page_title: Stewart Lee
section_title: 2005: Jerry Springer: The Opera
hierarchical_section_title: Stewart Lee / Career / 2005: Jerry Springer: The Opera
caption_attribution_description: Stewart Lee at "Downstairs at the Kings Head" in London
context_page_description: Stewart Graham Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director. In the mid-1990s he was one half of the radio duo Lee and Herring, alongside Richard Herring. His stand-up is characterised by repetition, callbacks, deadpan delivery and a pronounced use of deconstruction, which he often self-consciously refers to on stage.
  After giving up stand-up in the 2000s, Lee built a large audience as an anti-populist comedian in the 2010s. In December 2011 he won British Comedy Awards for best male television comic and best comedy entertainment programme for his series Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. A 2009 article in The Times referred to him as "the comedian's comedian, and for good reason" and named him "face of the decade". In June 2012 Lee was placed at number 9 in the Top 100 Most Influential People in UK Comedy.
  He co-wrote and co-directed the West End hit musical Jerry Springer: The Opera, a critical success that sparked a backlash from Christian groups who staged a series of protests outside its early stagings. Lee has written music reviews for publications including The Sunday Times.
context_section_description: In January 2005, Jerry Springer: The Opera, a satirical musical/opera written by Lee and Richard Thomas and based upon The Jerry Springer Show, was broadcast on BBC Two, following a highly successful West End run for several years, and as a prelude to the show's UK Tour. Christian Voice led a number of protest groups who claimed that the show was blasphemous and highly offensive. In particular, they were angered by the portrayal of Jesus. Disputes arose, with supporters claiming that most of the protesters had neither seen the show nor knew of its actual content. Others supported the right to freedom of speech. Several Christian groups protested at some of the venues used during the UK Tour. The show was broadcast with a record number of complaints prior to its transmission. In total, the BBC received 55,000 complaints. A private court case brought by Christian Voice against Lee and others involved with the production for blasphemy was rejected by a Magistrates' Court.
  In 2006 he appeared as a contestant on the comedy panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks, where Simon Amstell made frequent mock-offended reference to the controversy over Jerry Springer: The Opera. This was followed by appearances on Have I Got News For You and 8 Out Of 10 Cats, before he decided to stop doing panel shows. In 2011 interviews Lee stated 'I can't do panel shows' and that he "doesn’t want to jeopardise [his lucrative standup career] by appearing in adverts or panel shows or doing things that will earn him quick money or fame while alienating a long-term audience".
caption: Lee in 2006
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