Jimmy Carr explains his comedy theory after string of controversies

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Comedian acknowledged he was ‘slightly playing with fire’ when he made jokes about sensitive topics

Jimmy Carr has defended some of his more controversial jokes from critics who said he goes too far.

The British comedian, 52, has sparked uproar on a number of occasions with gags about highly sensitive subjects.

In 2022, he was widely criticised for a joke that featured in one of his Netflix comedy specials about the murder of thousands of travellers during the Holocaust.

In a new interview alongside fellow comics Roisin Conaty and Lou Sanders, Carr defended his approach to comedy by saying he subscribes to the “benign violation theory”.

“Intention is important,” he told The Sunday Times. “With me, it’s clear what the intention of the evening is. But the way it can get reported is as if you’re shouting jokes through someone’s letterbox at 9am. I subscribe to the benign violation theory — that jokes are benign violations. You take a violation, no matter how extreme, but make it benign by joking about it.

“Jokes can be a way to make sense of stuff,” he continued. “Think about how we use humour in our lives when something terrible happens, never mind on stage. There is a lot of laughter around grief, death and disease. There’s a real functionality to it. It makes something OK.”

Jimmy Carr has become infamous for his controversial stand-up material

Jimmy Carr has become infamous for his controversial stand-up material (Getty Images)

In a widely shared clip of the stand-up show His Dark Material – which arrived on Netflix on Christmas Day in 2022 – the comedian told the audience: “Strap in everyone, you ready?”

“When people talk about the Holocaust,” he continued, “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,” he said, “about the positives.”

The gag prompted several MPs, along with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, to criticise Carr and call on Netflix to remove the special from its platform.

Carr said he knew he was ‘slightly playing with fire’

Carr said he knew he was ‘slightly playing with fire’ (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Carr’s close friend David Baddiel called the joke “indefensible” and “mean-spirited”.

“You can obviously tell a Holocaust joke that is cruel and inhumane and mean-spirited and racist,” he told his followers. “Or you can tell one that targets the oppressors, or draws attention to the fundamental evil of it, or shines a light on the humanity of the victims.”

Carr acknowledged in his interview with the Sunday Times that he was “slightly playing with fire” but “you don’t choose you’re sense of humour, it chooses you. It’s like sexual taste… some like it spicy, others prefer milder stuff.”

The first four episodes of Carr’s new show, Last One Laughing, were released this week on Prime Video, ahead of his next tour, Laughs Funny, which launches in the UK from 26 November.