Winnipeg comedy venue bans 'discrimination, hatefulness or harassment'

A comedy venue in Winnipeg has banned “discrimination, hatefulness or harassment.”

“A lot of this is just common sense,” comedy producer Tim Gray told CTV News Channel. “But as you know… common sense isn’t always common and it’s helpful to have something that we can point to on the wall and say, ‘This is where we stand on abusive behaviour.’”

Several nights a week, Gray hosts comedy shows at Wee Johnny’s pub in downtown Winnipeg. This month, Gray posted a sign in the pub outlining a policy that he says has been unofficially in effect for the past two years.

“In this comedy room we will not make space for discrimination, hatefulness or harassment… or any other forms of abusive behaviour,” the sign reads. That includes everything from sexism to racism to body shaming.

“We want to foster a respectful community of crowds and comics,” the sign continues. “We don’t tolerate these behaviours, on or off stage.”

Anyone failing to abide by the rules, the sign warns, “may be asked to leave.”

No specific incident inspired the policy, Gray said -- it was simply a way to “put our feet down” in “today’s current climate.”

“It was borne out of discussions that I’ve had with some of my fellow comedy producer friends… about wanting to make our policy around harassment and abusive behaviour crystal clear,” Gray explained.

Gray added that feedback from the comedians he works with has largely been positive.

“I’m not telling them what they can or cannot say onstage -- I’m not telling them what is or is not comedy,” Gray said. “It’s not like a, ‘Don’t say this word ever.’ It’s like, if you’re going to say that word, it better be skillful and you better have a really good joke that makes people think about it and, you know, something to go with that bitter pill.”

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