Painfully awkward 'war-mongering' joke sparks uncomfortable row on live television

A Northern Irish comedian has divided viewers after initiating a 'painfully awkward' row about 'war-mongering' while appearing on Channel 4's The Last Leg.

Vittorio Angelone made the brutal gag while appearing alongside former Conservative politician Penny Mordaunt, who was on the comedy panel show to chat about her role as an ambassador for the Music Man Project, a choir made up of people with learning disabilities.

As the former MP discussed the project, Angelone was quick to interrupt her, telling the audience Mordaunt 'has always been such a supporter of disabled people'.

Explaining the joke further, the 30-year-old turned to the former politician and said: "You're very supportive of the prosthetics industry... You were promoting on Twitter an arms fair in Saudi Arabia recently?"

The quip comes just weeks after Mordaunt shared a series of photos and videos on social media from the World Defence Show in Saudi Arabia, where she congratulated all the UK companies who exhibited there.

A 'fight' nearly 'broke out' between the comedian and former politician (Channel 4)

Following the comment, the politician tried to jump in and defend herself, to which the comedian mockingly claimed he was 'on her side,' adding that he thinks her involvement is 'brilliant' as 'war-mongering has always been a male dominated industry.'

"You’ve really smashed the glass ceiling," he concluded.

While trying to get her point across, Mordant called Angelone 'sweetheart,' which he described as 'condescending' as co-host Alex Brooker could be seen hiding beneath his jumper in embarrassment.

Attempting to defend herself, Mordaunt, who previously worked as Secretary of State for Defence for just 85 days, said: "I would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to some other women who put their lives on the line to defend people like you being able to do what you want to do in your life, and make jokes about the government and all sorts of things, and enjoy the freedoms that we do in this country."

Have a listen for yourselves here:

Unsurprisingly, this didn't go down too well with the comic, who joked: "It's a tough sell to a guy from Belfast."

From there, the hosts finally managed to bring out their mystery guest, before going on to a much-need break.

Hill said: "We are so short for time and possibly a fight's going to break out."

As the show aired live on Channel 4, viewers were left divided over the comedian's joke, with one person calling it 'the most amazing bit of TV ever,' on X.

Meanwhile, another wrote: "Penny Mordaunt is fuming on The Last Leg after being the butt of a joke by Vittorio Angelone. She was really not amused! It was hilarious!"

However, another viewer branded Angelone 'an unfunny Irish comedian'.