UK comedian Andrew Lawrence has been dumped by his agent and had several upcoming shows canceled after tweeting “the white guys scored” following England’s Euro 2020 defeat to Italy on penalties.
Appearing in a first major tournament final in 55 years, England endured more agony at Wembley on Sunday when they lost 3-2 to the Italians in a shootout after the scores had finished at 1-1 following extra time.
Captain Harry Kane and defender Harry Maguire both scored their spot kicks for the Three Lions, before Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed theirs.
Apparently attempting a joke in the aftermath of the defeat, comedian Lawrence tweeted: “All I’m saying is, the white guys scored.”
Lawrence later wrote: “I can see that this has offended a lot of people, and I’m sorry that black guys are bad at penalties.”
Referring to England star Rashford’s campaign for free school meals for children, he added: “I’d rather he practiced his penalties, and the kids had gone hungry.”
“Equality, diversity, s*** penalties,” read another apparent attempt at humor.
The tweets were met with fury – not least because England trio Sancho, Rashford and Saka have all faced racist abuse as a result of their penalty misses – while Lawrence was swiftly axed by his management agency and venues where he was due to give gigs.
“Following the racist comments made by comedian Andrew Lawrence on Twitter we made the decision to cancel his show,” tweeted one such venue.
“As a part of learning disability charity Minstead Trust, we work hard to promote inclusivity, provide safe spaces for everyone and have zero tolerance for racism.”
Following the racist comments made by comedian Andrew Lawrence on Twitter we made the decision to cancel his show. As a part of learning disability charity Minstead Trust, we work hard to promote inclusivity, provide safe spaces for everyone and have zero tolerance for racism. pic.twitter.com/5SE06iIjRF
— Hanger Farm Arts Centre (@HangerFarmArts) July 12, 2021
Elsewhere, a venue in Worcester added: “Following recent tweets from Andrew Lawrence's account we have stopped selling tickets for his show and removed from our website.
"Worcester Live do not support hate speech in any form and we are currently liaising with Andrew's agent. We will be in touch ASAP with an outcome.”
‼️Following recent tweets from Andrew Lawrence's account we have stopped selling tickets for his show and removed from our website. Worcester Live do not support hate speech in any form and we are currently liaising with Andrew's agent. We will be in touch ASAP with an outcome ‼️
Lawrence’s Twitter account was subsequently deleted, although screengrabs of the offending posts were still widely shared.
The 41-year-old stand-up comedian, who has appeared on the BBC, has been widely described as right-wing but claims on his website“not to subscribe to any political ideology.”
Lawrence admits, however, that he is "particularly scathing of those individuals on the internet that are increasingly now referred to as 'social justice warriors'."
“If you want to hear some jokes, some funny stories with no subtext and no agenda, if you don’t mind comedy going to slightly darker places, if you’re not easily offended, come and say hello,” his website also states.
On this occasion though, few people appear to be laughing.
After suffering abuse which included a mural to England star Rashford being vandalized in his home city of Manchester, numerous members of the Three Lions team as well as the English FA and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have spoken out against the racism directed at the trio who missed the penalties.
Johnson, however, was accused of fueling racism by earlier defending fans' right to boo players taking a knee in a gesture linked to the Black Lives Matter movement.
In a social media post, captain Harry Kane wrote: “Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a penalty when the stakes were high.
“They deserve support and backing, not the vile racist abuse they’ve had since last night. If you abuse anyone on social media, you’re not an England fan and we don’t want you.”
Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up & take a pen when the stakes were high. They deserve support & backing not the vile racist abuse they’ve had since last night. If you abuse anyone on social media you’re not an @England fan and we don’t want you. pic.twitter.com/PgskPAXgxV
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