Carr’s jokes too painful to be funny

THIS has been a dark couple of years for the country.

Covid has taken its toll – a horrific death count, lockdown restrictions and economic disaster.

Sometimes the only way through it has been humour, often gallows humour.

But there is, of course, a limit. The ideal of free speech means that everyone has the freedom to say anything about anyone.

Hate speech and incitement are outlawed, of course, and there are boundaries of good taste and decency. But the principal is there. A basic freedom.

When it comes to comedy, the lines are blurred and they move.

It is part of the duty of the art form to push the line, to challenge the limits and the definitions of what is acceptable.

The current climate makes this a riskier business than ever under the scrutiny of social media and the threat of cancel culture.

Scandal

No one wants comedians to be censored. But it is important for them to take responsibilty.

At this newspaper, we’ve covered many stories of child sex abuse. The Telford scandal, Rotherham and Rochdale.

The ordeals of the victims are unimaginable in their horror.

So when Jimmy Carr jokes about it, it hurts.

We have no desire to see him cancelled or his career ended.

But we hope he understands the pain he has caused and at least thinks twice before keeping these hurtful elements in his act.

Not just to child abuse victims but disabled people, Romany gypsies, all the other vulnerable people he hurt as he punches down.

We hope the words of survivor Sammy Woodhouse make Mr

Carr reflect on the pain he has caused and reconsider where he draws the line.