A June 7 Newsmax article by Zoe Papadakis carried the odd headline “Rob Schneider’s Trans Jokes Not Funny for Canada” — as if the jokes in question were unfunny only in Canada. Fortunately, Papadakis served up a more balanced account of the incident than her headline indicated:
Comedian Rob Schneider had the audience reeling Saturday at a charity event in Canada after making transphobic, misogynistic, and anti-vaccination jokes, according to reports.
But not in a good way.
The incident, which took place in Saskatchewan for the “Four Season’s Ball,” prompted the host, Hospitals of Regina Foundation, to issue an apology.
[…]Commenting on the event, attendee Tynan Allan told the CBC that Schneider’s jokes had audience members “groaning, saying, ‘What is going on?’ Like whispering to themselves. Not a single laugh at times. It was just very apparent how uncomfortable everyone felt and how unacceptable the things he was talking about were.”
Reddit users also shared their experiences.
“Yea I was there that night and it was awkward as hell,” CRZAcidGaming wrote. “Went on about how ‘dumb’ women are in an audience that was about 50% women, made anti trans, anti science jokes. Had people walk out before the main event as well as some people complaining to management. Went on for about an hour before they shut him down and took him off stage with security escorting him out.”
StencilBoy added that Schneider cracked transphobic jokes, recalling how he said that “back in my day we liked our women without penises” and “told an anecdote about how he told his son, who is ‘bad at sports’ to say he is a girl to get a better chance.”
It seems like Schneider’s alleged jokes would be unfunny anywhere, not just Canada.
By contrast, a WorldNetDaily article the same day by Bob Unruh actually tried to defend Schneider:
Comedians deliver jokes about everyday topics because people recognize the situations, and sometimes laugh at the circumstances in which they’ve found themselves.
So social faux pas are topics, embarrassment is a topic, insults are a topic, and much, much more.
But not for the Hospital of Regina Foundation.
Its officials cut short a set by Saturday Night Live alum Rob Schneider recently because his jokes were, well, on forbidden topics.
And hospital officials officially apologized for the humor.
It is the Regina Leader Post that revealed Schneider’s jokes included those about vaccines, the COVID pandemic, the LGBT ideology, and more.
[…]It reported those topics were included in Schneider’s comedy set, and witnesses said he was booed.
So the hospital jumped into the politically correct mode: “While we recognize that in a free and democratic society individuals are entitled to their views and opinions and that comedy is intended to be edgy, the content, positions and opinions expressed during Mr. Schneider’s set do not align with the values of our foundation and team.”
Unruh did not cite any examples of the alleged jokes Schneider told, let alone why should be treated as funny. He also failed to prove that those alleged jokes were considered unfunny only by those on “the left,” as his headline stated, nor did he explain why he dismissed the hospital’s apology for the unfunny routine as “politically correct.”