Joe Rogan’s new comedy club, the Comedy Mothership, has opened in Austin, Texas, with the aim of offering a venue for comedians who feel they’ve been “canceled” or stifled by “cancel culture”. The opening night featured well-known comedians, including Roseanne Barr, and tickets sold for up to $500 on the secondary market, indicating the venue’s popularity is huge.
The club has a two-drink minimum policy and is divided into two stages, with the main room having no bad seats. However, the opening night was not without controversy, with The Hollywood Reporter citing anti-transgender jokes and a homophobic slur during the performances.
The Ritz Theater, where the club is located, has a history dating back to 1929 and has previously functioned as a segregated movie theater, music venue, punk club, and pool club, before being purchased by Alamo Drafthouse in 2007 to become a movie theater. Check this out.
Comedy Mothership opened in Austin, Texas, this month. Rogan promoted its initial lineup with a group of canceled” comedians such as David Lucas, Ron White, Tim Dillon, Tony Hinchcliffe, and Roseanne Barr.
All strong, independent comedic voices.
“I’m drunk and on mushrooms in my new club! This is as high as I’ve ever been onstage,” said Rogan, via The New York Post.
“I need to connect with this moment.”
.@JoeRogan held the first show at his anti-cancel culture comedy club, Comedy Mothership, featuring a lineup of comedians who have been "canceled."
The show featured Roseanne Barr, David Lucas, Ron White, Tony Hinchcliffe, and more.https://t.co/SYnNQHlUhi
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 9, 2023
Rogan, who has been vocal in his criticism of cancel culture, hopes to provide a space where comedians can perform without fear of backlash or censorship and will reportedly feature a “safe space” for comedians to experiment with new material and push boundaries. Rogan has said that the club will not be a “political” space and will welcome all comedians, regardless of their views.
It should be noted that the wacky, woke left has attempted to smear and cancel Rogan numerous times. From “horse paste” to washed up artists like Neil Young threatening to remove their music from Spotify and thus cause the streaming service to lose tens of listeners, Rogan has seen his share of cancel attempts.
Rogan says he plans to create a safe space for comedians to practice comedy without the fear of being canceled.
“You can’t fire me from my own club, b–ch!” he added.
“I felt compelled to do it … I never wanted to own a comedy club, and I always felt like you just had to be nice to comedy club owners because you never want to be one of those people. But then when I knew I was moving here, and [Austin’s Capital City Comedy Club] was already closed. I was like, ‘Maybe I should buy a f–king club, and start a club.’ And that became my focus,” Rogan said on the Theo Von podcast.
Rogan also suggests on the club’s website to research the comedians if you are afraid you might get offended. A better idea would be to not come at all!
Comedy Mothership’s website advises potential attendees to research the performing comedians before attending. That way they can avoid a fearless comedian hurting their fragile feelings.
“Comedy is subjective and certain comedians are not for everybody. Watching a YouTube clip or reading the headliner’s biography is a great way to get insight on the expected performance,” the website reads.
Network television and most Hollywood comedies are a fine example, unless your idea of funny is a gay dude, an Asian, a transgendered, and a non-binary sitting around talking about Trump. Actually, I see a potential real joke there, it just involves all of them walking into a bar. Rather than my own bad jokes, maybe Rogan can get comedy back on the right track at The Comedy Mothership.
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