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Omid Djalili has spoken thoughtfully about how cancel culture is impacting comedy.<\/p>\n
The world-famous funnyman, 57, pointed out that these days, people rock up to comedy shows with the sole purpose of being offended.<\/p>\n
The term \u2018cancel culture\u2019 has been chucked around a lot over the past few years, particularly within the comedy sphere, with everyone from Ricky Gervais to Dawn French expressing concern \u2018wokeness\u2019 means comedians can\u2019t operate with full creative freedom for fear of being cancelled.<\/p>\n
From public shunning to social media takedowns, some entertainers worry that if material isn\u2019t in line with audiences\u2019 ideologies, they\u2019ll be, quite literally, scrubbed from the public sphere.<\/p>\n
The term cancel culture is used to refer to the \u2018cancelling\u2019 of celebrities, brands and forms of entertainment (think movies, TV shows and music) that are considered to be problematic or offensive.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not all, there\u2019s also been an increase in bad behaviour at gigs, comedy shows and even award ceremonies. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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When asked for his views on recent incidents \u2013 from performers being hit by objects to *that* Oscars slap \u2013 Omid admitted: \u2018In the live arena we have to be a little bit careful what we say so we don\u2019t attract nutbags.\u2019<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, it was revealed that one comedian at Edinburgh Fringe \u2013 a festival Omid\u2019s performed at in the past \u2013 was socked in the face by an angry punter while performing in the Scottish city.<\/p>\n
Sharing his thoughts on live performances, Omid told Metro.co.uk<\/em><\/strong>: \u2018We all need safe spaces but we have to be very careful what we say with cancel culture and [there are] a lot of people who come to be offended.\u2019<\/p>\n He elaborated: \u2018They all want to go viral, they know there are cameras. In the live arena, we have to be a little bit careful what we say so we don\u2019t attract nutbags.\u2019<\/p>\n Omid went on: \u2018But also, in the live arena, anything can happen. Lots of stuff has happened in my career and you have to sort of roll with it.<\/p>\n \u2018It teaches you to live in the moment, but if comedians are feeling unsafe, that\u2019s something that should be addressed.\u2019<\/p>\n Of course, with news that Gladiator 2 is in production, we had to ask Omid about the forthcoming film and whether he\u2019s excited to see it \u2013 he did, after all, have a role in the first one.<\/p>\n Needless to say, Omid\u2019s answer didn\u2019t disappoint.<\/p>\n \u2018Yes, I am excited about Gladiator 2. I\u2019m very surprised I wasn\u2019t asked [to be in it],\u2019 he quipped, adding: \u2018It was a great experience [filming the first one].\u2019<\/p>\n He continued: \u2018I remember being on set, and there was a guy on set who was German, and I said, \u201cWhat do you do?\u201d and he goes, \u201cI do the music\u201d and I said, \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d and he went, \u201cHans\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018It was Hans Zimmer,\u2019 Omid added for clarification.<\/p>\n \u2018I didn\u2019t know who he was, he just said, \u201cMy name\u2019s Hans\u201d. And I said, \u201cHave you done anything I might have heard of?\u201d And he said, \u201cYeah there was a gameshow I did on the BBC in the 1980s with Henry Kelly called Going for Gold\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n Omid added: \u2018And I went, \u201cIs the theme tune [sings theme tune]?\u201d and he went \u201cYeah I wrote that\u201d and I just thought, \u201cF******g hell this film\u2019s gonna be shit\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n Omid was chatting to us about his new partnership with easyJet Holidays, Dad\u2019s Club.<\/p>\n Billed as the world\u2019s first in-hotel Dad\u2019s Club \u2013 or, as EasyJet puts it, the \u2018school of cool\u2019 \u2013 the club can be found in the Spanish hotspot of Benalm\u00e1dena and embarrassing dads can swing by to enjoy everything from air guitar and frisbee lessons to dancing and joke workshops.<\/p>\n Describing the club, dad-of-three Omid called it a \u2018safe space for dads\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018Dad\u2019s Club is for those dads who get too involved \u2013 too loud, too excited,\u2019 he shared.<\/p>\n \u2018Dads can go away for a few hours and give the rest of the family some peace.<\/p>\n \u2018I think it\u2019s a revolutionary idea.\u2019<\/p>\n As for the most embarrassing thing Omid\u2019s ever done on holiday? Let\u2019s just say it\u2019s a stone-cold ten on the Richter scale.<\/p>\n \u2018Once we arrived at Athens airport and the bags hadn\u2019t come out for about half an hour,\u2019 Omid began.<\/p>\n \u2018Everyone was getting restless. And so I thought I would entertain my kids by getting on the carousel.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Ct9n20wvNuK\/ \u2018So I got on the carousel and it was going around and I stood there with a heroic pose.\u2019<\/p>\n The comedian went on: \u2018It made all the passengers laugh, but as I went round, police were coming.<\/p>\n \u2018They grabbed me and they took me off the carousel and they marched me off to a room and my kids ran after me and said, \u201cNo, no, no, he\u2019s an embarrassing person, he was trying to entertain us because the bags hadn\u2019t come out\u201d and they actually let me go.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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