On April 1st the Hate Crime and Public Order Act came into effect. On very same night, a “hate crime special” comedy show took place in Edinburgh organised by the London-based gig “Comedy Unleashed.” The gig was held at a secret location after the original venue pulled out of hosting.
Performances included a Hitler impersonator, the controversial “hate crime monster”, and a stand-up set by Mark Meechan or “Count Dankula”. Mr Meechan was convicted of charges under the Communications Act in March 2018 for posting a YouTube Video in which he taught his pug to perform a nazi salute.
Concerns that the Act could be used to stifle comedic expression were raised in the media after police training materials showed that officers were being told that a Hate Crime could be committed “Through public performance of a play.” However, Police Scotland issued a statement assuring that comedians would not be targeted under the Act.
Criticism of the legislation came not only from Scotland, but all over the globe. The world’s most popular podcaster Joe Rogan even expressed his concerns that the Act could affect the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
But some Scottish comedians, who would be the people most likely to be impacted by such use of the Act, expressed concerns that it could actually encourage people to use offensive material in order to make a name for themselves.
Glasgow based comedian and promoter John Carruthers said: “I think that the biggest problem is that when you put a bit of legislation like this in, you’ll get a kind of hardline people, you know the natural contrarians that will go out their way to possibly antagonise and skate closer to the line.
“I think you’re more likely to get someone almost go out of their way now to cause offence as a consequence of this.”
Another Glasgow based comedian Liam Farrelly said: “Did you see what happened to the Count Dankula guy? He just got an audience out of that, he got so much media attention.”
Mark Meechan has amassed over a million subscribers on YouTube since his nazi pug video which saw him convicted. Before the Edinburgh “hate crime special” gig, Mr Meechan had never performed stand-up in Scotland.
The gig was attended by Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Neale Hanvey, and regional MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife Murdo Fraser.
Mr Hanvey shared his thoughts on the Gig. He said: “People talk about whether there’s a chilling effect from this type of legislation, well the very fact that a venue attempted to censor a comedy evening is an absolutely clear example.
“We haven’t been able to publicise the venue, so we are effectively dissidents. We are wrong-thinkers because we won’t go along with the queer theory ideology behind the Scottish Governments various strands of legislation.”
The original venue was not publicised either, so there’s no way to definitively know what would have happened, but Mr Hanvey was quite certain. He said: “A whole bunch of people wearing masks, balaclavas and the like would have turned up and shouted at everybody who was trying to go and have a nice evening of comedy. Not based on anything I think other than their hatred of freedom of speech.
Comedy Unleashed held a makeshift show outside the Scottish Parliament during the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, after they were unable to find a venue to host comedian and Father Ted creator Graham Linehan.
Comedy unleashed employee Andy Shaw said: “We didn’t publicise the venue because of our experience at the Edinburgh Fringe. There seems to be a small bunch of people who like to intimidate venues to get things shut down that they don’t approve of. Bit sad really, in the place that gave birth to the Scottish Enlightenment. But, hey ho, these are the times in which we live.”
It’s undeniable that venues have concerns about hosting gigs of an offensive nature, but the fact that an Edinburgh venue pulled out of hosting a comedy unleashed gig in 2023 before the Act came into effect suggests that legal worries aren’t the only reason for this. The fact that Mr Meechan was convicted under the Communications Act also shows that existing legislation could already criminalise material of a comedic nature.
It is also undeniable that the hate crime special gig would not have taken place if it wasn’t for the Act coming into effect, which seems to back up the concerns of comedians such as Mr Carruthers who believe it could actually lead to more offensive material being used.
Two months after the Act coming into effect, and Katie Hopkins has performed stand-up gigs in Perth and Edinburgh. After coming off stage in Perth, Mrs Hopkins posted a video in which she said that she was concerned that her material would be outlawed by the Act, but decided to go ahead. She also claimed that Police Scotland officers visited her at the gig and told her that they are supporters.
How the Act will impact the Edinburgh Fringe this August remains to be seen, but it would be a wonder if the festival passes without some sort of incident relating to offensive material.
