It could very possibly be the worst joke ever told. 

It all started in 2012, when Jérémy Gabriel, a 15-year-old singer who suffers from Treacher Collins syndrome, filed a human-rights complaint against Mike Ward, a career comedian, for making jokes about him during his comedy set. The complaint alleged that Ward’s jokes had violated Gabriel’s right to dignity. 

Gabriel said that he suffered greatly as a result of the jokes. He was mocked by his classmates. He became depressed. At one point, he contemplated suicide. Gabriel eventually sought the help of a psychiatrist, and—of course—filed a legal action seeking compensation for his pain and suffering. 

In 2016, his case was heard by the human rights tribunal in Quebec. 

The tribunal ruled in Gabriel’s favour. It ordered Ward to pay $25,000 in moral damages and $10,000 in punitive damages to Gabriel. It also ordered Ward to pay an additional $7,000 in damages to Gabriel’s mother.

Unsurprisingly, and properly so, Ward appealed the ruling.

The Quebec Court of Appeal heard the case in 2019. In a 2-1 decision, it upheld the tribunal’s decision. In doing so, the appelate court ruled that Ward’s comments improperly compromised Gabriel’s right to dignity. 

It said that his jokes could not be justified—even in a free and democratic society where freedom of speech is highly regarded. 

It truly makes you wonder…could a joke really be that bad? 

Ward didn’t think so, and so he appealed again. 

This time, the case went to Canada’s highest court—and it was there that he finally got the decision he was looking for.

The Supreme Court of Canada sided with Ward. It found that his jokes—although unfunny—did not breach the limits of free speech as guaranteed under Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. It further found that they did not violate Gabriel’s right to dignity. 

In arriving at its conclusion, the court applied a two-stage test. At the first stage, it considered whether the jokes were intended to incite the vilification of Gabriel based on his disability. At the second, it considered whether they were likely to lead to discrimination against him.

In a 5-4 ruling, the court found that neither of these thresholds were met. 

Although the court conceded that Ward’s set could have caused others to make similar distasteful or insensitive remarks about Gabriel, the judges in the majority could not conclude that this amounted to a violation of his right to live in dignity. They also gestured to the proposition that the comedian could not be held responsible for the actions of others. 

The big picture

In many ways, the legal saga between these two parties may seem like nothing more than one big gaffe—but it is anything but. 

This landmark decision on drollery was the first time that the Supreme Court was required to strike a balance between the right to dignity and free speech in the context of entertainment. 

And this—perhaps now more than ever—is a very important question. 

Social media has largely transformed the way that entertainers entertain. A message that would have once been heard by a few hundred people can now be viewed almost instantaneously by millions of people around the globe. 

While this has created a wider audience, it has also spurred more room for debate, criticism, and offence. 

After all, entertainment—and comedy, in particular—is not always politically correct. Filmmakers tackle taboo subjects, musicians push societal boundaries and comedians bring levity through humor.

Sometimes, entertainment can be uncomfortable, and sometimes it just doesn’t land. Not everything is in good taste. Some of us are bound to be offended. 

But should that entitle those who are offended to seek legal compensation? 

If the answer is yes, then entertainers will be required to conduct themselves very carefully—lest they be sued. 

Under these circumstances, some entertainers may become reasonably afraid to say something outside established acceptable narratives or to push the envelope. Creativity would most certainly be stifled. Dialogue could die. 

And in a world where everything seems so serious, shouldn’t we all just laugh once in a while?

Opening our courts to police comedy is a very dangerous and slippery slope. 

By no measure were Ward’s jokes about Gabriel good jokes. In fact, they were awful jokes. But the proper venue to silence them was never by way of legal action. Rather, he should have suffered his fate the old-fashioned way—through lack of support and empty seats at his shows.