Yuk Yuk’s cancels comedy troupe over Indigenous jokes

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This article was published 24/02/2024 (951 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Fort Garry Hotel and its in-house venue Yuk Yuk’s have removed a comedy group called Danger Cats from its upcoming performance schedule, citing concerns over the group’s material, some of which has been called racist.

The Canadian trio — Brendan Blacquier, Brett Forte and Sam Walker — were scheduled to perform from Feb. 29 to March 2 at the hotel’s comedy venue, a link in an international chain of comedy clubs.

“Brett Forte’s shows at Yuk Yuk’s Winnipeg have been cancelled,” a post on the club’s Instagram read. “Danger Cats shows were cancelled on February 7th. They will not be performing at Yuk Yuk’s Winnipeg. The Fort Garry Hotel does not support Danger Cats’ content.”

One remark made in a recent roast battle by the troupe — whose comedy style is aggressive and confrontational — sparked concerns that it made light of residential schools and the unmarked graves of Indigenous children, while also deriding women.

The Free Press contacted Yuk Yuk’s but didn’t receive a response before press time.

In an emailed statement to CityNews, Yuk Yuk’s CEO Mark Breslin wrote, “Yuk Yuks has always been a free speech environment and no matter if the comic is talking about sex or race or politics there’s always the danger that they will go too far. We may not agree with what they say but we defend their right to say it … Sometimes jokes veer into the tasteless. But as Lenny Bruce once said ‘good taste is for interior decorators, not for comedians.’ The Danger Cats show was at the Niagara Falls club this past weekend and sold out five shows. Not one complaint.”

Bits related to Indigenous experience and history, plus sexist comments mocking women, have been challenged by audience members during the group’s live performances.

In one clip, posted to Forte’s Twitter account in April 2023 by Forte, a woman sitting with two others in the audience says, “You clearly are not native.”

“Actually I am First Nations,” the comedian responds. “Not ancestrally. I just live and sleep in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.”

On the most recent episode of the group’s podcast, The Uncle Hack Podcast, during which the aforementioned joke is recounted, Walker addresses their Winnipeg gigs.

“Your joke and your merch has got my inbox flooded,” Forte complains to Blacquier and Walker, referring to complaints about T-shirts for sale at the group’s website that feature the slogan “Pickton Farms,” a reference to serial killer Robert Pickton. “I’ve got 20 Anishiba (sic) warriors or whatever that are gonna stop me at the Winnipeg airport.

“These are government-appointed bullies. They shouldn’t be coming after us. They should be going after their handlers. (They are) what’s known in communism as useful idiots. That’s what these people are,” he goes on, calling the comedy group’s removal from a Winnipeg comedy club an example of “sheer Bolshevism.”

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com