Katie Hopkins' stage appearance prompts theatre show content debate
BBCA performance by right wing commentator Katie Hopkins has triggered a political and cultural row on the Isle of Man, raising questions about free speech, public values and how government‑owned venues decide which events to host.
Hopkins, who first entered the public eye as a contestant on the BBC's The Apprentice in 2007, performed her show Free Range at the Gaiety Theatre on Thursday night.
The issue began after Bradley Chambers, who holds a community position as poet and storyteller known as the Manx Bard, described Hopkins as "a vile individual who deliberately sets out to incite hatred and discrimination".
The former LBC presenter responded by saying attendance at such venues was voluntary, and wrote a derogatory "ode to the tragic bard" on Facebook, using explicit language.
Speaking on Manx Radio, Chambers said Hopkins' appearance at the venue was "inappropriate" at a publicly-funded cultural space.
The incident has intensified debate about whether publicly-funded venues should host performers whose rhetoric can be inflammatory.
'Defamatory statements'
Chambers wrote a letter to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture, the Isle of Man Arts Council and the Head of Culture and Arts.
In it, he argued that all three bodies bore responsibility for allowing the booking to proceed.
Chambers said Hopkins "made a career from spreading a message of hatred and division" and listed various examples of comments and incidents he believed demonstrated that her rhetoric was incompatible with the venue's stated values.
Examples included her past remarks about migrants, Muslims, disabled people and minority groups, her dismissal from several media outlets, and legal cases involving defamatory statements.
Chambers also noted that Hopkins' shows had been cancelled by venues in several UK towns on community‑values grounds.
Hopkins responded on Facebook with several posts.
Speaking to local news website Manx.news, she referenced a series of venues in the UK which had not allowed her performances, and said she was grateful to the Gaiety, which would allow people the "freedom to choose".
She added that she was "not asking to be agreed with and I'm not asking to be liked".
'Standard procedures'
She also told Manx Radio she was "not going around the island clubbing people over the head to come to my shows".
The Gaiety Theatre and Villa Marina are publicly owned venues operated by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture.
Although promoters can apply to hire the spaces, the government has the final sign-off on whether a booking goes ahead.
The department assesses applications on practical grounds such as availability, legal obligations, terms and conditions, and health and safety requirements.
In a statement, it emphasised that approving a booking does not endorse a performer's views, and that the decision to host Hopkins was made through standard procedures rather than by the Isle of Man Arts Council or the VillaGaiety team.
Manx ScenesIn the Gaiety's Audience and Customer Care Charter, it commits it to making a positive contribution to community wellbeing and providing an environment that is "inclusive and respectful", welcoming people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Rushen MHK Michelle Haywood joined the fray when she responded to the bard's original comments.
While she described Hopkins as a "thoroughly unpleasant performer, with views that I find objectionable, offensive, divisive and often factual incorrect", she did not believe the government was in "anyway endorsing a performer's views" by allowing her to appear on stage.
She said: "If the performance breaches hate crime, public order or incitement laws, it should be dealt with through the law.
"In a free society the test of freedom of expression is not whether we tolerate speech that we agree with, but whether we tolerate speech that we dislike."
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