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Joke is on Carr over wounded soldiers’ jibe
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Jimmy Carr's landed in hot water after a sick joke about troops blown up serving their country.
Minutes from the end of performance in Manchester, the weirdly smooth faced Carr cracked: “Say what you like about these servicemen amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan, but we’re going to have a ******* good Paralympic team in 2012.”
Good one, eh? Carr has since apologised. But the bizarre thing about it all is that he is a frequent visitor to Selly Oak military hospital in Birmingham and the Headley Court rehabilitation centre in Surrey, to entertain the very same heroes he ‘jokes' about in Manchester.
I don't think Carr really meant to offend the amputees but, sadly, Carr's slip up is just a symptom of a humour industry which constantly defines its worth by bad taste, by being ‘edgy', by — as a point of honour — compulsively pushing the envelope. Carr just simply pushed a bit too hard.
What, to use that quaintly old-fashioned phrase, alternative comedians like Carr have to learn is that merely walking a thin line between being funny and shocking is not, in itself, entertainment.
Eric and Ernie, Harry Worth, the Two Ronnies, Eric Sykes — they never set out to upset people. Maybe that's why they are still as loved today.
Even now, the popular funnyman in Britain isn't Carr or one of his stripe, but the somewhat traditional Peter Kay.
Something for Carr to ponder on as he considers the next target worthy of his ‘wit'. (Well, rhymes with ‘wit' anyway).
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I've thought hard on this one. Initially, as a soldiers Mum, it hurt and enraged me, then I realised some wounded soldiers would probably laugh at it. however, I don't believe many of their loved ones or fellow, able bodied soldiers would, when spouted out on the public, civilian stage . This is a joke only a serving soldier has the right to make among his army mates. No one sitting cushy and being paid a fortune for strutting around a stage at no risk to himself has the faintest right.
Posted by Moira Lawson | 09.11.09, 12:24 GMT
Learn how to take a joke. It's usually not the people involved in the joke that'll complain, but some ultra-PC nutter..
Posted by Luco | 31.10.09, 00:01 GMT
If you go and see Jimmy Carr, which I have on 2 occasions, you should expect jokes of this nature. He quite obviously doesn't mean it; this is shown in your article by the fact that he visits war amputees. I would go as far as saying they probably laugh at the jokes as well!
Carr is renowned for his edgy jokes, and I think they are what have made him so successful.
And as for Peter Kay being the most popular comedian around at the moment..Pah, I beg to differ.
Keep up the good work Jimmy.
Posted by Ben Nagle | 28.10.09, 13:17 GMT
Laugh in the face of adversity, that has always been the way. I think many of the heroes he has visited in hospital will also appreciate his wit, looking to make a positive (joke yes) out of the situation they find themselves in and not being one of the many sombre visiters I am sure they get. I would think they realise he is not diminishing their sacrifice for our country, the struggles they face or the heroism they display.
Bad taste for some but do not forget some of his "targets" may have his sort of sense of humour.
Posted by Eurobin | 27.10.09, 18:35 GMT
Peter Kay isn't a good example in this context having had to apologise himself for a bad taste joke about Jill Dando early in his career.
Posted by Rob | 27.10.09, 16:00 GMT
"Even now, the popular funnyman in Britain isn't Carr or one of his stripe, but the somewhat traditional Peter Kay. "
I think it would be pretty hard to measure who is more popular. Peter Kay, while undoubtedly very funny to lots of people will not be funny to others. I don't remember him doing anything of note for a while now.
Pretty daft to bring it into the article, Gail.
Posted by Richard | 27.10.09, 15:33 GMT