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A comedian has been asked to apologise for a vegetable-based joke.
Swedish comedian Olaf Falafel has been asked to apologise for a joke he made at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The joke was as follows: 'I keep randomly shouting out "broccoli" and "cauliflower" - I think I might have florets.' TV channel Dave awarded it the 'Joke of the Fringe' prize.
But not everyone was amused. Suzanne Dobson, chief executive of Tourette's charity Tourette's Action, thought the joke was 'rubbish'. Fair enough.
But she went further. She also demanded an apology from the comedian: 'Humour is a great way of educating people - but not only is it not funny to poke fun at people with Tourette's, it's not even that funny a joke, is it?' She also said the joke brought 'shame on Dave'. (Arguably a funnier statement than the joke itself.)
Of course, there is nothing offensive about this joke and people with Tourette's are clearly not the target of it. It was a pun, not some covert incitement to hatred.
That such an anodyne joke can cause outrage today shows just how far we have strayed from the path of sanity. Not so long ago, edgy comedians like Frankie Boyle were the ones causing outrage. Now it's veg-loving punsters.
God help us.
Comment: All Dobson has done with her outrage is draw more attention to the target of her ire. She's right - it's a lame joke. It probably would have died within 24 hours (if that). But now there are articles being written about how stupid it is to be outraged about it. Well played, Dobson - you've probably elevated a mediocre comic to a household name and made your organization look like a bunch of snowflakes.
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