Jimmy Carr's First Tweet Following Backlash To 'Racist' Joke Divides Fans

Earlier this month, comedian Jimmy Carr faced huge backlash for a joke he told during his Netflix special His Dark Material.

The joke, which made light of the traveller community and the holocaust, was called out by Downing Street, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the Auschwitz Memorial and others. 'Those comments are deeply disturbing and it is unacceptable to make light of genocide,' a spokesperson for Boris Johnson said.

While Carr seemed defiant in the face of presumed cancellation – saying he would 'go down swinging' – he has remained quiet on social media in recent weeks. Now, however, it seems he's making a return, and fans are divided.

Advertising his quiz show Big Fat Quiz Of The 80s, Carr captioned the tweet, 'The 80's were a strange strange time...'.

However, it was less the content of the tweet and more the fact that Carr had seemingly returned to social media that caught attention.

'I thought you was 'cancelled',' one person wrote. 'Not as strange as your comments section is about to become,' another said.

Others were more enthusiastic though, appearing to welcome Carr back from the wilderness. 'Thank f*ck you’re here. I thought they’d cancelled you,' one fan responded.

'Good to see you back Jimmy,' one person wrote, while another replied, 'Hey Jimmy! We frigging love you!'.

After a number of protests were held outside his shows in the wake of the joke coming to light, the comments were cut from later shows.

Ahead of his show in Cambridge, Counsellor Anna Smith stated: 'I share the outrage felt by so many in Cambridge and beyond, regarding these unacceptable remarks. Genocide is not a subject for mockery. As a council, we are committed to working with and supporting marginalized communities, including our Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.'

When asked whether the prime minister thought Netflix should take down Carr's show from the streaming service, a spokesperson added, 'That would be a matter for them. We are clear that mocking the atrocities of the Holocaust is unacceptable,' The Independent reports.

'We are looking at toughening measures for social media and streaming platforms which don’t tackle harmful content on their platforms. We are looking at regulatory changes for streaming companies. We are clear that any change in legislation needs to be proportionate, to ensure freedom of speech within the law is not stifled,' they added.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]  

Topics: Entertainment, Film and TV

Charlie Cocksedge

Charlie Cocksedge is a senior sub editor at LADbible Group. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.