Supreme Court Dismisses Quebec Woman’s Lawsuit Against Comedian Mike Ward
The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected a Quebec woman’s appeal against comedian Mike Ward for mocking her disabled son
Montreal, Canada, Mike Ward, Jérémy Gabriel, Disability
Montreal: So, the Supreme Court of Canada just wrapped up a long legal battle involving comedian Mike Ward and a Quebec family. It all started over some jokes Ward made about Jérémy Gabriel, a young guy with a disability. His mom, Sylvie Gabriel, tried to sue Ward for mocking her son, but the court said no.
This whole thing has been going on for 12 years! Sylvie wanted to challenge a lower court’s decision that tossed out her lawsuit because she missed the deadline to file it. The Supreme Court didn’t even bother to explain why they turned her down.
Jérémy, who has Treacher Collins syndrome, became pretty famous in Quebec after performing with Celine Dion and even the Pope. But Ward’s jokes about him, which he made between 2010 and 2013, were pretty harsh. At one point, he joked that people were nice to Jérémy because they thought he was dying.
What started as a human rights complaint back in 2012 eventually made its way to the Supreme Court. They ruled in 2021 that Ward’s comments didn’t count as discrimination under Quebec’s rights charter. So, that’s the end of that saga!