The Last Leg star Adam Hills has shared his take on cancel culture, claiming comedians need to be “more responsible for what we are saying”.
During an interview with The West Australian (£), Adam insisted he doesn’t subscribe to the belief that comedy is under any kind of threat due to political correctness.
On the debates on both sides of the spectrum, the Australian comedian explained: “There is a group of people who would like to think that cancel culture is more than it is and there is a group of people who like to think they can ban stuff
“They are having a big fight on either end and most of everybody else in the middle is going ‘is it that bad?’.”
He continued: “The idea you can’t say anything in comedy any more, I’m not entirely sure what is it that you can’t say.
“If you say it and you lose your audience, then you have probably said the wrong thing. That’s what the audience is there for isn’t it? If you offend them — it’s not necessarily their fault.”
Adam added that it’s important for comedians to set an example.
“I think in a way, we as comedians have had to become more responsible for what we are saying but not for fear of being cancelled – we have had to do it because in a weird way we have had to be the grown-ups,” Adam said.
“The people who are meant to be the grown-ups and responsible for what they say, aren’t being responsible, so we have to be now.”
Adam has been part of The Last Leg since it launched during the 2012 Paralympic Games, but became so popular that viewers called for it to return.
In recent times, the show has faced controversies of its own, including when guest Miriam Margolyes said she wanted Boris Johnson to die after he contracted Covid-19.
“I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die,” she said. “I wanted him to die. Then I thought that will reflect badly on me and I don’t want to be the sort of person that wants people to die.
“So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better. But he didn’t get better as a human being. And I really would prefer that.”
Last year, The Last Leg also sparked Ofcom complaints after comedian Rosie Jones commented that at 16 years old, activist Greta Thunberg “needs to live a little”.
“She should be doing two things,” Rosie added. “Drinking Lambrini and getting fingered.”