Frank Skinner has revealed that there are jokes he made early in his career that he would reconsider making now, as he “questions things a little more” after becoming a father.
The comedian, 67, said the entire “waking process” has been “educational” for him and, when it comes to certain taunts, “I should have known better.”
talking to The timesFrank candidly explained: ‘The whole awakening process has been quite educational for me and it might have to do with fatherhood matching up for me. It just made me question things a little more.’
With specific reference to a homophobic Bob Dylan sketch and another in which he imitated the walk of a disabled person, he questioned: ‘But would I do either now?’ I don’t know if I would.’
He also commented on the Fantasy Football League’s racist jokes about footballer Jason Lee, even when fellow presenter David Baddiel was wearing blackface.
Frank Skinner has revealed that there are jokes he made early in his career that he would reconsider making now, as he “questions things a little more” after becoming a father.
The comedian, 67, said the whole “waking up process” has been “educational” for him and, when it comes to certain jibes, he “should have known better” (pictured in 1992).
Frank admitted to the publication that he remembers the incident “all the time.”
He added: “The alternative comedy circuit that Dave and I were a part of, those were our two big things: non-racist, non-sexist… we should have known better.” Also, the element of intimidation… was very disturbing.”
Earlier this year, the comedian revealed that he is “offended” by his old “brutal” jokes from the 1990s as he is now “educated” by cancel culture.
He said it was the “norm” to make racist and sexist jokes when he broke through; However, he now feels that woke politics has “had an effect” on him.
Frank admitted that his comedy act hasn’t changed because of cancel culture, but rather he has “changed” as a person since becoming a father.
speaking in Today On a podcast in August, he said: “Sometimes, even in videos of myself from the ’90s, I see myself making a joke and I think ‘oh, I wouldn’t do that now’ because it might be a joke that I now find a bit offensive.” .
“It’s interesting because the most frequently asked question is ‘can you do comedy in the age of woke politics?’ and all that.
‘But my comedy is very autobiographical, I don’t invent anything, it’s just things that have happened in my life and I process them through my comedy head.
Frank candidly explained: “The whole awakening process has been quite educational for me and might have to do with the coincidence of fatherhood with him” (Pictured in 1994 with David Baddiel)
Referring to a homophobic Bob Dylan sketch and another in which he imitated the walk of a disabled person, he questioned: ‘But would I do either of those now?’ I don’t know if I would do it’
Earlier this year, the comedian revealed that he is “offended” by his old “brutal” jokes from the 1990s as he is now “educated” by cancel culture.
‘So, it’s the other way around, I change and then my act changes.
“All this recent politics over the last 10 years has had an effect on me, I became a father during that period.
‘Growing up in the West Midlands, I became brutal, racist, sexist, homophobic, it was absolutely the norm.
‘It’s not that I wasn’t hearing the alternative voice, there was no alternative voice. I didn’t even question it.
‘But I question it now and I have questioned it a lot. I think most of us have in recent years, I don’t feel forced or intimidated by woke politics, I feel educated by it.’
Frank and his partner Cath Mason have a son named Buzz Cody, who was born in May 2012.
Frankie explained that he didn’t feel “intimidated” by the politics of wokeness, but he learned from it and questioned why his fellow artists “do” for the historical things they’ve said if they’re willing to learn from it.
He continued: ‘So, I see things now and I think I wouldn’t do that now.
‘But at the same time, it’s healthy to think that, because I don’t want to think about my life in stasis.
He said it was the “norm” to make racist and sexist jokes when he first broke through, however he now feels that woke politics has “had an effect” on him.
Frank admitted that his comedy act hasn’t changed because of cancel culture, but rather he has “changed” as a person since becoming a father.
“I think this is a problem when people are criticized for historical things they said or did.”
“I think the idea that we can improve, the idea that we can rethink our attitudes, there’s no point in waking up politics if that doesn’t work.”
Frank said he has been known as a “blue comedian” during his stand-up career, of which “a lot” revolves around sex.
“I don’t talk about my current sex life for the same reason I don’t talk about climbing trees,” he added.
“And then I thought it was time to change and be more sophisticated and clean up the old people a little bit, and this is definitely ageist, but old people being rude can sometimes be a little disturbing.
“And I basically failed at that task.”
Fellow comedian Ricky Gervais has been incredibly vocal in his disapproval of the woke phenomenon and earlier this year Jimmy Carr said he will never apologize for his comedy.
In 2021, Ricky criticized cancel culture and described “wokeness” as “a strange kind of fascism” amid calls for the “free exchange of information and ideas.”
He said: ‘There’s this strange new kind of fascism where people think they know what can be said and what can’t be said, and it’s a really strange thing. Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.
The Afterlife star previously said on talkRadio: ‘There’s this new fashionable myth that people who want freedom of speech want to say horrible things all the time.
‘It’s just not true, protect everyone. If you’re slightly left on Twitter, suddenly you’re Trotsky, right?
“If you are slightly conservative, you are Hitler and if you are a centrist and analyze both arguments, you are a coward.” Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.
Meanwhile, Jimmy admitted that he doesn’t criticize his comedy, arguing that jokes “are like magnets, they attract some people and repel others.”
Fellow comedian Ricky Gervais (L) has been incredibly vocal in his disapproval of the woke phenomenon and more Jimmy Carr (R) said he will never apologize for his comedy.
Appearing on The Development by David Podcast, he said: “I try not to get involved. I try my best to make it absolutely valid that people don’t like some of my jokes.
‘Jokes are like magnets, they attract some people and repel others. Some people are turned off by my sense of humor, don’t like it, and don’t come to the shows or watch the Netflix specials.
“But when the new Netflix releases a clip, it’ll show up online and it’ll show up on someone’s feed and they’ll see it and be like, ‘Ban this crap, this joke is so terrible I have to send it to everyone I know.'” Damn, I do. HE”. But you have to adjust the size of that.’
He recalled: ‘I remember James Corden being very nice the last time I got cancelled. He called me on the phone and said, “What happened? No, I’ll tell you what happened. You told a joke and some people didn’t like it. That’s all. Let’s go to lunch.”
In his 2022 Netflix special, His Dark Material, Jimmy faced backlash after joking that the deaths of “thousands of gypsies” at the hands of the Nazis had been one of the “positives” of the Holocaust.
He said: ‘When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy of the loss of 6 million Jewish lives to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of gypsies who were murdered by the Nazis.
“No one ever wants to talk about it, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.”
He then explained why he thought it was a “good joke,” saying it was “fucking funny,” “very edgy,” and because it had an “educational quality.” The joke sparked widespread reaction and sparked a debate about racism and free speech.
What were Frank Skinner’s brutal jokes in the ’90s after he apologized?
On homosexuality: ‘There were five of us sharing a room, and one was homosexual, and I didn’t have any problem with that, but I thought there were five of us… if he starts (trying to attack) we can stop him. him until he is settled.”
About pedophilia: ‘A young pedophile arrives in a new city and decides to find an older, local, more experienced pedophile to ask him where the best place to find children is. When asked, the older pedophile says, “Well, actually it’s swings and roundabouts.”
On Frank and David Baddiel’s 1990s show Fantasy Football League, the pair regularly made racist jokes about Nottingham Forest footballer Jason Lee.
In addition to comparing the player to a pineapple, David darkened his skin to portray him in sketches; The duo has since apologized.
Frank and David Baddiel’s 90s show Fantasy Football League saw the pair making racist jokes about Nottingham Forest footballer Jason Lee (pictured in 1994).
In addition to comparing the player to a pineapple, David also darkened his skin (right) to portray him in sketches; The duo has since apologized.