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Rowan Atkinson has claimed it’s “comedy’s job to offend” while criticising cancel culture.

The Mr Bean and Johnny English star, who returns to screens in new Netflix series Man vs Bee, shared his view on the subject, stating that comedians should be able to make jokes about “absolutely anything”.

Atkinson, 67, told the Irish Times: “It does seem to me that the job of comedy is to offend, or have the potential to offend, and it cannot be drained of that potential”

He continued: “Every joke has a victim. That’s the definition of a joke. Someone or something or an idea is made to look ridiculous.”

According to the comedian, he believes there are a very small number of subjects that should be off the table when it comes to comedy.

“I think you’ve got to be very, very careful about saying what you’re allowed to make jokes about,” he said, adding: “You’ve always got to kick up? Really? What if there’s someone extremely smug, arrogant, aggressive, self-satisfied, who happens to be below in society? They’re not all in houses of parliament or in monarchies.”

Rowan Atkinson has shared his views on cancel culture

Atkinson continued: “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”

Man vs Bee is released on Netflix on 24 June. The series follows a man who attempts ot get the better of a cunning bee, who unleashes chaos upon an unsuspecting house-sitter.

When Tess Eagle Swan adopted a rescue puppy from Transylvania in 2014, she hoped they’d develop a special bond. The United Kingdom resident named the pup Kratu (a Sanskrit word for “strength” pronounced “KRAY-too”) and started training him with rewards like treats and — since he’s a bit of a clown — laughter.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that whenever Kratu competed in agility at Crufts, the world’s largest dog show, instead of obediently running the course, he played for laughs.

On his first outing in 2017, he thought it best to explore the scents of the arena and walk around the weave poles instead of racing through them — to the delight of onlookers, who roared with laughter.

“Kratu clearly made an informed decision, and that was to have fun,” Swan, 58, told TODAY. “He loves people and to have fun. And the pull of the audience in the moment and in the arena was far greater than doing what he was told.”

Crufts released a video of “Krazy Kratu” that went viral — as did his subsequent appearances. They seemed to get funnier with each passing year, from Kratu turning around halfway through agility tunnels to stealing poles he was supposed to jump over.

But there’s much more to Kratu, now 8, than his hilarious antics in the agility ring, as chronicled in the new book “Incredible Kratu: The happy-go-lucky rescue dog who changed his owner’s life.”

Swan writes in her book about an extremely challenging childhood and young adulthood. She survived abuse, kidnapping and rape, and used drugs, including heroin. She’s had to contend with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, bulimia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, self-hatred and ultimately, undiagnosed autism.

After being diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2011, with help from doctors and a spiritual quest that led her to Peru, she started turning her life around. When she adopted Kratu, she spent so much time giving him the exercise, positive training and care he needed that it didn’t leave much time for introspection and anxiety.

She also wasn’t used to smiling much before Kratu entered her life.

“I’ve always liked rebels, rascals,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve been one myself.”

When trainer Wendy Kruger from Woodgreen Pets Charity invited Kratu to participate as part of a rescue dog agility team at Crufts, Swan felt motivated to seek help for her mental health because she wanted to be able to attend — and enjoy it.

As a result, she was finally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Sure enough, when the time came, her faithful companion helped her navigate through the Crufts crowds — and the sensory overload they bring — before and after his agility run.

“His goal is love and happiness, and I walk behind him. He leads the way,” she said. “He’s just this force of nature.”

She credits Kratu — aka Baron Kratu von Bearbum — with helping her heal, and is passionate about spreading awareness of mental health for both people and pets. She wants others to consider the mental health needs of their dogs — such as force-free training — and to make the choice to rescue themselves.

“Your dog doesn’t come and kick you out of bed and go, ‘Get up and go wash yourself.’ You decide to throw back the covers, go into the bathroom, brush your teeth. You make that decision,” she said. “If you are going to be empowered, healthy and whole, you have to say, ‘I do this for me, because I’m worth it and I want to do it.’ And to be present for your dog.”

Kratu is helping change other lives, too. One woman wrote to Swan that while she coped with chemotherapy treatments for cancer, she repeatedly watched Kratu’s Crufts routines to help get her through it. Afterward, she adopted a rescue dog of her own.

“So many people around the world have got mental health problems. They’ve got sadness,” Swan said. “And they go to Kratu’s page and they talk to him.”

Kratu and Swan have also visited university students in Romania to help change perceptions of rescue dogs as pets, attend a variety of charitable events to lend their support and appeared in Autism’s Got Talent.

Kratu also volunteers as an ambassador for the United Kingdom’s All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group, which seeks to improve the health and welfare of dogs and their people.

Wherever they go, Swan feels pride seeing Kratu show what rescue dogs can be with early socialization, positive training and respect. She loves the way he opens hearts just by being himself.

“I’ve always found it hard to be accepted. And to see this roughneck, Romanian, cheeky, charming clown just welcomed into this world, and I’m with him … I really struggle with self-worth and self-esteem, and I have to take a step back and think, ‘That’s my dog. We’ve done this together,’” she said. 

Jada Pinkett Smith was extremely offended at the 94th Academy Awards when Chris Rock made a joke about her shaven head. He said, “Jada, I love you – G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya!” as a reference to Demi Moore’s 1997 film G.I. Jane, for which she had shaven her head. Rock tried to defend his joke by saying, “That was a nice one!” However, as we reported earlier, Will Smith went up to the stage and smacked Rock across his face in front of the whole audience. He asked him to keep Pinkett Smith’s name out of his mouth after his insensitive joke. 

Pinkett Smith has been open about dealing with the hair loss that comes with the autoimmune disorder, alopecia areata. According to Medical News Today, “Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disorder that often results in unpredictable hair loss.” Roughly 6.8 million people struggle with it in the United States. The 50-year-old actress spoke about her condition in the Red Table Talk show episode in 2018, reports Lad Bible. Pinkett Smith who hosts the show said, “It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like, oh my god, am I going bald.” She added, “It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking in fear. That’s why I cut my hair, and why I continue to cut it.”

She posted a video on Instagram showing the bald patches on her head. She ran a finger across the bald line in the center of her head while saying, “Now at this point, I can only laugh. Y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia and just all of a sudden one day, look at this line right here. Look at that.” She laughed and added, “So it just showed up like that and this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide. So I thought I’d just share it so y’all are not asking any questions.” However, Pinkett Smith wanted to tackle the disorder with optimism, reports PEOPLE. She said in the video, “But you know mama’s going to put some rhinestones in there. I’m going to make me a little crown. That’s what mama’s going to do.”

In July 2021, the actress was inspired by her daughter, Willow Smith, to completely shave her head. She shared a photo on Instagram with the caption, “Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT … my 50’s are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed.” Pinkett Smith remains silent on the incident that occurred during the Oscars. However, just a week before the awards, she addressed the beauty standards the film industry has for Black women, reported Daily Mail. She said in a TikTok video, “feel the freedom today – I don’t give two cr**s what people think of this bald head of mine. Because guess what? I love it.” She added, “I always had to do my hair in ways that didn’t feel natural to me because I’m trying to play the game.”

Will Smith publicly apologized to Chris Rock in a statement released on Instagram. He wrote, “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.” He added, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris.” He concluded his statement by writing, “I am a work in progress.”