'That's our job': Sugar Sammy on why comedians must cross the line

25:18Sugar Sammy: Why he says it’s a comedian’s job to cross the line

The Montreal comedian Sugar Sammy refers to himself as an "equal opportunity offender."

On his most recent U.S. tour, he skewered both Republicans and Democrats, revealing some deep divisions in the room and insulting them in the process. "I was making fun of everybody," Sammy tells Q's Tom Power in an interview. "I go after everyone. Doesn't matter."

Breaking the stereotype of the nice Canadian, Sammy isn't afraid to challenge his audience with jokes that hit on cultural, social and political taboos. For a comic, he says the only thing worse than outrage is silence.

"There was this whole, I think, environment for a while where people would get either offended easily or say, 'Well, you can't cross the line as a comedian.' Well, that's our job, right?" he says. "That's sort of our job, to be the first ones to open up that can of worms, to open up those topics for conversation."

With the political shift that's now taking place in the U.S. and Canada, he thinks comics will be armed with more material than ever and taking shots at everyone. According to him, our changing world is a "goldmine for comedians."

But he adds that it's not enough to offend people just for the sake of being offensive — you have to be funny. When stand-up comedy is good, it opens you up to different perspectives and ways of thinking about the world. In that sense, it can be a unifying force.

Let yourself be excited and offended at the same time.- Sugar Sammy

"I think one of the things that was missing in the world in the last few years, especially in popular culture, is different points of view coming together on the same platform … and having some sort of exchange, but coming out friends after it," he explains. "Going out there, offending everyone, but also making everybody laugh. And at the end of it, you walk out going, 'That was fun. We should do this again.'"

As he prepares to head back out on a 20-city Canadian tour, Sammy has one piece of advice for audiences: "Let yourself be excited and offended at the same time."

The full interview with Sugar Sammy is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Sugar Sammy produced by Ben Edwards.