Profoundly shitty news has come through today that the comedian, activist, writer, thinker, sexy fox and downright legend that is Stella Young passed away over the weekend due to a brain aneurism.
I was lucky enough to meet Stella once or twice on the Melbourne comedy scene. She was funny. She was passionate. She was a delight to talk to. She cut through bullshit like a knife. She made me think about so many things differently.
We’re all lessened by her passing and we’re going to miss her. It’s a fucking bummer.
Thankfully she lives on through her work, like the above TED talk she gave, through quotes like these, through writing like this and through jokes like these:
Stella’s family has asked folks to donate to Domestic Violence Victoria, a cause that Stella was particularly passionate about. If you can spare a buck or two for them, that’d be great.
As a comedian with a disability, Stella was also very passionate about the wheelchair-accessibility of performance venues at comedy festivals. She reminded all of us, every year, that everyone should get the chance to see shows and piss themselves, crips included. The Swiss Club, where I’ve performed my MICF show for a couple of years now (and where I’ll be returning to in 2015), unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible. Perhaps now more than ever I feel shitty about this, and am going to try to figure out a way to get around it somehow, perhaps by putting on one night in a wheelchair-friendly venue.
I am definitely going to have one of my shows signed by an interpreter next year, increasing accessibility for deaf and low functioning deaf people. It’s a small thing, but it’s important. And I guess my commitment to that is thanks to Stella, and proof of her legacy.
Thanks for everything, Miss Young. We both know that heaven doesn’t exist, but if it did, I like to think you’d be up there cutting some sick wheelies like the mad dog you are.
Love Tom