Why Is Ali Wong’s New Netflix Stand-Up Special Rated R18+ in Australia?

Comedy about sex, pregnancy and childbirth is restricted (!) to over 18s, apparently.

On Netflix right now, fifteen-year-olds can legally watch a man saw off his own leg, witness Leonardo DiCaprio’s mauling-by-bear, and see John Wick shoot approximately 8,000 people across two feature-length films.

What they aren't allowed to do is enjoy 65 minutes of comedy from stand-up comic Ali Wong.

In which Ali Wong writes a perfect punchline for one of the oldest joke setups in the world pic.twitter.com/EU9XgdbDB4
— Caroline Framke (@carolineframke) May 13, 2018

You may know Wong as the "Pregnant Female Comedian" who became a surprise star a few years ago thanks to her Netflix special Baby Cobra.

It's worth noting, though, Wong is far more than that description suggests, and as Vulture says, her jokes on the subject are helping inspiring a "shift in consciousness".

She finally released her follow-up just last week, titled Hard Knock Wife, in which she is, once again, super funny. (She is pregnant this time too.)

It’s another brilliant and extremely honest hour-long set about motherhood, marriage and newfound fame. It is also exceptionally, hilariously filthy.

But, after hitting play on Wong’s latest, I was surprised to find the Australian Classification Board had given it an R18+ rating for "high impact sexual references". You can’t disagree with the last part, that’s for sure. Still, an R18+ rating felt like a bit much. It means no one under the age of 18 is legally allowed to view it, even if they have parental supervision. That’s quite a step up from Baby Cobra’s MA15+ rating, which at least meant anyone under 15 could see it, so long as they were supervised by a parent or legal guardian.

(Wanna hear something stranger? All three of the Fifty Shades movies—which actually show simulated sex—were given the lesser MA15+ rating in Australia too.)

This isn't to say children of all ages should be given free rein to watch whatever the hell they want. (For instance, it's probably for the best that horror flick Hereditary doesn't get a G rating.) However, there's clearly a double standard when it comes to classifications in this country. Under 18s can watch Deadpool disembowel countless thugs while threatening them with sexual assault but must be shielded from Ali Wong standing on a stage and talking—admittedly, in detailed fashion—about her body.

The most curious part of Hard Knock Wife’s rating is that it didn’t appear to come from the Classification Board. Instead, it was categorised as "Film External Approved Decision received by API".

Buh?

We reached out to the Classification Board to explain.

In an email, Acting Director, Classification Board, Margaret Anderson said decisions appearing with that particular categorisation have been "generated by an approved classification tool (in this case, the Netflix Classification Tool)."

"On 11 October 2016, the Minister for Communications approved an automated classification tool which allows Netflix, using their proprietary software and processes, to make classification decisions for films rated G to R18+ which are made available to Australians via their subscription service," she continued.

This basically means the Netflix Classification Tool came up with the R18+ rating for Hard Knock Wife, believing it to be "only suitable for an adult audience as it contains high impact references to sex."

Yet, Anderson added: "The Classification Board will be auditing Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife to check the accuracy of the Netflix Tool’s decision. If the Board disagrees with the tool’s decision, it will make a new decision and publish it on the [National Classification Database]. Netflix will then be advised to change the information on its user interface."

It appears many of Netflix’s original stand-up specials have been rated for Australians by the Netflix Classification Tool, including Dave Chappelle's 2017 self-titled double feature (R18+), Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation (MA15+), Chris Rock: Tamborine (MA15+), Louis CK: 2017 (MA15+), Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive (R18+) and Ricky Gervais: Humanity (MA15+).

Oh, and don’t forget some specials by Wong’s female contemporaries, like Amy Schumer: The Leather Special (R18+), Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust (R18+), Katherine Ryan: In Trouble (MA15+) and The Honeymoon Stand-Up Special, featuring Natasha Leggero and husband Moshe Kasher (R18+).

That's just a small sample, but it seems the only thing considered more dangerous to young people than a male comedian without a filter is a female comedian without a filter.

Update (25/05): A quick glance at Netflix today reveals a new rating for Hard Knock Wife: MA15+. However, as of this writing, it's still rated R18+ on the Classification Board website. We've reached out for clarification.