Yahoo News Katherine Ryan reveals why she has dropped Beyonce joke after discussion with fans
The comedian has said she is 'not worried' about cancel culture as she has made an effort to evolve her jokes.
Katherine Ryan has admitted she has dropped a joke about Beyonce from her stand-up routine after fans told her they found it inappropriate.
The comedian has said she is "not worried" about cancel culture as she has made an effort to evolve her jokes in keeping with what people find offensive.
Ryan told the Mail Online: "I used to have a joke about Beyonce, not at the expense of Beyonce, a joke saying how wonderful I thought Beyonce was, and people loved that joke.
Read more: Katherine Ryan reveals what she has in common with Leonardo DiCaprio
"And then all of a sudden people reached out and they found that joke inappropriate and instead of being defensive, I ask them why. And I learned from those conversations that when you fetishise a Black woman's strength, then you deny her care and vulnerability.
"And there are more conversations about different demographics of women not being cared for in childbirth and different death rates associated with those views. And I learned so much from a joke being inappropriate."
She added: "Being a comedian is about being provocative but you need to understand the difference between what's a joke and what's hate speech."
In Ryan's past comedy shows she had previously made a joke in which she said: "All I've ever wanted to be my entire life is a strong, powerful, beautiful, Black woman... No one has ever called Beyonce a w***e."
She went on to reference the singer shaking her hips when she dances, saying: "Beyonce became more powerful as a mother. I can tell by the hips, the birth."
Ryan also joked: "Beyonce's so powerful she reinvented sexy face... Sexy face used to be something coy... thanks to Beyonce now sexy face is - there's a bad smell, and you're angry about it."
The Duchess star - who last year appeared as Pigeon on The Masked Singer - has made many public jokes about Leonardo DiCaprio, who she has called "creepy" regarding his relationship history of dating younger women.
The Canadian comedian is mother to daughter Violet, 13, from a previous relationship and shares Fred, two, and Fenna, 10 months, with husband Bobby Kootstra.
Read more: Katherine Ryan 'doesn't care' if she is the punchline
The couple, former childhood sweethearts, rekindled their relationship after she traveled back to Canada to film BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?.
Watch: Katherine Ryan responds to sex advice form the past
