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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Greg Evans

Elon Musk attended a comedy show with ‘eight guys carrying AK-47s’

Jimmy Carr has reflected on the time Elon Musk attended one of his comedy shows with a group of heavily armed men.

Musk is no stranger to comedians having had run-ins with the likes of Bill Burr, Kathy Griffin and Chloe Fineman as of late.

Although he appears to be at odds with some people in the comedy world the same can’t be said for Carr. Shortly after Musk’s “Nazi salute” controversy at Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration, Carr defended the Tesla CEO during a stand-up gig in Washington DC.

“For the record, Elon Musk is not a f**king Nazi. It’s just the internet goes ‘he’s a Nazi’ almost immediately. He’s a f**king genius. And Neal Brennan, my friend pointed this out brilliantly, if you’re a genius...there’s a little Salt Bae of f**king crazy that comes with it. He’s maybe a little bit crazy but he’s not a f**king Nazi. He’s alright. I’ve met him. He’s a very nice fella. Great sense of humour.”

Speaking to The Telegraph, Carr recalled an encounter with Musk when the billionaire attended a television performance of his in Los Angeles in 2016.

Carr explained: “Elon came along as a friend of a friend, which caused some consternation even then. Because I said to Comedy Central, I’m bringing some guests. And they went, ‘Oh, that’s fine.’ And I went, he’s got some security, and then eight guys with AK-47s rolled up.

“I didn’t ­realise [until] I was chatting to him that he’s the biggest kidnap threat in the world. Because there are three billion-dollar companies that all go to zero if he gets popped.

“It’s not like guarding the president, where they can take an afternoon off every now and then. They’ve really got to take this seriously. There’s money at stake.”

Jimmy Carr attends the ‘Last One Laughing’ photocall at Underbelly Boulevard Soho on March 10, 2025 in London (Getty Images)

Elsewhere, Carr opened up about getting Botox, admitting “it never stops”.

The 52-year-old 8 out of 10 Cats host is currently promoting his new Prime Video series, Last One Laughing, in which several comedians are forced to stay in a house together. They’re challenged not to laugh at all through the course of each day.

Contestants, which include Joe Lycett, Bob Mortimer, Judi Love, Daisy May Cooper, Rob Becket and more, are handed a yellow card if they fail to keep a straight face, and a red card if they fail twice.

Carr, who is hosting the show, was asked if he’d considered participating.

“I think, technically, the amount of Botox I’ve had is cheating,” he said. Questioned about the work he’d had done he quipped: “A little bit? Christ, I’m like the Forth Bridge, it never stops.”

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