The Australian Human Rights Commission has dropped a controversial case against a comedian over a stand-up comedy routine about aboriginals.
Stand-up comic Isaac Butterfield said in a statement on social media on Monday that the result was a victory for comedy and free speech.
“18 months ago I was taken to the Human Rights Commission over a joke I told on stage all over the country,” Mr Butterfield wrote.
“Today I can confirm that the case has been dropped, this is a huge win for comedy in this country. Comedy should never been censored nor should you be forced to apologise for it. Jokes aren’t real…”
I Won The Court Case. pic.twitter.com/x6qiBZfA1S
— Isaac Butterfield (@Thebuttsmarn) July 31, 2024
The 2023 routine included a series of jokes about indigenous people, which began with Mr Butterfield saying: “It’s so easy to write aboriginal jokes, they write themselves, the most aboriginal word in the world, corroboree, has the word ‘robbery’ in it.”
“White people in Australia never really culturally appropriated aboriginal culture, because there was nothing that we really wanted, except the kids. Let’s be honest, we never really looked and tapping sticks and thought ‘we need those’,” he continued.
“I thought I’d never seen aboriginal pornography before, and on top of that I thought I’d never seen an aboriginal pornographic magazine. It turns out I have, it’s just known as a different name, National Geographic magazine.”
“Have you ever seen a transgender aboriginal? Of course you haven’t, they’re hard to spot because the ladies already look like blokes.”
In a video shared on X on Tuesday Mr Butterfield revealed the case against him was opened by a single complainant, who wrote:
“As an aboriginal woman, this man made me unsafe within my community and throughout Australia. I fear for my daughters and all aboriginal people. The pain and fear I feel right now is indescribable. I am scared for my children.”
Mr Butterfield said the woman wanted an apology and training, but he refused and engaged a lawyer. He was then ordered to appear in front of a tribunal, until recently when the Human Rights Commission informed him they were not proceeding with the case.
“This is a massive win for free speech in this country,” Mr Butterfield said.
“Surely this gives us some hope that you can tell jokes, and get dragged before government officials. This isn’t 1984, this is ridiculous”.
In previous videos on the topic Mr Butterfield explained that the jokes were not intended to be racist towards aboriginal people, but that they aim of the routine was to make fun of the jokes themselves.
He also said that he has many aboriginal friends, and has received a large volume of support from indigenous people since the complaint was filed.
The Australian Human Rights Commission is a government funded statutory body set up to investigate alleged anti-discrimination law infringements, and is overseen by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.
