OTTAWA – Speaking at the yearly Ottawa Press Gallery Dinner, Green Party leader Elizabeth May’s off-colour jokes about Omar Khadr were later revealed to be an unsuccessful audition for the upcoming season of CBC’s 22 Minutes.
Attendees at the dinner were shocked, both at May’s use of profanity and at the fact that she chose the public event for her comedy audition. “Perhaps she was going for a ‘Stephen Colbert at the White House Press Dinner’ kind of thing,” posited one MP in attendance.
Following the poorly-received Khadr routine, sources have indicated that May left a handwritten setlist behind on stage. The running order reportedly listed titles for further comedy bits, including “You might be a Red-Tory If…”, “Justin Trudeau Impression (wig)”, and “Who’s on First Nations?”
May’s agent said she had advised against the impromptu audition, but May had insisted that the energy in the room was “sizzling” and she was ready to “absolutely kill.”
Reached for comment, a producer for the long-running news comedy show was blunt. “We appreciate Elizabeth’s audition, but her delivery was a bit awkward.” The producer also pointed out that May’s routine, which involved inserting Khadr into the theme song for the sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, was itself derivative of a sketch 22 Minutes had aired in 2013.
He added, “Plus the F-Bomb is a bit more blue than the CBC usually gets.”
At press time, Elizabeth May was waiting to hear back from Yuk Yuks regarding their open mic night.
