A comedian who sent a dildo to the Queen has apologised after the stunt led to cancellations for his sell-out show. Shed Simove, who is also an author and designer of novelty gifts, built a silicone dildo shaped like the Queen and named it the Buckingham Phallus. He then allegedly sent one to Her Majesty along with a letter asking her to endorse it if she agreed with him that it could give pleasure to millions of Britons.
The Queen-shaped dildo was launched as a limited edition of 100 in the Masturpieces range, alongside other ‘character’ designs such as Vagenie, Rampant Rabbi and Cunt Dracula. The ever-inventive Shed used the Buckingham Phallus as a prop during his one-man show, Trouble, but a small number of audience members reportedly walked out in disgust. Dozens more are believed to have cancelled tickets for the show, which runs until the end of August, after seeing a publicity shot of Simove brandishing the dildo.
Shed – real name Sheridan – is no stranger to controversy, having previously launched a range of sweets called Clitoris Allsorts, and the West End show recalls some of the other tricky spots he has found himself in over the years. These include posing as a schoolboy for a Channel 4 documentary (when he was 30), changing his name by deed poll to God and publishing a book called Fifty Shades of Grey in 2012 – which consisted of fifty blank pages, each in a different shade of grey.
In a statement posted on his website today the comedian said: “I wish to apologise to any members of the audience who were offended by my ‘Buckingham Phallus’ product or thought it was bad taste for me to send a dildo to the Queen. I had hoped (and still hope) that the Buckingham Phallus might raise a chuckle. It was only ever intended to be a tongue-in-cheek product and no offence whatsoever was intended. I hope those who have cancelled their tickets because of this product will think again and attend the show because I firmly believe they would enjoy it and have a great time.”
Trouble was previously sold out but tickets are now available, allegedly due to the cancellations. It runs at the Phoenix Artist Club in central London until the end of August. Cynics might think stories such as this ‘apology’ can only boost sales, and this reporter would not disagree.
