“The new generation of comedians’ disdain for the old seems pretty generalized!” Dany Turcotte tweeted during the Les Olivier Gala. Speaking on QUB radio, Guy Nantel also mentioned that he sensed “a sort of contempt for the elderly” during Sunday night’s gala. Do young comedians really have no regard for their predecessors? We put the question to three of them.
Marie Helene Racine Lacroix
The comedian and author found the gala moderated by Katherine Levac funny and benevolent.
“It really touched me to see a lesbian woman talk about her family life in prime time and on the show,” admits the one nominated to write the podcast.
Photo Ariane Famelart
Marie Helene Racine Lacroix
While she enjoyed the gala, she can understand comedians being impressed by certain numbers, including those by Virginie Fortin and Arnaud Soly, who parodied popular comedians of the ’90s.
“Humor is such a powerful communication tool, it stirs passions, especially when you’re making fun of something you love,” she adds.
However, she doesn’t see the acknowledgment that the comedy industry has evolved in recent years as a sign of disdain for older people.
“Comedy is the art that ages least, all comedians know that. We can acknowledge what was funny about those years while also critique what doesn’t work with our sensibilities today,” she says.
“Personally, I have great admiration for older comedians and when I criticize them, it’s out of respect,” adds the young comedian, who finds the case exaggerated.
“Guy Nantel and Dany Turcotte have expressed their opinions, there is nothing wrong with that. What bothers me is that it’s being picked up by click factory sites because we know it’s going to piss people off and generate debate and engagement.
Raffaele Bolduc
Passionate about humor since childhood, Rafaële Bolduc has always been inspired by comedians.
“When I was little, I used to watch all the Bye Bye on VHS. Dominique Michel is my idol!” she emphasizes.
Despite her love for the job, she doesn’t shy away from teasing colleagues or criticizing certain aspects of the industry in her numbers. “Everyone made fun of previous generations, it’s not from the Oliviers,” she points out.
Comedians do it on the evenings of humor that she attends in bars.
“Those who are very established and don’t throw as many slump parties might have been surprised by what was said at the gala because they haven’t had as much exposure to the work of comedians, more young people,” points out the one who been making humor for five years.
Photo Philippe Le Bourdais
In her opinion, there were no controversies.
“It’s ironic coming from people of the RBO generation where older people have been laughed at for being upset about it. There are comedians who, a few years ago, went on stage with a red ribbon over their mouth to claim the right to laugh at everything, but we can’t laugh at them,” Rafaële Bolduc regrets.
“It opens the door to complaining about young people and promoting the generation gap at a time when it really doesn’t need to. There are guys in lederhosen who make jokes about their girlfriends, young and old alike, but mainly there are fewer and fewer of them.
• Also read: We summarize the dispute between Léa Clermont-Dion and Mathieu Bock-Côté
Mathieu Chiasson
Mathieu Chiasson sees no gap between young and old comedians.
“There are comedians I get along with very well and I later find out that they are 15 years older than me. There is everything on the evenings of humor,” he says.
Photo Philippe Le Bourdais
Comedians who claim there is ageism at the Les Olivier Gala didn’t understand the point of the act, he says.
“We didn’t laugh at the older comedians, we laughed at the comments from back then. We laughed that it was easier to make racist, transphobic or sexist jokes in those years. That doesn’t mean all comedians have made it,” he nuanced.
When he saw the Les Olivier Gala, Mathieu Chiasson saw no contempt.
“It’s a humor gala, it’s normal that we joke about the environment. In addition, the criticism was justified,” says the young man, who has been doing humor for five years.
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According to him, humor evolves with society, “and it’s normal that what used to make you laugh doesn’t make people laugh anymore”.
“There are people who would crack problematic jokes in their 20s and then in their 50s just adapt their humor to the fact that society is changing. It’s not a question of age, but of attitude,” he concludes.