I agree the joke is in horribly bad taste. But I've seen Frankie Boyle make far worse (and more frequent in his act) all out offensive jokes. I don't say he shouldn't say them, I just don't buy his show tickets or DVDs. Being that offence is taken not given, it's impossible to regulate comedy on a moral or ethical 'can we say that? level. I understand he said it in a live show, i.e not meant for broadcast but purely to elicit a response from the live audience. What I will say with regard to Jimmy's joke, is doesn't have a set up to the punchline, so it is purely a very, very mean spirited line and simply isn't funny so it should be dropped.

Quote: Michael Monkhouse @ 23rd June 2019, 9:31 AM

Check out Jerry Sadowitz. . . . He makes Jimmy Carr look like a Tellytubbie.

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Quote: Sitcomfan64 @ 23rd June 2019, 10:20 AM

I've seen Frankie Boyle make far worse

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I love Jerry Sadowitz and I love Frankie Boyle and I understand what you guys are saying.

There are different types of offensiveness and when you compare two things that are offensive in different ways, it can be difficult if not impossible to determine which of the two is more offensive.

Leaving Jerry and Frankie aside, however, and speaking generally, I think jokes that come from a place of genuine hatred towards people in any of the BBC's diversity initiative categories or against Jews, Muslims or any other religion might well be deemed significantly more offensive (in a general sense) than Jimmy's dwarf joke.

Perhaps, therefore, instead of describing Jimmy's joke as "offensive", I should say "hurtful". That's not to say the joke isn't offensive: it's to say that offensiveness is too general a term to make clear exactly why I think it's offensive.

Let's talk about pain and hurt.

Make an offensive joke about black people and I'll guarantee you that next door to no black people in the world are going to burst into tears when they hear the joke. They may be disgusted, they may be angry but they won't get their hankies out and start drying their eyes.

The same is true, I believe, about gay people and many other historically oppressed minorities.

Now, if we look at the Jimmy Carr dwarf joke, I agree that most of Jimmy's audience would have accepted it as part of what is usually quite a shocking comedic package but it is my earnest belief that people outside that audience were brought to tears (or close to tears) on seeing that joke in the newspapers or on a website.

I suspect that most of those tearful people were not dwarfs (because dwarfs are, by necessity, built from pretty strong stuff). I suspect that most of those people were the parents, friends and other family members of dwarfs who know from bitter first-hand experience the problems faced by all people of restricted growth on a daily basis throughout their lives. Also, of course, I'm thinking of a well-known family of dwarfs (the father is a celebrity) every one of whom must have been absolutely and utterly mortified to hear themselves and their beloved family members described in the way Jimmy chose to describe them.

That's why I consider Jimmy's joke to be, all things considered, the most offensive I've ever heard.

Yes that's a very fair summation. I wonder, as it was said at a live show, why it got reported in the first place? All the hurt caused, as you say, could have been prevented had the comment stayed within the confines of the theatre in which was was told.

Yes that's a very fair summation. I wonder, as it was said at a live show, why it got reported in the first place? All the hurt caused, as you say, could have been prevented had the comment stayed within the confines of the theatre in which was was told.

Just noticed the dumb title of this thread - ".................in the universe?"

Bit arrogant ain't it, or are they amongst us...................even on this forum.

Uranus can be offensive.

it could start an intergalactic war with a race of very short aliens.

Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 23rd June 2019, 6:44 PM

Uranus can be offensive.

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Herr Splizent here.................that's within the solar system.

That line from Frankie I mentioned wasn't offensive to me it just wasn't funny. He says something else that is funny when he's talking about the documentary The Secret Millionaire and it's become predictable so they should try something new like The Secret Rapist. For some reason his Scottish accent makes it funnier. Like any other decent person I'm humourless when it comes to jokes about rape but Frank's delivery does tickle me.

"So are you going to write me cheque?"

"Not exactly, no"

Quote: Rood Eye @ 23rd June 2019, 11:40 AM

I love Jerry Sadowitz

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How do you kill a spastic? Nail it to a swastika. Lovely.

Quote: Michael Monkhouse @ 25th June 2019, 9:34 AM

How do you kill a spastic? Nail it to a swastika. Lovely.

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And of course his legendary Mandela line "You lend some people a fiver and never f**king see them again"

That's Play Away by comparison.