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Topics: Boris Johnson, UK News, no-article-matching, Film and TV
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Boris Johnson, UK News, no-article-matching, Film and TV
No 10 Downing Street has addressed the controversy surrounding Jimmy Carr's Holocaust joke in his latest Netflix special.
The comedian has come under fire for comments made about travellers and the Nazis during a section of His Dark Material.
While the 8 Out of 10 Cats host has predicted he could be 'cancelled' over the jokes, he noted he 'will go down swinging'.
However, while awaiting cancellation, what the 49-year-old might not have quite anticipated is a spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson publicly addressing the backlash.
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Jonathan Reilly, a political correspondent for The Sun, took to Twitter to report that No 10 had 'wade[d] into the Jimmy Carr joke row'.
He posted that a spokesperson for Johnson had stated that the jokes made in relation to the Holocaust were 'deeply disturbing', with the spokesperson also adding that it is 'unacceptable to make light of genocide'.
As per the Independent, when asked whether the PM thought the streaming giant should take down the show, the spokesperson added, 'That would be a matter for them. We are clear that mocking the atrocities of the Holocaust is unacceptable.'
'We are looking at toughening measures for social media and streaming platforms which don’t tackle harmful content on their platforms,' they continued. '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.'
As part of his comedy special, Carr referenced the Holocaust by stating: 'When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine, but they never mention the thousands of gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. No one ever talks about that because no one wants to talk about the positives'.
The star was later branded a 'sick racist,' by one Twitter user, alongside being called out by charity The Traveller Moment for going 'way beyond humour'.
'I am sickened to my stomach and will never watch this heathen of a man again. The suffering and horrors that these ppl,men,women and little children experienced and he gets a cheap laugh out of it. You disgust me @jimmycarr,' another user resolved.
The comedian addressed the backlash his comments made during a performance at the Whitley Bay Playhouse on February 5.
He told the audience: 'You are going to be able to tell your grandchildren about seeing this show tonight. You will say I saw a man and he stood on a stage and he made light of serious issues. We used to call them jokes and people would laugh.'
Carr has made no point of hiding his opposition to cancel culture. He earlier spoke out in Channel 4's Cancelled when he branded it as 'book burning,' defending his shows as containing 'jokes about terrible things' and stressing they are 'jokes' opposed to 'the terrible things'.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org