST!
‘People just have to hear the word disabled or hear the word religion. It’s crazy. I do jokes about it.
Bobby – who lost his lovely fiancée to cancer last year, has said that he himself has made jokes about things that are painful to him in order to get a laugh.
He said: ‘I went out and told jokes about my dad the day after he died. So it’s just the association. I think Ricky Gervais once said, “I’d like a pound for everyone I’ve offended with my comedy”.
While the likes of Jimmy Carr, (pictured) have said they are just waiting for the joke that gets them cancelled, Bobby thinks he’s pretty safe where that’s concerned
Singing his praises, he said: ‘I think Ricky Gervais once said, “I’d like a pound for everyone I’ve offended with my comedy” And then he stopped and he said, “No, hang on a minute, I have got a pound for everyone I’ve offended”‘
Bobby said that he would happily tell jokes about the late Professor Stephen Hawking, who had ALS – because ‘he would love it’ – and Stephen would himself poke fun at his disability
‘And then he stopped and he said, “No, hang on a minute, I have got a pound for everyone I’ve offended”.
‘It depends on your sense of humour. And as long as you’re not hurting anyone, remember, a comedian doesn’t go out to hurt you. He goes out to make you laugh.’
Bobby said that he would happily tell jokes about the late Professor Stephen Hawking, who had ALS – because ‘he would love it’ – and Stephen would himself poke fun at his disability.
But when pressed, he agreed that poking fun at disabled children, could be out of bounds because they can’t stick up for themselves.
He said about his Hawking impressions: ‘It’s done out of sort of respect. He would love it, but it’s a very niche thing. And if it didn’t get laughs, I wouldn’t do it, because I’m not cruel. I’m not doing it to be cruel. I’m doing it as an impression.
‘And it comes down to sense of humour. Yours isn’t the same sense of humour as all the others. I can appreciate it. I can respect it. Okay.
‘It doesn’t mean to say that we have to be like you. Cause what makes you laugh might not make me laugh. You know? And so as I’ll come back to it, everything is funny if you can laugh at it.’
To hear the full interview, visit the My Dirty Laundry podcast.
