Gabriel, who is facially disfigured due to Treacher Collins Syndrome, received global attention in 2006 when he traveled to Rome to sing for Pope Benedict XVI.
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He had been asked to sing for Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
Quebec comedian Mike Ward will be appealing a ruling by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal that has ordered him to pay $35,000 to Jérémy Gabriel, a disabled teen he mocked in his stand-up act. He called Gabriel a bad singer but that it was okay because he was dying, according to a CTV News report, and performed the bit 230 times over a 3-year period.
While very satisfied with the ruling, Gabriel said he is disappointed Ward intends to challenge it.
Ward also owes an additional total of $5,000 to $7,000 for moral damages and $2,000 for punitive damages to Jérémy’s mother, Sylvie Gabriel.
“I think freedom of expression – like the assumption of innocence – is something we’ve worked hard for over many centuries”, Rozon said after the Human Rights Tribunal ruling.
“Unacceptable remarks made in private do not automatically become lawful just because they’re made by a comedian in the public domain”, wrote Judge Scott Hughes.
Quebec’s Human Rights Tribunal ruled that Ward must pay Gabriel $25,000 in moral damages and $10,000 in punitive damage. “Me, I defended him, like an idiot, and he won’t die!”‘.
Perruno said he hopes the ruling will put an end to Gabriel’s suffering. “He was constantly being harassed, be it on the Internet or at school. It was nearly every day”.
But Ward’s lawyer, Julius Grey, argued that his client was exercising freedom of expression and was operating within the comedic norms.
“Freedom of expression doesn’t always mean being very polite”. Whilst we do not have the benefit of the First Amendment in our country, I would like to think that those who claim to stand for human rights, such as the Quebec Human Rights commission, would stand for free speech.
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“I disagree completely with this judgment”, he said. “Freedom of expression means that harsh things can be said”.
