The Port Theatre in Nanaimo has cancelled a performance by controversial comedian Ben Bankas, which was set for later this month.
Bankas was set to take the stage in the Harbour City on March 21, despite some concerns from residents and Nanaimo council.
On Thursday, the Port Theatre Society issued a statement saying that it had cancelled Bankas’ show, following a “comprehensive review of its contractual and legal obligations, including its responsibilities under the British Columbia Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“As the operator of the Port Theatre, the Society has a duty to provide a safe environment for staff, patrons, artists and members of the community,” said the theatre.
“After an extensive internal and external review of safety, operational and legal factors, the Society determined that proceeding with the rental would be inconsistent with those obligations.”
On Feb. 23, council voted to ask the Port Theatre to review its criteria for renting its venue space – and to issue a statement that said it supported “marginalized people and visible minorities” in the community – but stopped shy of asking the theatre to cancel the show outright, with some councillors saying they did not want to impose censorship.
In its statement Thursday, the Port Theatre Society said it “remains committed to upholding freedom of expression within the bounds of the law.”
What makes Bankas controversial?
Bankas is a Canadian comedian who is now based in Austin, Texas, whose jokes have been described as offensive by some.
Nanaimo resident Ben Bollich opposed Bankas having a show in the city, citing jokes that Bankas delivered like, “I just got back from Winnipeg, it’s like an Indigenous zombie apocalypse” – and one that followed the mass killing at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver that said “he should have taken a few more ‘lapu lapus’ around the block.”
In a release on Feb. 19, Bankas’ team described him as one of the “most polarizing and commercially successful Canadian comedian of the era,” adding that he had sold out comedy shows across the U.S.
“While legacy media and government-funded venues attempt to scrub him from the schedule, Bankas’s digital footprint is exploding at an unprecedented rate,” reads the release.
For his part, Bankas said he wrote jokes that “I would tell my best friend.”
“It’s what I find funny. I’m not causing the awful things in the world – I just talk about them,” he said in the release.
Bankas is currently touring across Canada and the U.S. He’s set to appear at the Tidemark Theatre in Campbell River on March 22, one day after his Nanaimo set was originally scheduled.
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