Simon Brodkin slammed over ‘sick’ and 'disgusting' joke at Royal Variety Show

Last night, ITV broadcast this year's Royal Variety show, which saw singers, comedians and musical theatre performers take to the stage in front of the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate.

However, an 'insensitive' joke made by comedian Simon Brodkin left a rather bad taste in people's mouths.Take a listen:

The 46-year-old appeared alongside the likes of Cher, Melanie C and Britain's Got Talent winner Viggo Venn at the prestigious event, which took place at The Royal Albert Hall last month.

Brodkin is well known for his attention-grabbing stunts, which include throwing money at FIFA President Sepp Blatter during a press conference and handing Theresa May a P45.

He had the audience, both in the venue and at home, in the palm of his hand as he reeled off jokes about parenting and politics. But things soon took a turn for the uncomfortable.

He said: "I am the guy that did all the stunts and people always want to know if my stunts ever go wrong. Occasionally.

"In late 2019 I broke into this laboratory in Wuhan... sorry."

ITV

While the audience at the Royal Variety Performance laughed, many at home took offence to the comedian's joke, which took aim at the Covid-19 pandemic, branding it 'disgusting' and 'insensitive.'

One person took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to write: "The Wuhan joke was very poor taste. Many lost loved ones, or remain poorly - not funny."

Another fumed: "HOW dare you make a DISGUSTING joke about the pandemic? I will be making a complete Ofcom about this you should be ashamed of yourself."

A third said: "Sorry, but jokes about Covid are in poor taste, we lost a family member to it. I'm a nurse and worked through it too, terrible time."

And a fourth commented: "Very distasteful and insensitive joke about the Wuhan Labs. Many people lost their lives to Covid!"

ITV

LADbible has contacted Brodkin's representatives for comment.

Brodkin's past stunts have landed him the title of 'Britain's Greatest Prankster' but also in custody, in court and on the receiving end of multiple death threats.

As well as pranks on Theresa May and Sepp Blatter, he also hijacked Kanye West's Glastonbury performance, breached Donald Trump's security and made a massive fool out of Simon Cowell.

Speaking to Event Magazine, he said: "They're deserving targets. It's a sad day when you're feeling sorry for these seriously powerful people being made to look a little silly. If they get upset, that's their problem."

While his humour has often landed him in trouble, Brodkin remains resolute in his mission 'to make people laugh while unnerving a few so-called untouchables. Getting a chuckle is the reason I do it'.