Steve Harvey says he quit standup comedy because of cancel culture.
During an appearance on “The Pivot” podcast, Harvey was asked about doing comedy in the cancel culture era.
“I even see you on Family Feud. Sometimes, I can see the clock working where you got a joke, but you’re not allowed to say that joke,” host Channing Chowder said to Harvey.
“I got it. And see, it’s very hard,” Harvey responded. “But that’s why I left stand-up in 2012, 2015, one of them. I left stand-up then because I had so many shows and had built such a catalog of work. I was making money and I had to let something go.”
“And if I tour on the weekends, I wouldn’t even have a family,” he added. “So I let stand-up go because I saw the change coming.”
Harvey also noted that he wanted to leave standup before complacency set in.
“You got to react or participate. So my participation was to get away from it because the cancel culture started becoming everywhere,” Harvey said. “Comedy is too hard to do right now. And all you got to do is look now the way the cancel culture works.”
“Y’all got a podcast and you’re doing it brilliantly,” Harvey added to the hosts. “Please don’t stop doing the way you do. The problem with people is, they get something that working and then they wanna find something that works better. You ain’t gotta fix it if it ain’t broke.”
Since leaving standup in 2012, Harvey has found success in various forms of media. Currently, he hosts his popular syndicated radio program “The Steve Harvey Show.” Also, he hosts “Family Feud,” “Celebrity Family Feud,” and “The Steve Harvey Morning Show.” From 2012 to 2017, he hosted his own talk show, “Steve Harvey.”