IF a performer gets in trouble for telling an ‘offensive’ joke, the audience that laughed at that joke is equally guilty, says veteran stand-up comedian Jim Jefferies.
“If the room was laughing (at the joke), the people who were laughing are as guilty as the person who was saying it,” he told The Vibes in an interview over Zoom. The comic will be performing in Kuala Lumpur on December 15.
Jefferies’ was commenting on the Crackhouse Comedy Club debacle where in July this year, a video clip of a 'performance' at a comedy open mic event went viral for allegedly insulting Islam.
Following this, the performer, Siti Nuramira Abdullah, 26, was arrested and charged under Section 298A(1)(a) of the Penal Code for allegedly causing disunity, ill will, or hatred on the grounds of religion.
In the ensuing chaos, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) ordered the Crackhouse Comedy Club – which was located in Taman Tun Dr Ismail – to be permanently shut while its co-founder, comedian Rizal Van Geyzel, 39, was slapped with a charge of allegedly inciting racial tensions over a separate video clip.
Jefferies – who hosted a self-titled late night comedy show that ran on Comedy Central in the US from 2017 to 2019 – is no stranger to controversy, having spent much of his career being reviled as racist, homophobic, and misogynistic for his sense of humour.
Jefferies said that while many comedians proclaim that one must never back down from or apologise for a joke, he argues that “the main job of a comic is to make everyone laugh.”
A point he reinforces with the example of his ‘Gun Control’ joke from his 2014 comedy special ‘Bare’.
The joke, for which Jefferies is arguably most renowned, sees him hilariously dissect the hypocrisies and idiosyncrasies of gun control debates in America with his signature ability to appear befuddled, incensed, and dismayed – all at the same time.
His perspective on the issue comes from the fact that Jefferies is an Australian whose own country enacted strict gun laws following a horrific mass shooting in 1996.
There is one argument and one argument alone for having guns, and this is the argument: “F*** off, I like guns!”.
It’s not the best argument, but it’s all you’ve got … and there’s nothing wrong with it, nothing wrong with saying: “I like something. Don’t take it away from me”.
But don’t give me this other b*llshit: “I need it for protection. I need to protect me. I need to protect my family”
Really? Is that why they’re called ‘assault rifles’? I’ve never heard of these f***ing protection rifles you speak of.
– 'Bare' (2014) by Jim Jefferies
Following the success of the ‘Gun Control’ joke, some purists blasted Jefferies for turning into a ‘political comedian’, or someone who aims to get social justice messages across at the expense of objectively funny punchlines.
During his interview with The Vibes, Jefferies dismissed this notion, emphasising his view that a comedian’s job is, ultimately, to entertain.
“Even if you think I’m some leftie or hippie type of fella… that gun control bit was funny. You can say all you want that I’ve become too activisty or whatever, but funny was always my main concern.”
Returning to the topic of freedom of speech, Jefferies went on to assert that he will always stand up for someone’s right to “say whatever they want”.
However, he cautioned that this goes both ways because “you can say whatever you want, but people can also say whatever they want about you saying whatever you want.”
Jefferies will be bringing The Moist Tour to Kuala Lumpur on December 15, 2022. Presented by Live Nation and PR Worldwide, the show will be held at the Plenary Hall, KLCC.
Tickets are RM198 and RM258 (excluding fees) and can be purchased at https://www.golive-asia.com/jim-jefferies-the-moist-tour/. – The Vibes, December 4, 2022
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