Yahoo News Jim Davidson explains why women 'laugh their heads off' at his comedy
Channel 5 documentary The Cancellation of Jim Davidson explores the controversial comedian's rise to the top and fall from grace.
What did you miss?
Jim Davidson explained on a new documentary about his life and career that the most sexist material in his act gets the most laughter from women in his audience. He said that women are "laughing at me, not with me" in these moments.
Davidson spoke about the reaction to his jokes on Channel 5 documentary The Cancellation of Jim Davidson, which aired on Friday night. He reflected on his early years, his time on Celebrity Big Brother, and the turmoil of being arrested as part of Operation Yewtree.
What, how and why?
Towards the end of the documentary, Davidson explained why he has refused to change his comic style in the modern era, rather than reinventing himself after winning Big Brother in 2014. He said that his audiences still keep coming and enjoying his material — especially women.
"There's terribly sexist stuff that I do, but they know it's tongue in cheek. They know there's a twinkle in the eye. And they know I'm taking a risk," said the 70-year-old comic.
He added: "You start off to make everybody laugh as much as they can and I have found that women are laughing at me. Not with me, they're laughing at me, because I don't understand them. They realise that I am a victim of womanhood and they quite enjoy that.
"Me moaning about it and moaning about them seems to break them down. I've never seen people laugh quite so much, females laughing at some of the awful things I say to them. They'll laugh their heads off."
Elsewhere, Davidson said he refuses to worry about people who are offended by his work, even though he has seen theatres cancel his shows in response to complaints about sexism and racism.
He said: "I tend not to empathise with people who find me offensive, because they don't get it. People set out to be offended. I have to be me and I have to talk about life as I see it, not how some boss tells me.
"I have been told 'you can't do this' and 'you can't do that', but I need to be the judge of that on my own television station or when I'm working live."
What else happened on The Cancellation of Jim Davidson?
The Cancellation of Jim Davidson — renamed from original title The Rise and Fall of Mr Saturday Night — features an array of comedy stars, as well as Davidson's friends and colleagues. It's an intimate reflection on the ups and downs of his life, including his lowest ebb of entering rehab and later battling the infamy of being named as part of Operation Yewtree. He was never charged with any offences.
With the help of the likes of Jimmy Tarbuck and TV critic Garry Bushell, the show unpicks his rise to the top as the host of Big Break and The Generation Game, as well as his subsequent fall from grace.
The Cancellation of Jim Davidson is available to stream now on My5.
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