Michael John Ward (born September 14, 1973) is a Canadian comedian. He performs

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

in both French and English.

Career

Ward has appeared on television doing stand-up in 20 countries; airing throughout Europe, Africa, Australia and North America. He is a frequent guest of the Anthony Cumia Show podcast. Ward hosts two podcasts: ''2 Drink Minimum'' with comedian Pantelis on

Compound Media Compound Media (formerly The Anthony Cumia Network) is a subscription-based on-demand streaming media platform that broadcasts live American audio and video podcasts. It launched on August 4, 2014 by its founder, radio personality and broadcaste ...

and ''Mike Ward sous écoute''.

Controversies

Ward has been the subject of controversy. At Jean-Marc Parent's 2008 Just for Laughs French gala, he made a joke about

Revenu Québec Revenu Québec (formerly the Ministère du Revenu du Québec nglish: Quebec Ministry of Revenue is the department of the government of the Province of Quebec, Canada that: *sees to the collection of income tax and consumption taxes, while ensuri ...

, in which he mentioned Cédrika Provencher, a young girl who had been abducted in 2007 in Quebec and whose remains were found in December 2015.

Mocking of Jérémy Gabriel

Between 2010 and 2013, Ward performed a comedy routine about

Jérémy Gabriel Jérémy Gabriel (born December 10, 1996), also known as Le Petit Jérémy, is a French Canadian singer. Biography Gabriel was born in Charlesbourg, Quebec City. At birth he was deaf, and had head, facial, ear and skull deformities. At age 6 mo ...

, a young disabled singer with

Treacher Collins syndrome Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a genetic disorder characterized by deformities of the ears, eyes, cheekbones, and chin. The degree to which a person is affected, however, may vary from mild to severe. Complications may include breathing prob ...

. Ward mocked Gabriel's appearance, his illness and his abilities as a singer and joked about trying to kill him by drowning him. Gabriel was repeatedly bullied at school and became

suicidal Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...

. Gabriel's parents filed a complaint with the Quebec human rights commission, and the commission brought the case in front of Quebec's Human Rights Tribunal seeking $80,000 in damages from Ward. On July 20, 2016, he was ordered to pay $42,000 ($35,000 to Jérémy, $7,000 to his mother). Ward's lawyer,

Julius Grey Julius H. Grey (born 1948) is a Canadian lawyer and university professor. He is particularly known for his expertise in constitutional and human rights law. He is a senior partner at the law firm Grey Casgrain, s.e.n.c. Born in Wrocław, Poland, ...

, appealed the decision, and the decision was upheld by

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

judges on November 28, 2019, but dropped the fee initially ordered to be paid to the mother. In February 2021, Ward appealed the damages award to the Supreme Court of Canada. On October 29, 2021, the Supreme Court overturned, in a 5–4 split, the lower court's decision, citing "The question is whether a reasonable person, informed of the relevant circumstances and context, would consider that the remarks about Mr. Gabriel incite contempt for him or his humanity on a prohibited ground of discrimination. The next question is whether such a reasonable person would consider that, in context, the words could reasonably be expected to lead to the discriminatory treatment of Mr. Gabriel. In our view, the remarks made by Mr. Ward do not meet either of these requirements."

Filmography

Television

* 2002: ''Testostérone'' * 2004: ''Le Mike Ward Show'' * 2005-2006: '' L'Gros Show'' * 2015: ''Nasty Show'' * 2016: ''Mike Ward Show''

DVDs and Digital Release

* 2004: ''Les meilleurs moments.Testostérone. Spécial Mike Ward'' * 2006: ''L'Gros show 1'' * 2009: ''Haïssable'' * 2013: ''Mike Ward s'eXpose'' * 2018: ''Mike Ward au Bordel'' * 2018: ''Infamous''

Albums

* 2001: ''Vulgaire'' * 2016: ''Pedophile Jokes & Death Threats'' * 2018: ''Infamous''

Radio and Podcasts

* 1996-1998 ''Les grandes gueules'' (writer) * 2001- 2002: ''Les Mecs Comiques'' * 2004 - 2005: ''Les grandes gueules'' * 2007-2009: Midi Morency * 2011-: ''Mike Ward sous écoute'' * 2018-: ''2 Drink Minimum''

Film

* 2016: '' The Comedian's Guide to Survival'': himself

Awards

* 2002 Nez d’or: Découverte (Quebec City Comedy Festival Award for Best Newcomer) * 2002 Victor: Révélation (Just For Laughs Award for Breakout Star of the Festival * 2005 Olivier: Meilleure performance scénique (Best Comedy Performance) * 2006 Gémeaux: Meilleure performance humour (Gemini Award for Best Comedy Performance) * 2012 Victor: Numéro de l’année (Just For Laughs Award for Best Set of the Fest)” * 2015 Antoine: Humanitarian Award * 2016 Olivier: Série web (Best Web Series) * 2016 Olivier: Olivier de l’année (Comedian of the Year) * 2016 Canadian Comedy Award: Comedic Artist of the Year * 2017 Olivier: Meilleur podcast (Best Podcast) * 2018 Olivier: Meilleur podcast (Best Podcast) * 2019 Olivier: Olivier de l’année (Comedian of the Year) * 2019 Olivier: Spectacle de l’année (Best Show of the Year) * 2019 Olivier: Auteur de l’année - Spectacle (Best Writing - Stage Show) * 2019 Olivier: Meilleur podcast (Best Podcast)

References

External links

*
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Mike 1973 births Anglophone Quebec people Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian male television actors Canadian people of French descent Canadian people of Irish descent Living people Male actors from Quebec City Comedians from Quebec Quebec people of Irish descent Quebecers of French descent Canadian Comedy Award winners