The woman accused the stand-up comedian of using his platform to ‘put down those who have a tough life’.
British comedian Jimmy Carr has received backlash from an audience member who said she was left feeling “absolutely insulted” after he mocked her during a live show.
The complaint comes just weeks before Carr’s new stand-up special is due to be released on Netflix.
Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer will land on the streaming platform on April 16.
The 8 Out of 10 Cats host, who is known for his dark humour, is said to have made ‘vile’ jokes about deaf people when performing at the Orchard West Theatre in Kent as part of a warmup run before his upcoming tour.
Carly Ahlen, 44, was in attendance at the show and, considering she is deaf, was using a transcribing app on her iPhone to keep track of what Carr was saying during his set.
This apparently caught the comedian’s attention, and he chose to make a joke out of a beret she was wearing and asked her why she had it on.
Ahlen explained to Daily Mail: “I used my right hand to lift my beret, exposing my hearing aid. I hoped he was at least a decent guy and would move on, knowing I was deaf. It didn’t work. It had the opposite effect as I was like a sitting deaf duck now.”
After moving on for a while, Carr then returned his attention to Ahlen and, referencing her beret, asked her if she was going to use her phone to ‘call for backup from the French Resistance’.
She added: “Then, he was talking about how you can say anything about deaf people because they can’t hear you. I was shocked – this isn’t comedy!”
The wildlife rescue specialist, who runs Dartford-based Gabo Wildlife, admitted she was left lost for words following the exchange.
“It’s just not acceptable. He doesn’t need to do that – he’s rich enough. I’ve spent far too long feeling miserable and ashamed of my hearing loss because of the stigma attached to it.”
Carr’s previous Netflix special was the subject of much controversy when it was released back in 2021.
The 51-year-old began speaking about the horrors the Holocaust – an event which saw “six million Jewish lives being lost,” he explained.
He then continued to the joke’s punchline, which took aim at gypsies and those in the traveller community that also lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis.
The joke sparked widespread condemnation, including from politicians such as Nadine Dorries and Sajid Javid.
It seems the repeated backlash hasn’t softened Carr’s approach to comedy, as the teaser for the new special shows the comedian discussing what he’s going to do next time he’s “cancelled.”
He says in the clip: “You can’t go around apologising for jokes, they’re jokes! So I’ve got a plan.
“The next time I get cancelled over a joke, the next time I upset people over a joke, I’m going to come out on the day of the cancellation and I’m going to make a public statement.”
He then sarcastically says “I’m sorry.”
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