Dylan Moran says he ‘doesn’t give a f*** about PC’
Actor and comedian said social tensions make 2021 a great time for comedy
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Dylan Moran has weighed in on the debate around political correctness in comedy, saying he’s offended people and regretted it in the past but will “probably do it again”.
The comedian, famous for his role as curmudgeonly bookshop owner Bernard Black in the sitcom Black Books, argued that 2021 is a great time to be doing comedy precisely because there is so much tension and “everybody’s getting on each other’s tits”.
He told The Guardian that, post-Brexit, we’re in an era that’s like “watching somebody pull a Snickers bar apart very slowly”.
“There are all these old ties, these skeins of connection, some breaking and some of them holding as we reset,” said Moran. “There’s a massive realignment happening, a sense of, ‘This is enough, this won’t do any more.’”
This tension does not affect how he creates his comedy, he insisted. “I don’t give a f*** about PC,” said Moran. “It wouldn’t enter my mind. I’m not going to take any directives from anybody. The decisions I take about what I say are mine. And I’ve got it wrong, and offended people, and I regret it, and I’ll probably do it again.
“But that’s destiny, that’s human existence. I don’t think any movement or social awareness is going to change that. You have to accept that. If you don’t, it’s just a sign of your immaturity.”
Moran’s 2018 show Dr Cosmos will stream on Dice.fm on 8 and 9 May.
In 2019, BBC boss Shane Allen said British comedy is being ruined by social media users with a “Victorian moral code”.
He spoke about the threat of excessive political correctness as he announced plans to launch the British Comedy Foundation (BCF) – an organisation dedicated to finding comedians from “under-represented” backgrounds.
Allen claimed that the creation of a comedy charter would help to deal with viewers who complain about jokes without appreciating their context, particularly around political offence.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments