Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud Ben Bankas and why outrage comedy sells, and Is Fanfiction about real people ethical?
Feb 17, 2026
Kat Tenbarge, tech culture journalist who writes on real-person fanfiction. Ali Hassan, comedian and CBC personality exploring controversial comedy. Anne McMaster, Second City teacher and comedian who witnessed a Ben Bankas show. They discuss why outrage-driven comedy attracts crowds. They explore the ethics, history, and rise of fanfiction about real people.
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Baseball Mom Left After Violent Joke
- Anne McMaster recounts a baseball-mom leaving a Ben Bankas show after a violent joke about the Lapu-Lapu Festival tragedy.
- The mom described the crowd turning to a mob mentality with someone yelling "kill them all," which alarmed Anne.
Punching Down As A Performance Strategy
- Anne observed Ben Bankas uses no self-deprecation and relies on
Not Truth To Power, But Low-Hanging Targets
- Ali Hassan argues Bankas mistakes punching down for speaking truth to power and invokes George Carlin as an opposing model.
- He says Bankas's material lacks craft and instead exploits easy, low-hanging targets.