CK, Breuer, Rogan, and more make comedy uncancelable

Comedians have had to watch what they say for far too long.

A single gag can spark a Change.org petition or howls of social media fury. Suddenly, that comedy club door has slammed shut in their faces.

Cancel culture can be cruel like that.

Stand-up comics are starting to fight back. Platforms like YouTube, Rumble, and Patreon are a huge part of that battle, letting stand-ups share their work on their own terms. More entrepreneurial comics are building free speech meccas to ensure they can’t be canceled.

Carolla leads the charge

You could argue Adam Carolla pioneered that maneuver. The podcaster and comic built his self-described “pirate ship” after leaving terrestrial radio in 2009 to make sure no one could cancel him for sharing the “wrong” jokes.

Cancel culture has ignored Carolla’s “problematic” opinions on race, sexuality, and progressive groupthink ever since.

Other comedians are bypassing traditional Hollywood platforms and the rules associated with them.

Take Andrew Schulz. The New York native had a deal with an unnamed streamer to release his 2022 comedy special “Infamous.” Said streamer balked at some of the special’s jokes, so Schulz says he bought the rights back to the material, which apparently wasn’t cheap.

He released it himself and quickly earned back three times his investment.

And he’s not alone.

Comedy can survive

Many comedians now bypass Max, Netflix, and other outlets to stream their work on their terms.

Jim Breuer’s “Country Boy Will Survive” stand-up special, released in December, has earned 1 million views on YouTube alone in under a month. Each view burnishes his brand and expands the potential audience for his future stand-up gigs.

In a 2022 “Forbes” article, comedian Mark Normand said that having to self-release on YouTube after getting rejected by the major streamers turned out to be a blessing in disguise:

“Now looking back, so glad I own it, so glad I did it myself. Look, [making] a couple hundred [thousand] on Netflix would be exciting and obviously I haven’t made that, but I own it, I can chop it up, I can share it easily. I have this underdog kind of vibe to it so people feel like they discovered me or whatever it is, so it kind of worked out in the end.”

Ironically, Netflix aired Normand’s “Soup to Nuts” comedy special the following year.

Platforms like YouTube aren’t perfect. They occasionally censor material, although that mostly involves news-related content or so-called “medical misinformation.” Comics still have more room to be creative, and outrageous, on the massive platform. They can also earn advertising-based revenue along the way.

Louis C.K. goes rogue

The most extreme example of a comedian going rogue remains Louis C.K. The comedian once had Hollywood Inc. on speed-dial. Critics adored his FX show “Louie,” and he could sell out Madison Square Garden. His career collapsed in 2017 when multiple women accused him of pleasuring himself in front of them and he swiftly confessed.

He lost his TV show, upcoming film gigs, his FX showcase, and his good standing in an industry known for wobbly morals.

The comedian still had his fans. Some forgave him for his egregious behavior. Others thought the punishment – the loss of multimillion-dollar jobs, national humiliation, and the end of his Hollywood career – fit the crime.

So C.K. reached out to them via his email list and started performing without the usual support from the media or late-night TV appearances.

Early last year C.K. sold out Madison Square Garden again.

You can't say that on YouTube

Other comedians know streaming specials are only part of the success equation. Comedy clubs will always be their bread and butter, and it helps to have spaces where they can work through bits without a censorial net.

It’s why Joe Rogan created Austin’s Comedy Mothership in March, a place where comedians don’t have to look behind their backs while telling jokes. Fellow stand-ups are flocking to the comedy mecca, eager to network with the Spotify superstar and tell jokes as if it were the 1980s again.

Roseanne Barr told the Daily Wire last year how much she appreciates Rogan’s club and the culture it’s creating in a decidedly blue city. Mothership audiences don’t get offended by her jokes. They just … laugh.

“They’re liberal yet they’re thinkers and they like it when you stretch their minds. ... I say things now that I can‘t say on YouTube. I’m finding that it’s more freedom than I’ve ever had on stage.”

Now, comedy giant Dave Chappelle wants to create a “Mothership” of his own. The unwoke comic is building a comedy club in Yellow Springs, Ohio, his adopted state. And more may be on the way.

Here’s betting comedians won’t get canceled at Chez Chappelle for telling the “wrong” jokes.

Comedians are taking control of their content and their careers. That’s a boon to both the First Amendment and audiences nationwide.