Stewart Lee, 57, sparks fury as he claims ‘fascist’ Trump could ‘lock him up’ if he performed in USA
Comedian Stewart Lee has sparked intense criticism by suggesting he could end up “locked up” if he performed a comedy routine in the USA under Donald Trump’s presidency.
Lee, 57, revealed he recently turned down an offer to perform at a Chicago comedy club.
In a new interview, Lee expressed concerns about potential consequences of his material.
“I wouldn’t work in the States at the moment. I’d worry about them going through my jokes and ending up spending two days locked up without my heart medication,” he said.
Speaking on Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s podcast, Ways to Change the World, the comedian elaborated on his concerns about performing in America, linking them to what he perceives as a shift towards fascism under Trump’s leadership.
“I don’t see a way out of where we’re going. Let’s call it what it is,” Lee told Guru-Murthy.
He cited examples of his concerns: “People are being deported wrongly from the United States to an El Salvador jail without due process. What’s that?
“Trump is doing deals for resources with dictators. It absolutely is that, and we have to call it that. And we have to act in the way we should have done more quickly in the ’30s.
“I just got an offer, ‘Will you come and do a week in this club in Chicago?’ It’s not something I’d normally do anyway, because at the moment, I’d have to take a huge set of an American cityscape and two full-size werewolf costumes.
“I’d have to get those through American customs at the moment. But I wouldn’t work in the States at the moment.
“I’d worry about them going through my jokes and ending up spending two days locked up without my heart medication. I just would worry about it.”
Lee has previously made jokes about Trump in his 2018 stand-up show.
“Because I’ve got a Trump bit [in the routine] I have to check at half time every night that he’s not been assassinated or fallen into a barrel of porn actresses or something,” he told an audience in Southend.
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In the same show, Lee joked: “Not all Americans that voted for Trump wanted to see America immediately descend into being an unaccountable single party state exploiting people’s worst prejudices to maintain power indefinitely. Some Americans just wanted to be allowed to wear their Ku Klux Klan outfits to church.”
Lee’s comments have drawn criticism on social media, with some labelling him a “hypocrite” who “had no problem whatsoever with comedians being cancelled in the UK for offensive humour”.
Taking to X, one critic wrote: “Woke chump. Should be cancelled. We don’t care about his politics.”
Another questioned: “Why would he be locked up? I’m going there soon and I’m not aware of any circumstances I would be locked up unless I committed some crimes.”
Some accused Lee of selective outrage, with another adding: “He is talking utter BS whilst disregarding UK cases.”
Others were more supportive, with one fan writing: “I like Stewart Lee, he’s a funny bloke. But he’s totally overreacting.”
Despite the controversy, Lee suggested his audience is more diverse than many might assume.
“They’re not exactly who you think they are,” he told Guru-Murthy.
“There’s a lot of people that would fit the Guardian reader stereotype, but when I go to Southend or Carlisle or Derby there simply aren’t that many people like that living there.”
Lee explained that his shows attract comedy fans regardless of political alignment.
“People come out that like comedy. They don’t have to agree with you,” he said.
“I also like the fact that people come who don’t agree with you but like the skill of the humour.”