CBC 'comedians' criticize conservative comedian they refused to watch
Ezra Levant reviews a CBC panel's attempts at criticizing conservative comedian Ben Bankas over his provocative form of humour.
On a recent CBC panel, three self-proclaimed comedians spent 15 minutes critiquing conservative comedian Ben Bankas's brand of humour.
Bankas is a Canadian success story, selling out shows not only here but also making a name for himself in the United States like so many others. Getting his start in Toronto, he featured in a September 2020 Rebel News report amid COVID-19 hysteria. At the time, Bankas was attempting to host outdoor comedy shows as a way to provide joy to those struggling under Ontario's oppressive public health lockdowns.
His form of unfiltered, provocative comedy can offend, but his style also provokes laughter through risk and challenges authority.
On Thursday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Ezra broke down the CBC segment, calling it “15-minutes of CBC talking about comedy they never even saw.”
Occasionally, Ezra noted, “part of comedy is laughing at dark things,” in response to the critics' complaints about Bankas joking about the tragic car ramming attack during a Vancouver Filipino festival.
One panellist shared an anecdote from a friend, who apparently attended one of Bankas's shows, detailing how an audience member yelled out “kill them all” after the joke. “I just don't believe that happened,” Ezra retorted, describing the story as “oddly specific” and likening it to Jussie Smollett's false lynching accusations.
“I simply don't believe it, but that's how you fight against conservatives if you're with the CBC,” Ezra stated.
“That's the best they got here,” he said of the complaints. “They don't actually come up with anything else, they don't actually quote Ben or any of his jokes.”
Though one of the three involved in the discussion did attend Bankas's performance, she declined to comment on what he said at the show. “You won't comment on what he said? I don't understand,” remarked Ezra.
Another stance the state broadcaster's comedians took was to disregard Bankas's cancellation from a public venue in Kitchener, Ont.
“It shouldn't be that way,” explained Ezra. “If you're in a government facility, you should be protected by the Charter of Rights, which applies to all government. They can't cancel you because they think you're unfunny.”
The government deciding who can and cannot use a public building “based on if their jokes are funny or not” creates even more free speech concerns. “The panel didn't see any danger here, they'll never be kicked out, that's for sure,” Ezra noted.
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COMMENTS
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-02-20 19:52:42 -0500The last CBC comedians who were worth paying attention to were Max Ferguson (well-known as an equal opportunity curmudgeon) and his on-air sidekick, Alan McFee. -
Bruce Atchison commented 2026-02-20 19:13:41 -0500Let’s hope people get so turned off of woke comedians that they have no audience anymore.
I listened to Shelly Berman and his is the comedy which lasts for decades.
