A second Katie Hopkins show has sold out in Guernsey.
The controversial personality was originally booked to perform her comedy show at Beau Sejour on 13 May. After that show sold out amid a wave of controversy, a second show was added on 12 May.
Just eight tickets were remaining on Monday evening, and by Tuesday lunchtime they had all sold.
This means 800 people will be seeing Ms Hopkins’ Free Range show across the two nights.
It’s been described as a “cracking evening out with British funny woman, Katie Hopkins”.
“Katie is giving herself ‘FREE RANGE’ on all the usual targets: useless politicians, idiot celebrities and the morons in our midst,” the event promotion promises.
Beau Sejour’s booking platform warns the show is strongly advised for 16+ attendees only and that anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult and that their attendance is “at the discretion of their parent or guardian”.
The fact Ms Hopkins will be performing at Beau Sejour is what sparked the initial controversy over her visit to the island.
An Express reader wrote an open letter criticising Beau Sejour for hosting Ms Hopkins – then scheduled to perform on just one night – and calling on others to boycott the event.
Ms Hubert said “islander money” should be kept “within our economy, rather than financing and endorsing this terrible, awful person”.
“At length, I urge islanders to cancel their subscriptions to Beau Sejour and avoid using the facilities until this event has been removed, with a promise not to platform such people in future.”
Others agreed with Ms Hubert that Beau Sejour, as a publicly owned facility, should not be hosting Ms Hopkins, while many others said that not taking the booking would have been a breach of freedom of speech.
The controversy reached Ms Hopkins herself.
In response to Ms Hubert’s call for people to boycott both the event and Beau Sejour itself, the Head of Recreation Services said it’s not down to the leisure centre’s management to either endorse or censor performers.
“Beau Sejour is a venue hired by a wide range of performers and acts,” explained Sam Herridge.
“The Centre does not selectively choose which acts can and cannot hire its facilities as it is not for the Centre to selectively censor individuals. Rather, it is for the public to vote with their feet by either booking, or not booking, tickets depending on their view on any one act.
“Hiring of the venue by any individual or group is not, and should not be interpreted as, an endorsement from Beau Sejour. Hirers meet all venue operating costs directly related to their performances.”
Deputy Jayne Ozanne is among those who remain unhappy that Ms Hopkins will be appearing in Guernsey, in a publicly owned venue.
She asked the President of Education, Sport, and Culture – who has political responsibility for Beau Sejour – what he thought about “freedom of speech” during a recent States meeting.
“It is not up to us to decide what people find entertaining,” said Deputy Paul Montague.
“Beau Sejour is being run as a business. It is not a school assembly, there was no invite to this entertainer to come over.”
Deputy Ozanne asked Deputy Montague if it was right to put vulnerable members of the island community at risk from hate speech “where States owned venues are providing the platform”.
He maintained that it is not for politicians to get involved in what people choose as entertainment, but he did say that booking policies are being reviewed as a result of the feedback since the Katie Hopkins show was announced.
“I would ask that we consider this very carefully,” said Deputy Montague.
“It is entirely inappropriate for an assembly such as ours to descend into a culture war issue on this. We need to treat the concerns of vulnerable people very, very seriously, but I believe it’s consistent with democratic principles and individual freedom that people should be allowed to book a venue in the States of Guernsey.
“Freedom of expression protects not only popular and agreeable views, but also those that many people strongly oppose. So preventing a so called entertainer from hiring a public venue risks setting a precedent where access is determined by political opinion rather than rule of law.
“I will finish by saying that we are asking officers to look again at the booking policy. It will be entirely wrong for every booking to be elevated to a political decision but we need some robust and really carefully thought through principles to avoid any contentious issues in the future.”
Pushed again on what safeguards would be offered to vulnerable people using Beau Séjour while the show is underway, Deputy Montague said again that he does not feel it is right for the States to dictate what entertainment people choose for themselves.
“We are talking about something badged as entertainment. It is not a political rally,” he said.
“Beau Séjour has a theatre, and people will be going to that theatre if they bought tickets for this particular piece of entertainment. I do not see how there is a safety issue here. People may feel vulnerable and may feel concerned. We might get upset when we read about these comments online, and we might feel uncomfortable knowing that maybe our neighbour has booked a ticket, but I don’t think it is the responsibility of this assembly to judge what people find entertaining. I do not think there is a really clear safety issue here.
“I am open to persuasion,” he added. “I think this is an issue that may need some more discussion, but I would like to know what the safety issues are. It is badged as entertainment. People will buy tickets. They will go to listen to some things, and then they will go home.”