Woke 2 Is Already Here: BBC Censors Problematic Gags

Deadline.com needed a comedy legend to fire back at BBC censors.

It’s the latest sign that, while Woke 1 may have been “crazy,” the progressive mind virus has no intention of exiting, stage Left.

For a while, it looked like woke was on the run for creatives. Comedy roasts came back with a vengeance. Comedians could suddenly say wild and crazy things without facing repercussions. AKA jokes. 

Thank you, “Kill Tony.”

Major studios like Disney backpedaled on progressive messaging in its kiddie films, and the Mouse House’s bottom line grew as a result.

Now, this.

HBO Max’s “Lanterns” plays out like a 2020 release endorsed by Lena Dunham. The woke storytelling is everywhere, and it comes while the DC universe is struggling to reassert its place in pop culture.

Remember “Supergirl?” Yikes.

Singer Ed Sheeran is now the pro-Palestinian mob’s new whipping boy, all for staying neutral on the Israel/Palestinian conflict. 

Not good enough, apparently. Silence, we’re now told, isn’t an option.

Singer Pink dared to defend her Jewish heritage with words that were both bold and kind. Now, the usual suspects are trying to get her booted from her UNICEF gig – Oscar winner Javier Bardem is leading the charge.

Now, it’s the BBC’s turn. The British broadcasters’ blatant censorship of classic comedy feels straight out of the Summer of Love era.

The BBC confirmed earlier this week that jokes featured in David Mitchell and Robert Webb’s show [“That Mitchell and Webb Look”] had been cut ahead of it being restored to iPlayer for its 20th anniversary.

As many as 11 sketches were removed, including a self-referential skit in which Mitchell and Webb joked about the appropriateness of Blackface while in Blackface.

This wasn’t just”blackface” references like the ones Tina Fey personally erased in 2020. This involves several skits now deemed unacceptable to the far-Left BBC.

So comedy legend John Cleese railed against the decision.

“If the BBC could prioritise making great programmes ahead of social engineering they might be worth the licence fee,” he wrote.

So where are the other artists on the matter?

Sacha Baron Cohen is under fresh attacks for decades-old material tied to his Ali G. character. Shouldn’t he weigh in on the BBC matter? He’s a British comedian, after all?

Then again, he’s hoping his “Ali G. Who Iz I” movie doesn’t get cancelled by the emboldened woke mob next month.

Deadline tried to get Cohen to defend his own work. He declined, a true profile in courage. (Then again, Cohen cheered when President Donald Trump got banned from major social media platforms, so he’s ill-equipped to defend free speech)

Instead, a black writer on the upcoming comedy stood up to defend the film and creative freedom.

“He puts himself in the most ridiculous situations, and he doesn’t do that because he’s racist. He goes into these crazy-ass places, places where people would kill him if they knew what was going down. I don’t think he’s doing that from a racist point of view. That’s why I signed on. I wouldn’t sign on to work with somebody that I thought was racist, that’s against everything that I’ve done.”

Will Jane Fonda rush to comedy’s defense? She revived a dormant free speech organization earlier this year. Or will she remain quiet?

What about free speech “martyr” Jimmy Kimmel? Will he invite Cohen on his show to promote “Ali G. Who Iz I?”  If so, will he bring up the controversy and/or defend his fellow comedian?

Bullies thrive when no one stands up to them. Woke bullies ran roughshod over the culture for far too long. And, sadly, they may do the same now, especially if only a few comedy legends are willing to rhetorically punch them in the nose.