Comic's gig pulled amid angry backlash

He’s long been cancelled by most of the comedy world after a string of racist and sexist comments – now Andrew Lawrence has caused fresh outrage by tweeting a sick joke about the Liverpool parade horror.

The comic posted on X: 'To be fair, if I was in Liverpool, I'd drive through crowds of people to get the fuck out of there as well.'

It cost him a gig, with Jokers Comedy Club, promoters of a show at the Caddies venue in Southend, Essex, pulling his performance there on June 15.

The venue posted a note saying: ‘The event organisers who had hired our Comedy Club for the Andrew Lawrence night have cancelled the event.  

‘We do not condone or support the comment that has been made online, and we send everyone impacted by the tragic events in Liverpool our support and prayers.’  

And Jokers said on X: 'The show was pulled by us within an hour of seeing the tweet.'

 Lawrence accused the venue of  ‘losing their courage’ after being ‘bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls’

At least 65 people were injured when a car ploughed through a group of pedestrians heading towards Liverpool FC's Premier League celebrations on Monday, with a 53-year-old arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and other offences. Eleven victims remain in hospital but are stable and recovering.

In a video posted on X, Lawrence also criticised the police for revealing the suspect was a white British man, saying they would have kept his ethnicity secret  had that not been the case ‘in the interests of diversity and inclusion' . It came after he made accusations of 'anti-white racism' over reports of the man's skin colour.

Lawrence’s 'drive through crowds' post was widely condemned, with the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance calling him ‘an embarrassment to the comedic profession’, adding: ‘Can we make sure this person never works in Liverpool, absolutely disgusting.’ 

Liverpool fan Darran Shaw posted: ’This is a shocking comment, disgraceful in a moment were families are hurt and scared for their loved ones who have been marred and injured by such an awful incident. Retract this now and offer an apology, not that it will repair what you have said but rather that it is the moral thing to do!’

The blurb for Lawrence’s live show Still On The Naughty Step, says: ‘Having been "cancelled" twice for his unflinching, uproarious political humour, Andrew Lawrence has come back stronger each time, unstoppable in the face of censorship, selling out venues wherever he goes.’ The Southend gig was the only date remaining not he tour.

The comic constantly complains about being ‘stitched up by the woke Stasi'.

He was ostracised by most of the comedy circuit in 2014 following a series of controversial statements sympathising with Ukip and criticising ‘women-posing-as-comedians’ on panel shows.

And during the Euros final in 2021, he posted: ’Equality, diversity, shit penalties,’ which he followed up with: 'All I'm saying is, the white guys scored.’ When criticised he said: ‘Sorry that black guys are bad at penalties.’

Published: 28 May 2025