Jimmy Carr Criticised For Comments Made About Sex Abuse

Jimmy Carr is facing fresh criticism over his controversial jokes and this time, it's over his comments made about sex abuse.

The comedian has been heavily slammed in the last few weeks after his Netflix special His Dark Material was released on Christmas Day, in which he joked about the Holocaust and the deaths of Romany gypsies at the hands of the Nazis.

After the clip was shared on social media, people called for Carr to apologise for the comments and urged the streaming site to pull the film.

And now, the 49-year-old has been slammed by campaigners and survivors of sexual abuse over remarks made during an appearance on Out to Lunch with Jay Rayner last year.

The comments were made while discussing the idea of offence and the impact his jokes could have on his audience, which may include people who have been abused in the past, and how he justifies them.

Carr said: "I have done a lot of jokes about paedophilia and I am sure at every show there is ­someone that was inappropriately touched. I am sure.

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"You just look at the statistics and say, ‘Well that has to be the case’.

"And how do you process that? How do you win? Well, the best reward is a life well-lived and to move on and laugh about it."

Since his comments remerged, they have been heavily criticised by some who feel they are insensitive.

Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen said she was shocked by the remarks.

"When you suffer abuse as a child, particularly sexual abuse but any type of abuse or neglect, it can lead to very deep scars.

“Personally I have never met a survivor who laughed about it or found it funny even when they’ve moved on and made a tremendous success as many do," she told the Mirror.

"I think Shakespeare said, ‘He jests at scars that never felt a wound’. It’s not a topic I would ever find funny or make a joke about because I know how deep the pain can go."

Survivor Sammy Woodhouse, who was abused as a teenager, said Carr's comments were disgusting and totally insensitive.

She said: "I don’t understand how anyone can joke about child abuse.

"Every child abuse victim in the country – possibly the world because of his platform – who hears these jokes will be disgusted.

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"As survivors, we’ve fought hard and crossed all sorts of hurdles to have our voices heard and stories told.

"And something like this doesn’t help anyone. It’s disgusting and distasteful."

Sammy went on: "The idea he thinks that jokes like his will help people move on is unreal," she added.

"The things that help you move on are support and therapy – not being laughed at. Different survivors are at different stages.

"There might be some of us who can laugh at aspects of it although we’re not laughing at the abuse.

"But there are other victims who are still suicidal and trying to piece their lives back together.

"You can’t say that this is going to help them, that they’ll appreciate it.

"If he is the sort of comedian that needs to resort to cruelty like this then he needs to think about another job. This is not comedy. It’s not funny."

LADbible has contacted Jimmy Carr's representatives for a comment.