Prospera Place urged to pull the plug on controversial comedian coming to Kelowna
Global News
'If you look up any of the clips on YouTube, it only takes a second for him to get into trashing immigrants, Indigenous people, women, trans folks, queer folks.'
Canadian comedian Ben Bankas is pushing ahead with his planned Kelowna, B.C., stop, despite growing calls to cancel the show.
In a video posted online ahead of March 19, Bankas tells fans he’s coming to Kelowna. Wearing a Kelowna Rockets jersey, the Toronto-born comic, now based in Austin, Texas, is seen stepping off a plane in another online video saying “can’t stop me.”
Bankas has built a reputation for controversial material, including a recent set where he compared Winnipeg to an apocalyptic scene involving Indigenous people.
Kelowna Pride spokesperson Candace Banks says that kind of content is part of a broader pattern.
“If you look up any of the clips on YouTube, it only takes a second for him to get into trashing immigrants, Indigenous people, women, trans folks, queer folks,” she said.
His “I Said What I Said” tour has already faced fallout. A show in Nanaimo was cancelled, with the Port Theatre saying it supports freedom of expression within the bounds of the law.
In the U.S., multiple sold-out shows in Minnesota were also scrapped after backlash to a routine referencing Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother who was fatally shot by an ICE agent earlier this year.
Bankas joked about her death during a performance, saying it was ‘good,’ drawing widespread criticism.
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