Every human has the right to express themselves. This is what has been termed freedom of expression. But shouldn’t there be a limit to how far you can go while expressing your thoughts? Can anyone say anything they want just for the sake of the liberty they have? Mike Ward, a popular comedian, mocked a disabled boy almost a decade back.
The boy’s family filed a suit against him. Few would advocate for Ward, saying that freedom of expression is a fundamental right and cannot put restrictions on it. While others point out that the disabled boy has got every right to feel insulted and defamed. So, what has been going on all these years? Where does the case stand now? Find it out here.
Who Is Jeremy Gabriel?
Jeremy Gabriel has Treacher Collins syndrome since birth. What’s this syndrome all about? It happens to be a condition where an individual faces malformations of the head and acute deafness. Jeremy has had 23 operations throughout his childhood. It’s needless to say that he has gone through a lot.
When he was six, he went under the knife to get a bone-anchored hearing aid implanted. This surgery helped him hear and detect almost 90% of sounds. Since he loved singing, he learned the art and performed Canada’s national anthem at a Montreal Canadiens game. It was in the year 2005, and he was just eight years old then. He grabbed the limelight for sure.
Jeremy Is A Homegrown Celebrity In Canada
At nine, he met the iconic singer, Celine Dion, and sang with her. Jeremy also sang and entertained the Pope in Rome. When he turned 10, he had no shortage of television appearances. He even went on to publish his autobiography. The Quebec-born Jeremy is one of the homegrown celebrities in Canada.
Each of them has a huge fan following among the audience who has always had huge regards for the French-Canadian achievement that they often link to a unique culture. Jeremy’s story struck the chords of their hearts, and they instantly embraced the young talent.
Who Is Mike Ward?
Mike Ward is quite a popular face in the world of comedy, and there isn’t an inch of doubt that he has truly carved a niche for himself. And he held on to his own amidst all the competition. He started his journey in the year 2008.
He became popular as someone who wanted to test his jokes on the people of Quebec who had no intention to laugh at something or someone they admired or revered. Ward made brutal fun of a host of celebs such as Celine Dion, Guy A. Lepage, Jeremy Gabriel, Ariane Moffatt, Louise-Jose Houde, and so forth. His shows became popular all over Canada.
Mike Made A Mistake
Print is possibly the wrong medium for expressing stand-up comedy, more so if it’s translated from a different language. Neither does it convey the performer’s face, nor dies it conveys the actual tone of the performer’s voice. He has enjoyed a loyal fan base that had no issues laughing at Ward’s delivery on some of the raunchiest topics and cruelest pokes.
Things were going quite nice until all hell broke loose when Ward referred to Gabriel’s hearing aid and described him as “the kid with a subwoofer on his head.” Ward even revealed that he had tried to defend Gabriel’s singing, thinking that he would die soon and has every right to live his dream.
And Faced Its Consequences
However, his cruel jab at Gabriel that “the guy is not dead yet” didn’t go down well with many. Ward claimed that the boy doesn’t have a terminal illness since it has been five years, and Gabriel is not dead yet. This was what sources reveal Ward said. He went further with some very strong statements and mocked Gabriel’s condition. If the sources are to go by, he even called Gabriel ugly.
It was 2012 when Gabriel’s family filed a complaint against Ward to the human rights commission in Quebec. The commission quickly filed a case against Ward and pleaded with the human rights tribunal to note it. The tribunal found that Ward intended to insult Gabriel’s dignity and humor in 2016. Ward had to shell out $25,000 for moral damage, $10,000 for punitive damages, and $7000 to Gabriel’s mother. The Quebec Court of Appeal, in response to Ward’s appeal, was learned to uphold the decision but is said to have dismissed the damages that Ward had to award Gabriel’s mother.