Mike Ward Standing His Ground in Free Speech Battle Over Joke

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Comedian Mike Ward is back in the news this week as his case with the Canadian human rights tribunal continues to move forward. The popular Quebec comedian has been embroiled in a legal battle since 2012, when the family of Jeremy Gabriel filed suit against him.

Jeremy Gabriel, now 19, was one of many targeted by Ward during his French language special s’eXpose, filmed in late 2011. Ward made a joke about Gabriel, who has Treacher Collins syndrome and gained notoriety for singing in front of the pope in 2006. He joked about the boy’s appearance and about, believing him to be a terminally ill child, how difficult he was to kill. When Gabriel’s family caught wind of the bit, they went to the courts, claiming that Gabriel’s human rights had been violated. Although they filed suit in 2012, proceedings didn’t begin until September 2015, and then only resumed this last week.

Just days ago in court, Gabriel’s mother spoke on the teen’s behalf, where her testimony revealed that she apparently took a part of Ward’s joke very seriously, saying that she thinks Ward actually wants to drown her son.

In an interview with Vice News, Ward said that the testimony of Gabriel’s mother made him feel “horrible.” He insisted that he does comedy “to make people laugh, not hurt people’s feelings.” While he did apologize, it was a bit backhanded, stating “I felt sorry for her, not because of the jokes but for taking everything so seriously.”

Ward has certainly drawn his line in the sand. While he does seemingly feel bad about any harm he might have caused Gabriel, he does not take back what he said. Ward, like many others in the comedy world, believes that all topics, regardless of who they might offend on a micro scale, should be fair game. During his interview with Vice News reporter Tamara Khandaker, Ward stated that “We all have our limits, but I think we should be allowed to make fun of everything.”

There is much at stake in this case. For one, Gabriel’s family is seeking $80,000 in damages from Ward. That’s no small price to pay for simply making a joke. On a larger scale, however, this case could be a tipping point in the ongoing debate among comedians/comedy consumers over who or what is “fair game” to be mocked in a comedy setting.

With the uproar in recent years surrounding the validity of rape jokes and whether a comics duty is to only “punch up,” much of the conversation around the comedy world has been centered around what a comic can and cannot say on stage. As such, the outcome of this case will likely have larger implications for comedy in Canada and abroad.

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler

Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.