Today at 1:26 PM • Updated today at 1:55 PM
Comedian Rogier Kahlmann has been banned from a location in Tilburg where he would perform in April. His ‘politically incorrect’ performance Trigger Warning was supposed to take place in the Van Opstal party center, but due to emails with complaints accusing him of misogyny and racism, the owners decided to cancel the performance. The comedian was also previously banned in Breda.
“It’s another setback,” sighs Kahlmann. “Of course I think it’s a shame that theaters are canceling my show, but I didn’t expect this from the venue owners in Tilburg. They are afraid that things will happen.”
This isn’t the first time theaters have canceled Kahlmann’s show. For over a week he has been receiving one cancellation after another, the count currently stands at seven. Halls in Arnhem and Castricum moved in previously pulled the plug on the performancea performance was also canceled in Breda and Leeuwarden after complaints about the comedian.
Complaint emails
“Breda was the first location to collapse,” says Kahlmann. “Afterwards, a mail bomb was sent to all the halls where I play. They always know where to find me. When Tilburg canceled, my courage sank.”
The complaint emails from various people seem to be the final straw for most locations to cancel the show. “He is racist, deeply sexist and queer-unfriendly. His humor has no double meaning, the punchline is hatred of minorities,” can be read in one of the complaint emails that was also sent to Van Opstal.
Another email even threatens to report to the national discrimination hotline, and the complainants point out possible legal consequences for the location involved.
Kahlmann is further described in the emails as ‘degrading’ and ‘infantile’. Because of the commotion decided also a theater in Castricum cancel his performance. “In our opinion, there are such discriminatory and radicalizing statements that we do not offer a ‘stage’ for them,” said an email from the theater to Kahlmann.
‘They’re just jokes’
Nevertheless, the comedian disputes the accusations. “I’m a comedian, I use exaggeration, inversion and absurdity,” says Kahlmann. “That makes for a racist, misogynistic character. But they’re just jokes.”
He himself thinks that it is not a large group, but only a number of individuals who are trying to have the show canceled. “Very personal things are said about me. That I am a fascist, a misogynist and a racist,” says the comedian. “People don’t see the dividing line with satire. There is a group after me.”
Kahlmann states that the content of the show has been discussed in advance with halls and theaters. “The idea is that we joke about things that you shouldn’t joke about,” he says. “We consciously approach topics that are not discussed in comedy land. In the eyes of many people, this is extreme right-wing, but they are making something political that it is not.”
An excerpt from Rogier Kahlmann’s show ‘Trigger Warning’:
Pleasant evening
But this does not appear to be the case with Carlo Rutten, owner of the Het Witte Schaap venue in Breda, who was the first to cancel a performance. “I didn’t know the comedian’s work, I thought: we’re just having a nice evening,” he says to Omroep Brabant. “But after unpleasant messages came, we canceled the performance. We do not want to stand between two parties.”
After each cancellation, the comedian posts the email from the relevant location on his Instagram. “I’m disappointed in them,” he says about canceling the shows. “I’m disappointed that he shared the email on social media,” says Rutten. “That is a private matter, just publishing it is not okay,” the entrepreneur retorts.
Conflict
Party center Van Opstal writes in their email to Kahlmann that they are shocked by the commotion and are afraid of conflict as a result of the show. “We do not want to create disagreement or interfere in this social issue,” they say. “We also want to remain a safe place and we are afraid of conflicts during or around the show.”
The comedian is now eagerly looking for a new location for his show. Previously he had to move to Balk (about fifty kilometers away) in Leeuwarden, but his Gelderland performance will ultimately be played in Velp, a stone’s throw from the original location.
“I’m not going to say too much yet, but I have some contacts with locations in Tilburg that already know about the commotion,” he says. “I’m also going to hire security for all the shows. It will all cost me thousands of euros.”
Party center Van Opstal could not be reached on Thursday morning for further substantive comment.
