The day after Valentine’s Day, the Observer published an open letter from erstwhile Star writer Beatrix Campbell.

It caused a right old kerfuffle.

The letter, signed by Mary Beard and Peter Tatchell, among many others, protested about recent attempts to silence feminists, “exited” women (who have left the sex industry), and trans people whose views have been judged “transphobic” or “whorephobic.”

This had culminated in the cancellation of Kate Smurthwaite’s comedy gig at Goldsmiths college.

As Campbell noted, “No platforming” like this used to be a tactic only employed against the most extreme of ideologues — admitted fascists and Holocaust-deniers like David Irving.

The letter itself led to a great deal of abuse being directed at Tatchell and Beard, both of whom were, in you-couldn’t-make-it-up-style, called bigots.

Smurthwaite’s gig — ironically on the subject of freedom of speech — had been pulled after a picket seemed possible. The students union told her there had been complaints about views expressed in her past shows, on subjects including prostitution and the hijab, and a vote had been held by their feminist society.

While the majority voted for the show to go ahead, a minority threatened to picket the event.

Smurthwaite has performed the show, unforgettably named Leftie Cock Womble, upwards of 50 times, and doesn’t actually mention prostitution in it — though the comedian does support the decriminalising of those selling sex and criminalising of purchasers.

She’s has just returned from Oslo when I catch up with her, and we kick off by discussing the name of that show — presumably that’s not what her friends call her?

Kate Smurthwaite: No! That’s what the people who didn’t agree with me used as a Twitter hashtag to talk about me when I was on Question Time last January. I don’t actually know what it means … but I rather love it!

Louise Raw: What’s it been like, on a personal level, to be in the eye of the Smurthgate storm? People have said it’s great publicity for you, as if it was a PR stunt — how do you respond to that?

KS: It’s been horrible. Usually when I’m promoting a show or doing media work I know that I can just say “no thanks” if I’m tired or busy. But when my own reputation is on the line, and the career I’ve worked stupidly hard to build up over the last decade, I have to do it.

I’ve had to field dozens of media inquiries every day — it’s all landed on my head and I’m pretty furious about it.

I think it was stupid of Goldsmiths to cancel the show. But we’ve all done something stupid in a bit of a panic once in our lives, most of us dozens of times.

It did seem to catch the media imagination so there was a bit of a fuss, but all they needed to do was give a statement saying “sorry, we made a bad call and we will fix it.”

Instead they tried to blame me for the mess, suggesting I’d wanted to cancel or invented the proposed protest as a publicity stunt — even after I published screenshots of the conversation, proving that wasn’t remotely the case. 

The worst thing has been this pretence that the show was cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales.

It was a free event for Goldsmiths students and they had categorically told me they were expecting a good crowd.

The message that my work is unpopular is damaging to my career.

There is no doubt it has set me back years in an industry that is already tough enough for women, thanks very much!

LR: Did Bea Campbell speak to you before “the letter” was published?

KS: No, I didn’t know anything about the letter until it came out. I was thrilled to have so many people speaking out in support of me, but then devastated at the subsequent retractions, all of which repeated the internet lies about me in one way or another. 

LR: Any wider thoughts on the current schisms within feminism and where on earth we go from here?

KS: I think we need to learn from the history of feminism. Whatever progress we make, whatever good ideas we put into action, sooner or later they are turned against us.

We demanded sexual liberation for women. Suddenly that turned into pole-dancing classes and violent pornography.

We demanded that women be “empowered.” Now my shampoo says it’s going to “empower” me.

We had this idea of “safe spaces” because we don’t want Ched Evans’s fans at meetings for survivors of sexual abuse. Now we see feminist voices being silenced, because anyone can say “not feeling safe” and we fly into a panic.

We try to fight against discrimination and then we find ourselves accused of discriminating against a multibillion-dollar industry like the sex trade.  

None of the original ideas were bad ideas. I just think we need to remember that this is not about absolutes, it’s about different models for improving people’s lives — use them when their helpful, put them aside when they’re not appropriate for the situation we’re in.

LR: You describe yourself as a “unity feminist.” How do you define that?

KS: I believe the differences between feminists are less important than the overall movement.

I might say something that annoys someone, but it’s going to be nothing compared to what was aired on Top Gear last week.

Feminists can, and should, work together on the big issues and argue about the details later. I hear far too much what I call “priorities trolling” — complaining that feminists are focussed on the wrong issues.

Why tackle Page 3 when there’s FGM out there? We can do both. You fix the issue that matters to you. I’ll be supportive but let you get on with it — you do the same for me.

LR: What about the extremely complex question of transwomen in women-only spaces that’s proving so divisive?

KS: I look at it like this. I don’t usually shave my armpits. I think pressure on women over body hair is rubbish.

But I don’t hate women who shave their armpits, nor would it help if I pressured them not to shave. They’ve got as much to say on the debate as I have.

Equally I think gender roles in society are stupid and we should fight to take the pressure off people to conform to them.

But, if others find they can navigate their way through this short and often brutal life more easily by finding a place within them where they fit more comfortably, then I’m all for that.

I personally don’t host or appear at any event not open to trans* people. I’ve got a lot of trans* friends and I’d feel awful telling them they weren’t invited.

I do have sympathy for any group that feels they want to organise their own event and make their own rules on who can and can’t come.

There are men-only events out there and trans*-only ones too and I think any group that wants to self-organise should be allowed to. But if it’s trans* exclusive I won’t be there. That’s not my thing.

LR: You’re just back from Oslo and you do a lot of Scandi gigs. We like to imagine women and lefties are in stronger positions in Scandinavia — what’s your impression? And have you incorporated the latest shenanigans into the show?

KS: Norway was great and, yes, I’ve worked a lot in Scandinavia. I think attitudes to women are a bit better out there and — as has been focused on all over the media lately — I support the Nordic model for dealing with the abuses of the sex industry.

Of course even out there not everyone agrees with the model, but at least no-one tries to stop you mentioning it.

And no, beyond a cursory reference, the current kerfuffle is too fresh and raw and painful in my mind to become comedy material just yet.

I’m off to the Brighton Fringe in May and hoping to tour Leftie Cock Womble a little more over the next few months up to that.

Then I’ll start working in earnest on my new show for the Edinburgh Fringe in August. I suspect by then I will be ready to talk about Goldsmiths. 

In particular I’ll probably talk about the fact that only a few weeks after cancelling my show on the grounds of “safe space” policy, they invited a radical hate preacher — who has compared homosexuality to necrophilia and called for it to be illegal — to come and address students at an event hosted by their Islamic Society.

My main worry is that people are going to think the whole thing’s so absurd, I must be making it up.

LR: You must be knackered — almost permanently on tour and then this latest media storm?

KS: I need a holiday! I’ve tried to take a couple of days off post-Goldsmiths a couple of times now to recharge my batteries but every time I do my phone dings and someone else is lying about me in a national newspaper.

Hiding from it doesn’t help and it appears nor does crying, begging, explaining or screaming. So I guess we’re left with laughing…