Cardiff Uni Says No to Dapper Laughs
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Has the Vine star gone a step too far?
For those who aren’t aware, Dapper Laughs (real name Daniel O’Reilly) sky-rocketed to fame from the video sharing site Vine. This platform allows struggling comedians such as Dapper to amuse their audiences in seven-second videos that continuously loop. While the video sharing site is used largely by Americans, Dapper made his name in the UK based on his immature jokes aimed at women. Whereas some may argue his comedy is purely for effect, the students of Cardiff University were stricken by the darker side.
Dapper Laughs has been granted a number of opportunities throughout his career including his own show on ITV, “Dapper Laughs: On The Pull” and more recently a full-length UK tour. He was due to perform at Cardiff University’s student union the Y Plas on 22nd February 2015, however a petition launched by the members of the union which gained over 700 signatures has caused the show’s cancellation. Leader of the petition, Vicky Chandler, explained, “I am not stating that Dapper Laughs’ 2015 tour should stop completely, I am merely asking our Students’ Union to reconsider having him play there”, regarding the booking as a contradiction to their ‘anti-lad culture policy.’ Dapper Laughs prides himself on his portrayal of a true ‘lad’, complete with sexist jokes and a gross objectifying attitude towards women.
Chandler was outraged that an “academic establishment that claims to protect the rights of its students” would allow a platform for this immature comedian to profess his sexism.
Surprisingly, his controversial comedy has been widely accepted by the British public. His Vine page has 600,000 followers, and his Facebook page has over 1.7 million fans. Despite whether or not you can ‘take a joke’, his videos are extremely humiliating and objectifying towards women. The fact that they are delivered in a playful manner should not disguise from the truth – his humour is a step too far and should rightly be rejected from Cardiff’s student union.