Jérémy Gabriel Mike Ward
Comedy, News

Jérémy Gabriel and his mom file new lawsuits against Mike Ward for $372,600

by Lorraine Carpenter

Following the Montreal comedian’s Supreme Court win in October, the now decade-long legal saga continues.

In October, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the jokes made by Quebec comedian Mike Ward about disabled singer (le p’tit) Jérémy Gabriel were not discriminatory according to the Quebec Charter of Rights. The now decade-long legal battle between Mike Ward and Jérémy Gabriel is continuing, as CTV is reporting that Ward is now being sued by Gabriel and his mother for a total of $372,600 — Gabriel is claiming $288,000 in damages in Superior Court, while his mother Sylvie Gabriel is claiming $84,600 in the Civil Division of the Court of Quebec.

The Supreme Court ruling October ruling followed Ward’s appeal of a 2019 ruling ordering the comedian to pay $35,000 in punitive damages.

The legal battle has been waged over a joke that Ward made in comedy shows between 2010 and 2013 about Gabriel’s meeting with the Pope. Gabriel has Treacher Collins syndrome and Ward joked that he only got to meet the Pope because he was “supposed to die.”

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Posted in Comedy, News

by Lorraine Carpenter

Editor in chief
Lorraine Carpenter was born in Montreal and studied communications and journalism at Concordia. She co-founded Cult MTL in 2012 following 12 years at the now-defunct Montreal alt weekly the Mirror, where she worked in editorial as copy editor and music editor. She’s dedicated to supporting the cultural scene in Montreal.