Jimmy Carr claims he is going to be fired for his joke, that the Holocaust had ‘positive effects’ by having ‘thousands upon gypsies murdered by the Nazis.
Carr, who is known for his roles as a standup comedian and actor on 8 Out Of 10 Cats gave an audience warning at the start of His Dark Material’s one-hour Netflix special.
Carr joked in an episode that was widely shared about the Holocaust and the loss of six million Jewish lives.
The 49-year old made an offensive remark, as a joke, about the death of thousands of Gypsies by the Nazis.
“But they don’t mention the thousands upon thousands of Gypsies who were murdered by the Nazis,” Carr said. Carr said to laughter that nobody wants to speak about it, as no one likes to talk about positives.
During a gig in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, he told his audience ‘The joke that ends my career is already out there’.
Pictured: Jimmy Carr, comedian has come under fire for making a “truly disturbing” joke about the traveling community and the Holocaust on his Netflix Special His Dark Material
Carr was questioned by a woman from the audience who said, “Are you going to discuss the Holocaust?” The Mirror reported.
Carr said, “We will talk about cancel culture. The whole thing.”
‘We are going to talk about f***ing everything people. Relax.’
Later, he said that ‘We are speaking our friends in the final chance saloon. It is difficult to believe that what I have just said on the stage tonight can be accepted now.
‘In ten years f***ing forget about it. It will come up in your grand-daughters’ minds that you saw this tonight.
Celebrities, campaign groups and other celebrities have criticized Carr’s Netflix show joke.
Comedian David Baddiel, 57, slammed the joke as ‘racist’ and ‘inhumane’. He said: ‘You can obviously tell a Holocaust joke that is cruel and inhumane and mean-spirited and racist.
David Baddiel, a Jewish comedian, criticized Carr’s jokes about the Holocaust.
“Or, you can choose to tell one that targets the oppressors. Or draws attention the the fundamental evils of it. or shines light on the humanity and suffering of its victims.
It’s not just the joke’s subject matter, it’s how the joke is written. Jimmy Carr’s joke was clearly the latter.
Elsewhere, Irish traveller and bare-knuckle boxer Paddy Doherty said the ‘disgusting’ joke was an insult to the 1.5million gypsies exterminated in death camps.
Paddy Doherty, star of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding has asked police to investigate Carr’s joke regarding gypsies who were killed during the Holocaust
He told the Sunday Mirror: ‘He should be investigated by the police.
“That wasn’t a joke. He’s talking about mass murder being a positive – would he be allowed to say this about black people killed by the Ku Klux Klan?
“There is a higher level than you can go to.” Over a million people from my family were murdered.
Labour MPs, including Nadia Whittome of Labour and David Lammy condemned the joke calling it ‘despicable’.
Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP and Culture Secretary, told BBC News the joke was “abhorrent”.
During the show, Carr said: ‘When people talk about the Holocaust…’ at which the audience gasped and he looked down at them, nodding.
According to her, the 49-year old continued: “When we talk about Holocaust, people tend to talk about six million Jewish victims who were killed by the Nazi war machine.
“But they don’t mention the thousands upon thousands of Gypsies who were murdered by the Nazis. Because no one wants to discuss the negatives, nobody ever talks about it.
The joke caused outrage elsewhere. However, the audience laughed with glee.
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’s estimated that somewhere between 200,000 to 500,000 Sinti and Roma were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
After a video was posted on social media, the joke caused outrage among various anti-hate organizations and travel charities.
The Traveller Movement, which is a UK-based charity helping the traveller community said in a tweet that the joke was “truly disturbing” and went beyond humor. Your support is needed to call this #StopTravellerHate @StopFundingHate.
Now, the charity has launched a petition for Netflix to remove the sections of His Dark Material that celebrate the Romani genocide.
Olivia Marks Waldman OBE, chief executive of Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said: “We are appalled by Jimmy Carr’s remarks about persecution suffered Roma and Sinti under Nazi oppression. And horrified that there were so many giggles following his comments.
‘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 vast ignorance about this history must be corrected. We urge all to find out more about the past, and to share the stories of Roma people.
This incident shows that Sinti and Roma people continue to face terrible prejudice. We ask for your help in challenging hatredful remarks and by following accounts such The Traveller Movement, Roma Support Group, and Friends, Families and Travellers.