Stephen Drayton thinks not

I saw Alan Davies at a Red Raw night at The Stand in Newcastle a couple of weeks ago. He was trying out some new material. On being announced, he was welcomed to the stage with a champions roar. After a bit of a shaky start he hit his stride and began eliciting genuine laughs. Afterwards he was very personable, posing for picturs and not being a prat.

After his podcast comments about Liverpool not playing on the anniversary of Hillsborough, this must be one of the most awful weeks of his life. Obviously with the social media beast, something like this takes on a life of its own, and, dare I say it, hell hath no fury like a Scouser scorned, but does he really deserve the opprobrium that he's attracted?

Yes his comments were artless and ill judged, but he was talking about something he cares deeply about. Millions no doubt have voiced similar concerns – they're just not high profile enough to warrant a shitstorm.

Where can he go from here? What does this add to this continuing debate about the free speech we have? Not very far judging from this comment: 'He's apologised, but it would be good if he could educate himself as to why it's caused so much offence. He strayed into territory he shouldn't have'.

Comedians attempt edgy with varying results - had he said it as part of a stage routine would it have made such a media impact? Would the whole audience have roundly booed him off? I don't think it would. Being a media darling he's a perfect target, especially for some reason, for The Mirror.

He's apologised, and he's going to gig in Liverpool in September. If that show goes on, he's got big brass balls and should be applauded for his bottle.

Maybe there needs to be a bit of bridge-building from both sides on this sensitive debate, some give and take. Some heat taken out of the situation. Do the families really want someone walking around in fear of their personal safety?

I would hope not.

Published: 12 Apr 2012