Fury as Jimmy Carr jokes that Gypsy deaths in the Holocaust are ‘not talked about’ because they were a ‘positive’ in new Netflix stand-up show
- As part of Carr’s stand up show His Dark Materials, he referenced the Holocaust
- Carr made disparaging remarks about Gypsies who were killed during massacre
- Charities and anti-hate groups are calling for the joke to be cut from Netflix show
Jimmy Carr has been criticised for a ‘truly disturbing’ joke made about the travelling community and the Holocaust in Netflix special His Dark Material.
The comedian, known for his stand-up and roles on shows like 8 Out Of 10 Cats, issued a ‘trigger warning’ to the audience at the beginning of his one-hour special, admitting his performance contained ‘terrible things’.
In a widely-shared clip from the show, Carr joked about the horror of the Holocaust and ‘six million Jewish lives being lost’.
Pictured: Comedian Jimmy Carr has been criticised for a ‘truly disturbing’ joke made about the travelling community and the Holocaust in his latest show the Netflix special His Dark Material
As a punchline, the 49-year-old then made a disparaging remark about the deaths of thousands of Gypsies at the hands of the Nazis.
He said: ‘When people talk about the Holocaust…’ at which the audience gasped and he looked down at them, nodding.
The 49-year-old continued: ‘When people talk about the Holocaust, 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 wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.’
Carr then explained why he thought it was a ‘good joke’, saying that it was ‘f**king funny’, ‘edgy as all hell’ and because it had an ‘educational quality’.
It is estimated that between 200,000 and 500,000 Roma and Sinti people were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
As a punchline, Carr made disparagings remark about Gypsies deaths at the hands of the Nazis
The joke sparked outrage from various traveller charities and anti-hate groups after a clip was shared on social media.
In a tweet referencing the joke, The Traveller Movement – a charity supporting the traveller community in the UK, said: ‘This is truly disturbing and goes way beyond humour. We need all your support in calling this out #StopTravellerHate @StopFundingHate.’
The charity have now launched a petition to Netflix calling for the ‘removal of the segments of His Dark Material which celebrates the Romani genocide’.
Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE, Chief Executive of Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, added: ‘We are absolutely appalled at Jimmy Carr’s comment about persecution suffered by Roma and Sinti people under Nazi oppression, and horrified that gales of laughter followed his remarks.
‘Hundreds of thousands of Roma and Sinti people suffered prejudice, slave labour, sterilisation and mass murder simply because of their identity – these are not experiences for mockery.
‘The widespread ignorance of this recent history needs to be addressed and we urge everyone to learn more about the past and the experiences of Roma people today.
‘Roma and Sinti people still face dreadful prejudice as this incident shows. Please show your support by learning more, challenging hateful comments like these, and following accounts such as Roma Support Group, The Traveller Movement, and Friends, Families and Travellers.’
In a tweet, Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, has also urged Netflix to remove Carr’s ‘vile anti-GRT and antisemitic material’.
In a synopsis of the programme, which aired on Christmas Day, it says the special features jokes which are ‘career enders’.
Similarly, not-for-profit organisation the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust shared a statement on Twitter from their CEO Olivia Marks-Woldman who was ‘horrified’ to hear ‘gales of laughter’ following Carr’s remarks.
Hope Not Hate, the anti-fascism and anti-racism campaigning group, also condemned the comedian’s joke on Friday.
In a tweet, they said: ‘Comedy is an amazing tool for progressive change and it’s such a shame that @jimmycarr decided to use his platform to celebrate the murder of one of the most marginalised groups in society.’
The Auschwitz Memorial called for Carr to ‘learn about the fate of some 23 thousand Roma & Sinti deported to Auschwitz’ in a tweet to their 1.2 million followers.
They added: ‘It’s sad to hear words that can fuel prejudice, hurt people & defile memory of their tragedy.’
Anti-Islamophobia charity TellMAMA tweeted: ‘It’s deeply grotesque and dehumanising to make comedy from such immersible tragedy and the racist genocide of the Roma and Sinti by the Nazis. We stand with the GRT communities in full solidarity.’
A representative for Carr has been contacted for comment.
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