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The World of David Walliams is coming to Alton Towers

Ethan said:
I mean, haven't we known he was a bit of an arse even before the area at Alton Towers was built? To echo what others have already said, I doubt this will have an impact unless more sinister allegations emerge.
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I was surprised they went there with his Little Britain history. The amount of questionable things in that show, it’s surely a matter of time before he’s fully ‘cancelled’ anyway.

From gay rights to even dabbling in black face, it’s a wonder they’ve not both been cancelled already!
 
I was bored enough to Google what's going on. He called someone a c**t. Not directly, just a comment to someone else that was picked up on the microphone (and not broadcast). That's it. That's the controversy.

I for one will never be going to Alton Towers again!
 
gavin said:
I was bored enough to Google what's going on. He called someone a c**t. Not directly, just a comment to someone else that was picked up on the microphone (and not broadcast). That's it. That's the controversy.

I for one will never be going to Alton Towers again!
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Ha!

I think he made some sexual comments too beyond swearing.

I guess it's more specifically tied in to the fact the area is aimed at children/based on children's books that make's it potentially contentious (i don't care personally from what i saw).
 
Bowser said:
Ha!

I think he made some sexual comments too beyond swearing.

I guess it's more specifically tied in to the fact the area is aimed at children/based on children's books that make's it potentially contentious (i don't care personally from what i saw).
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I say again... This is the guy that created, wrote and starred in Little Britain... This is the guy that created, wrote and starred in Come Fly With Me... Same Guy caught up in the Kim Jong Un yellow face controversy as well as the Little Britain and Come Fly With Me black face controversies. Same guy that guest hosted an event where many of the hostesses came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and groping. Even the content of his kids books have already come under fire. He had to remove "Brian Wong, Who Was Never, Ever Wrong" from his book, because the character was basically described as a harmful stereotype.

Somehow he's beaten cancel culture so far, and Alton Towers will have known about all of this, and still went ahead with the area (to my surprise,) I think it will take a lot more than this to change anything.
 
I don’t see his children’s books (which are what TWODW is ultimately themed around) being “cancelled” due to comments that Walliams himself made, so I think The World of David Walliams at Alton Towers is likely to be relatively safe.

It’s like how the Harry Potter franchise is still going strong in numerous theme parks and attractions across the world in spite of JK Rowling’s controversial comments in recent times. Even though the reputation of Rowling herself has taken a hit, the books she wrote and the films they spawned were unaffected because of people’s ability to separate the universe Rowling created from Rowling herself. I see the distinction between Walliams and his children’s books being relatively similar.

If Alton Towers had built a land or ride themed around some of Walliams’ more inherently controversial content, such as Little Britain, then the situation may be different. But given that the children’s books have gotten off relatively lightly in terms of controversy (albeit they haven’t been completely unscathed), I think TWODW should be fine to continue existing.
 
I don't know, it doesn't take a massive amount of searching on Twitter to come across some much more serious accusations that have supposedly been swept under the rug for years. Sounds quite similar to the situation the lead singer from Arcade Fire found himself in.

We all know how much the British entertainment industry loves to shelter predators. It wouldn't surprise me at all. If I were Towers I'd be pulling the plug now!
 
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Matt N said:
I don’t see his children’s books (which are what TWODW is ultimately themed around) being “cancelled” due to comments that Walliams himself made, so I think The World of David Walliams at Alton Towers is likely to be relatively safe.

It’s like how the Harry Potter franchise is still going strong in numerous theme parks and attractions across the world in spite of JK Rowling’s controversial comments in recent times. Even though the reputation of Rowling herself has taken a hit, the books she wrote and the films they spawned were unaffected because of people’s ability to separate the universe Rowling created from Rowling herself. I see the distinction between Walliams and his children’s books being relatively similar.

If Alton Towers had built a land or ride themed around some of Walliams’ more inherently controversial content, such as Little Britain, then the situation may be different. But given that the children’s books have gotten off relatively lightly in terms of controversy (albeit they haven’t been completely unscathed), I think TWODW should be fine to continue existing.
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I think the only difference is his name being in the title. The Rowling example has more separation. So perhaps Alton Towers can make cosmetic changes on that basis if required? I've not been since the area opened so don't know how it's all presented, hoping to go next year though.
 
Nicky Borrill said:
I was surprised they went there with his Little Britain history. The amount of questionable things in that show, it’s surely a matter of time before he’s fully ‘cancelled’ anyway.

From gay rights to even dabbling in black face, it’s a wonder they’ve not both been cancelled already!
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I mean who gets to say what's offensive - I'm gay and never found any of the gay stuff offensive in fact I found it hilarious, and I have black friends who've said the same about that aspect of of the show - the most offended people tend to be middle class white men who didn't really have dominant characters, It's like peeps can stop being offended on our behalf - its okay!

Not to say I particularly like DW - he's a little ' extra/obnoxious' (and the recent footage of him pushing boundaries with male live tour members is very eyebrow raising - I'm not sure of the whole context of that).
 
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chainedbanana said:
I mean who gets to say what's offensive - I'm gay and never found any of the gay stuff offensive in fact I found it hilarious, and I have black friends who've said the same about that aspect of of the show - the most offended people tend to be middle class white men who didn't really have dominant characters, It's like peeps can stop being offended on our behalf - its okay!

Not to say I particularly like DW - he's a little ' extra/obnoxious' (and the recent footage of him pushing boundaries with male live tour members is very eyebrow raising - I'm sure of the whole context of that).
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You make my point for me with your very first sentence...

Just because you don't find it offensive, doesn't mean that's the same for everybody.

I'm fat and I don't mind fat jokes, I'm one of the worst culprits for them, does that mean we can all go around body shaming people?

Stereotyping of any sort is generally best avoided these days for this very reason. Do I agree with that? Not always, but that's the world we find ourselves in, and it's probably a good idea we adapt whether we agree fully or not.

There's a whole deeper discussion to be had on cancel culture and wokism in general, but a rollercoaster forum is not the place for it for one thing, and for another, that discussion can be far too divisive, so I'm keeping my opinions on it to myself for the most part.

My original point was simple, but I'll reiterate it anyway. With cancel culture being what it is, and the controversies he's already (rightly or wrongly) been linked with, I doubt very much that him saying a few things to a colleague is going to make any difference at all.
 
Nicky Borrill said:
You make my point for me with your very first sentence...

Just because you don't find it offensive, doesn't mean that's the same for everybody.

I'm fat and I don't mind fat jokes, I'm one of the worst culprits for them, does that mean we can all go around body shaming people?

Stereotyping of any sort is generally best avoided these days for this very reason. Do I agree with that? Not always, but that's the world we find ourselves in, and it's probably a good idea we adapt whether we agree fully or not.

There's a whole deeper discussion to be had on cancel culture and wokism in general, but a rollercoaster forum is not the place for it for one thing, and for another, that discussion can be far too divisive, so I'm keeping my opinions on it to myself for the most part.

My original point was simple, but I'll reiterate it anyway. With cancel culture being what it is, and the controversies he's already (rightly or wrongly) been linked with, I doubt very much that him saying a few things to a colleague is going to make any difference at all.
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Very astute reply - and I agree. I just tend to push back a little when I see such things!! For e.g. the assumption that everyone of a minority is offended by certain things and if they're not....they should be! etc But absolutely thats not for here! peace out!
 
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