Steve Harvey recently spoke out against “cancel culture” during the Television Critics Association press tour, claiming that “political correctness has killed humor.”
For years, there has been a heated debate over cancel culture and its impact (or lack thereof) on the entertainment business. Because of the nature of stand-up comedy, comedians are often the most vulnerable of performers.
Now, while promoting his new ABC series Judge Steve Harvey, Harvey adds his two cents.
When asked if Harvey will do a stand-up special anytime soon, he said no. He explained, “The only way I can do one more special is if it’s at the end of my television career because it will end my television career. We’re in the cancel culture now. No stand-up that is sponsor-driven can say anything he wants to.”
He went on to add, “Chris Rock can’t. Kevin Hart can’t. Cedric the Entertainer can’t. D.L. Hughley can’t. I can go down the list. The only person that can say what they want to say on stage is Dave Chappelle because he’s not sponsor-driven. He’s subscription-driven…if I had tried to continue as a stand-up, there’s no way I could maintain it.”
“Political correctness has killed comedy,” he continued. “Every joke you tell now, it hurts somebody’s feelings. But what people don’t understand about comedians is that a joke has to be about something. It has to be about somebody. We can’t write jokes about puppies all the time. The joke can’t be about bushes all the time. Some of these jokes will have to be about people, because that’s the most interesting topic. So if I come back, I’ll have to wait until I’m done. And I’m not done. I want to do one more. I’ll probably have to call it ‘This Is It.’”
According to theGrio, Chappelle was recently chastised for his current Netflix special, in which he spent much of it addressing trans women and the LGBTQ+ community. Chappelle addressed the topic and cancel culture during a screening of his new documentary in October. He said, “If this is what being canceled is like, I love it.”
