Comedian ‘cancelled’ after race joke says ‘offence is taken not given’

A comedian who was “cancelled” after making a “racist joke” during the delayed Euro 2020 tournament says “offence is taken not given” ahead of his stage comeback. Andrew Lawrence was dropped by his agent went almost two years without performing on stage after making a joke about England’s Black footballers after they lost on penalties to Italy. But he is now preparing to make a comeback, saying audiences are welcome to be offended by jokes, but it is “nothing to do with him” should they take it personally. Speaking on GB News, he said: “There’s a contract, an understanding, a bond of trust between comedians and the public that you’re not supposed to take what they’re saying seriously. “As soon as you do, you’ve broken that bond of trust, that contract. That is symptomatic of a wider social problem.” Explaining his joke, Lawrence said the tournament had race as a hot topic with players taking a knee in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in the United States. Lawrence claimed “emotions were very high” in the aftermath of the tournament. However “in the space of a few hours” he said around 30 or 40 tour dates cancelled on him within a few hours, culminating in his agent dropping him. Andrew Lawrence on GB News (Image: GB News) Now, having returned to comedy through viral YouTube videos, Lawrence is preparing to head out on tour. It will be his first stand-up tour since the Euros. He said: “I wanted to do stand-up since I was a kid. It’s still my community as well, even though these comedians wouldn’t come out and support me, and I understand that because there’s a culture of fear within comedy.” Commenting on the content of his new tour, he said: “They’re welcome to be offended but that’s nothing to do with me. Offence is taken not given, I didn’t give it to them, they took it. “If they are offended, and they want to come and tell me they are offended after the show, I’m happy to let them know just how much I don’t care.”