Big Brother star Hughie Maughan has demanded Jimmy Carr immediately apologise for his “diabolical, absurd and disgusting” gag about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and the Holocaust.
But Carr has said he is “going down swinging”, admitting at a gig over the weekend that he is going to get cancelled.
The UK comedian is under fire after he joked about the horror of “6 million Jewish lives being lost” before suggesting the deaths of “the thousands of Gypsies” at the hands of the Nazis had been one of “the positives” of the Holocaust during Netflix special, His Dark Material.
Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty has called for the police to investigate Carr’s gag – but reality TV star Hughie disagrees.
He told us: “I’m not a fan of cancel culture at all. Nobody should be losing their careers and all of that rubbish – I think that is so stupid.
“Paddy Doherty is being very overly dramatic – not because it doesn’t warrant such a big response but saying stuff like police should get involved is silliness because what is that going to do again?
“That is being overly dramatic because that will give people that are bigotry or not supportive of what you’re trying to do in the first place by seeing this as not just a joke, an excuse to make more of a joke out of you and look at you as PC.”
But Hughie said Carr needs to apologise immediately for the “diabolical, absurd and disgusting” joke - and so does Netflix.
“I think taking accountability and apologising if he causes offence to anyone if he didn’t. If is he a comedian and he deems this ok, he can at the very least turn around and say do you know what I didn’t mean it in any way offending people but I apologise if I have, I won’t say a joke like that again and look let's look at the positives and open up a conversation nobody was ever having before.
“I think what he did is diabolical, absurd and disgusting. My biggest and most favourite celebrity ever was Joan Rivers. She was so offensive; she was so rude. I love dark comedy, I’m fine with that but I feel like the Holocaust is something you don’t joke about.
“The funny thing is that if this was just about the Holocaust or any other marginalised group, nobody would be debating whether or not it is ok to joke about it, they would all agree that nobody should be joking about this. It’s only because it is gypsies that people are saying that everyone is being too PC and giving out about it.
“I think it is vile. What is funny about saying that people were murdered and slaughtered. There is nothing ok about that.
“He should have apologised, Netflix should apologise and acknowledge that it is not okay and this should be a sign of the times and an example should be made of this situation about how the public can say what they like about Travellers, segregate people and really put people into the same box.
“We don’t have any allies to stand up for us.”
But the Dubliner insisted he doesn’t want anyone's career ruined over the gag.
“But I can understand why people are taking that far and are upset but I think it is offensive and hurtful. Look at the way I was treated at school, the vile things that were said to me. I know how Travellers get treated and I know how people don’t stand up for Travellers.”
Netflix has declined to comment on whether or not they will remove the gag from the show or remove the show entirely from their streaming service.
But Carr has responded to the controversy, telling gig-goers that he is "going down swinging".
Over the weekend Carr, 49, is said to have responded to the controversy at a gig in Whitely Bay in Tyne and Wear when a fan heckled: "Are we going to talk about the Holocaust?"
According to the Mirror, he said: "We are going to talk about cancel culture, the whole thing.
"We are speaking, my friends, in the last chance saloon. What I am saying on stage this evening is barely acceptable now. In ten years, f****** forget about it."
"I am going to get cancelled, that's the bad news. The good news is I am going down swinging.
"The joke that ends my career is already out there. It's on YouTube, Netflix or whatever, and it's fine until one day it f****** isn't."
The 8 Out Of 10 Cats host is said to have added: "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."
He then went on to claim that his ability to tell inappropriate jokes is the result of a "rare psychological disorder".
The joke has caused huge furore at No 10 Downing Street, who said Carr’s comments were “deeply disturbing”, but declined to say that broadcasters should no longer feature the comedian.
Sajid Javid, the UK’s health secretary, suggested viewers should boycott Carr.
Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said: “Those comments are deeply disturbing, and it is unacceptable to make light of genocide.” He pointed to plans already in place for the government to pass legislation giving tighter control over the content of streaming services.
Unlike domestic British broadcasters, Netflix is not overseen by Ofcom and is overseen instead by the Dutch media regulator. On Saturday, the UK culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, had suggested future legislation could prevent the broadcast of Carr’s comments, telling BBC One Breakfast that they were “abhorrent and they just shouldn’t be on television”.
But Johnson’s spokesperson declined to say if he agreed. He said: “I’m not necessarily going to draw on a specific example. We are clear that any change in legislation should be proportionate to ensure freedom of speech that is within the law is not stifled.”
Asked if Netflix should remove Carr’s show, he said: “That would be a matter for them.”
Carr has been condemned by groups including the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the Auschwitz Memorial and Hope Not Hate for his remarks.
The show opened with Carr telling viewers: “Before we start, a quick trigger warning. Tonight’s show contains jokes about terrible things. Things that may have affected you and the people you love. But these are just jokes. They’re not the terrible things.”
Asked about the comments, Javid told Times Radio they were “horrid”. He added: “I think we all have a right to react to that. And one of the best ways anyone can react to that is show these platforms what they think about Jimmy Carr by not watching or listening to him, and that will send him a very strong message.”
In the special, Carr sought to explain what he said was the context of the joke, saying it was “edgy as hell” and had an educational value.
“It’s a joke about the worst thing that’s ever happened in human history, and people say ‘never forget’, well this is how I remember,” he said.
“There is an educational quality. Like everyone in the room knows, 6 million Jewish people lost their lives to the Nazis during the second world war. But a lot of people don’t know, because it’s not really taught in our schools, that the Nazis also killed, in their thousands, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people and Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
