Jewish comedian show in Madison canceled [NSFW language]

MADISON, Wis–A Madison theater cancels a show featuring a Jewish comedian. Michael Rappaport was scheduled to perform at Comedy on State tonight (Thursday). The venue sent out an email to ticketholders Wednesday night saying the show was canceled due to safety concerns from “escalating protests” and the “contentious nature of the dialogue” surrounding the conflict in Gaza.

“In light of the current environment downtown marked by escalating protests and a contentious nature of the dialogue surrounding current affairs, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Thursday show with Michael Rapaport. The safety and well-being of our audience members, staff, and community are our top priorities, and we believe this decision is in the best interest of all involved.”

Rappaport has been an outspoken critic of anti-Israel campus protests this spring. He took to the social media platform “X” to call the situation in Madison “Very, very, very (bleeped) up”.

Comedy on State is just less than a mile away from a student encampment set up to protest Israel’s response to attacks by Hamas in Gaza.