David Walliams insists comedy should not be policed by political correctness.
Little Britain creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams
The 52-year-old TV star insists no topic should be off limits for jokes and no one should be told what they can or cannot laugh at.
David believes that comedy is at its best when you're walking a "tightrope".
Speaking to Australian newspaper The Age, he said: “You end up with a list of things you can laugh at and things you can’t – but who’s in charge of that list? When you see Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle or Chris Rock dealing with taboo stuff intelligently, it works. You can still get things wrong but often, the exciting stuff happens when you’re walking that tightrope.”
David and his writing partner Matt Lucas were criticised for their characters on ‘Little Britain’ in which they depicted crossdressers and some racial stereotypes.
The pair – who also received criticism for their mockumentary series ‘Come Fly With Me’ - apologised in 2020 for some of the characters they portrayed in the BBC series which ran from 2003 to 2006.
David and Matt are currently working on a new comedy series which they have promised will be “edgy” and similar to their past shows.
Appearing on ‘The Therapy Crouch’ podcast, he previously said: “We’re writing again but we want to do entirely new characters like ‘Come Fly With Me’. It’s a little bit edgy, there are jokes in it that are like, not in terrible taste, but you know — like ‘Little Britain’ was and ‘Come Fly With Me’.
“No, it’s not trendy, it’s edgy. It’s walking a line that some people might be a little bit shocked at."
Tagged in David Walliams Matt Lucas Ricky Gervais