Seattle comedian uninvited by progressive club predicts anger against cancel culture may affect 2024 election

Jim Florentine, one of the four comedians who was canceled by a Seattle comedy club for being out of alignment with "progressive values," said that the country is moving away from cancel culture in a trend that may have an impact on the 2024 election. 

Florentine told Fox News Digital in a phone interview that he has never experienced anything like his cancelation by Capitol Hill Comedy Bar in Seattle, Washington, in his 30-year career as a comic. 

In an alleged email shared by multiple comedians caught up in the cancelation debacle, the club's management claimed that it uninvited the four comedians after consultation with the local community. 

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Jim Florentine, one of the four comedians who was canceled by a Seattle comedy club for being out of alignment with "progressive values," said that the country is moving away from cancel culture in a trend that will have an effect on the 2024 election.  (Getty Images)

"Capitol Hill is known for its progressive values, and we've received significant feedback expressing concerns about the alignment of these upcoming shows with the neighborhood's ethos," the alleged email reads. "This feedback includes concerns from local advocacy groups that are deeply embedded in our community and work towards upholding its values." 

"I don't know how it would have affected the community," Florentine said. 

When asked about how dominant cancel culture still is in the U.S., Florentine said that it has become markedly less influential. 

"It did work for a while," he said. "People were getting shut down for having a difference of opinion. But I think all of America at this point, even the liberals, think ‘this is ridiculous. This is too much. We gotta stop this. Just let people work.'" 

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"I don't know what's going to happen with the election but I really feel like people are more open about talking about [politics]," Florentine said.  (Getty Images)

Florentine said that he was surprised by how normalized talking about former President Trump has become in comedy, especially compared to a few years ago. 

"People are allowed to say that they are voting for Donald Trump or that they like Donald Trump," he said. "If you said that four years ago, people wouldn't even talk to you. They would block you. Family members would never talk to you." 

"But now it's out in the open," the comic added. 

When asked about the effect that the declining power of cancel culture would have on the 2024 election, Florentine said that it would shape political discussion.

"You really had to lie and you couldn't tell people who you were voting for," he said. "You're not going to be called a racist if you don't like the current administration. I really feel like people are having those conversations, whereas before you had to keep your mouth shut on who you were going to vote for." 

"I don't know what's going to happen with the election, but I really feel like people are more open about talking about [politics]," he continued.

Florentine said that he tries to avoid politics on stage. 

"I don't talk about politics on stage," he explained. "I don't try to divide the audience. I like being edgy and I'll ride that edge, ride that line… but with [politics] it's a losing battle. I don't care about that. There's enough people out there doing political jokes." 

Jim Florentine, one of the four comedians who was canceled by a Seattle comedy club for being out of alignment with "progressive values," said that the country is moving away from cancel culture in a trend that may have an effect on the 2024 election.  (Getty Images / YouTube screenshot)

But Florentine clarified that he used to consider himself as more liberal during the George W. Bush presidency, when he felt like Howard Stern and other comedians were being threatened with censorship. 

"Conservatives were so uptight," he said. 

But that has since changed. 

"Now it's swung the other way. Whatever is going to affect my business, that's the way I vote," he said, adding that he's "swinging on the conservative side now." 

Florentine pointed to comedian Shane Gillis, who was fired from "Saturday Night Live" before making a highly publicized return on Saturday, as an example of beating out cancel culture. 

"[Gillis' show] got huge ratings, it got the biggest ratings so far this year with Shane because everyone wanted to watch," Florentine said. "So it actually worked in Shane Gillis' favor to get fired." 

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Florentine pointed to comedian Shane Gillis, who was fired from "SNL" before making a highly publicized return on Saturday, as an example of beating out cancel culture.  ((Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images))

Florentine said that he has become far more hopeful about the decline of cancel culture despite being extremely pessimistic in previous years. 

"The pendulum is swinging the other way," he said. "I never thought it would come back. I would tell other comics, ‘we’re screwed, it's never coming back, it's just getting worse and worse.'" 

"Who would've known a few years later, out of this pandemic, even both sides, the liberals and the conservatives have had enough," he said. "Usually it was the conservatives, but even the liberals" are tired of cancel culture. 

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"We're not trying to hurt anybody, we're not trying to demean people," Florentine said of comedians.

"They're just jokes. We're just trying to entertain you up there. That's all we're trying to do," he said.