From social media to stand up superstar
Mo Gilligan – aka Mo The Comedian – is now one of the UK’s most popular stand-ups, with his own Netflix special, a recently announced world tour, and stint co-hosting The Big Narstie Show. But Gilligan got there not by plugging away on the stand-up circuit, like so many before him. Instead, he made his name uploading sketch and skits to social media.
A whole generation of comedians, including Guz Khan and Michael Dapaah, are now making their name by using Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat to make their breakthrough. We got Gilligan into the JOE studio to talk to us about how the internet has changed comedy, and why young working-class performers still need a lot more support in making it in the arts.
Mo is part of the Banter or Bullying? campaign, in association with cyberbullying charity Cybersmile and Instagram. A new report released revealed more than half (51%) of young people (13-18 year olds) think banter is sometimes used as an excuse for bullying. The study found that two thirds (66%) of young people who have seen a friend left upset or insulted by banter have done so at least once a month and over a third (39%) see this occur weekly. What’s more, almost half (48%) have been personally upset or insulted by banter.
Cybersmile and Instagram hope to encourage young people to talk more about the fine line between bullying and banter.
Find out more information here.
