Health Secretary Sajid Javid has called Jimmy Carr’s controversial joke about the Holocaust “horrid”, and encouraged people not to listen to the comedian or watch his work.
Last week, Carr was heavily criticised for a joke about travellers that he made in his most recent Netflix comedy special.
In a widely shared clip of the stand-up show His Dark Material – which was made available on Netflix on Christmas Day – the comedian is seen telling the audience: “Strap in everyone, you ready?”
“When people talk about the Holocaust,” he continues, “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.”
In a new interview with Times Radio, Javid said the joke was “horrid”, adding: “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.”
Several MPs and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust have since criticised Carr over the joke and called upon Netflix to remove the special.
On Monday (7 February), a spokesperson for Boris Johnson condemned the joke and said that legislation was being pushed through to make streaming services more accountable for potentially dangerous content on their platforms
Meanwhile, his “close friend” David Baddiel called the joke “indefensible” and “mean-spirited”.
While Carr is yet to issue any statements on the controversy, he did reference the backlash after being heckled by an audience member on Saturday (5 February).
