Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 1:51 PM GMTSo was Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards.
True. I don't think jokes about his appearance are fair game either. IIRC didn't have surgery on his jaw quite recently?
The British Comedy Awards 2009 Page 17
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 1:44 PM GMTHey, remember Linford Christie, the sportsman, remember all those jokes about his 'lunchbox'? Weren't they hilarious? How about Tim Henman? He's quite boring. Or Carlos Tevez? He's ugly. Ha, ha, ha.
If anyone complained about those gags (Christie hated those cock jokes) then maybe the Trust would have ruled similarly.
Quote: chipolata @ December 16 2009, 1:52 PM GMTYou miss the point. There's also something known as common human decency. Some things are just nasty and meanspirited and shouldn't be said.
You are going down a very scary path there Chipolata, this could easily devolve into a censorship debate. Or worse, a pro-Michael McIntyre debate.
Quote: Kevin Murphy @ December 16 2009, 1:52 PM GMTIf anyone complained about those gags (Christie hated those cock jokes) then maybe the Trust would have ruled similarly.
I doubt it, Christie isn't a white woman.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 1:54 PM GMTYou are going down a very scary path there Chipolata, this could easily devolve into a censorship debate. Or worse, a pro-Michael McIntyre debate.
Not at all. It's just a case of judgement and not being nasty for the sake of a cheap laugh. I'm not advocating banning anything, or censoring anything, just that people should be aware of the impact their statements have. There's a place for nasty comedy, sure, and I like a lot of it, but I think mocking a harmless swimmer for the way she looks is pretty tawdry.
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ December 16 2009, 1:49 PM GMTShe's also an amateur sportswoman, which makes a difference.
Blimey what a minefield!
Premiership footballers are of course fair game as they earn huge amounts and also serve to rehash ancient Irish jokes from 70s stand-ups by replacing Seamus and Paddy with David Beckham and Wayne Rooney.
Whilst I don't think it was a very nice, or funny joke, I actually think that Rebecca Adlington has done alright out of it as before the MTW thing who would've actually been able to pick her out of a line up? Or even really knew who she was?
She's become a lot more famous because of Frankie Boyle, and while she may not actually court fame I bet it's made it easier for her to get sponsorship.
The joke was a bit nasty and probably should not have been aired but comics made bad decisions and tell misguided jokes all the time, it's part of the learning curve of being a stand up.
Milton Jones, one of the nicest, non-offensive comics out there, tells a story when he did a corporate gig for a load of publicans and he made an off-the-cuff joke about a female heckler, who he couldn't see because of the stage lights, probably being fat (something to do with all the free drinks and crisps) and the audience turning against him because she was, indeed, rather large and it just seemed like he was being nasty and offensive.
Sometimes jokes are cruel and whilst I'm not defending those types of jokes, we, as a society, do need to learn to laugh them off or ignore them, Frankie Boyle didn't kill anyone, he just made a bad joke, everyone should really just move on.
Quote: Tony Cowards @ December 16 2009, 2:03 PM GMTI bet it's made it easier for her to get sponsorship.
It's a shame Concorde's not around any more.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 1:10 PM GMTAs always, I'm confused by the BCG reaction to a comedian's jokes. Week in, week out, the telly jesters make fun of people's looks - HIGNFY, Buzzcocks, Argumental, etc. and you all seem to lap it up.
But just like Sachs-gate, no one seems to give a shit until a newspaper tells them what to think. Then it's 'Oh no, how terribly shocking. Ban them!'
Carpark - this isn't about any kind of hysterical Daily Mail type over-reaction at being offended, it is purely about the quality of the work. That was my point several pages back.
Quote: Ming the Mirthless @ December 16 2009, 11:01 AM GMTThe 'back of a spoon' joke was in fact a brilliant bit of comedy because it contained an undeniable and embarrassing truth beautifully expressed, it was outrageously unkind, and it was what everyone was thinking but too ashamed to say.
This is, in fact, the actual truth. You're not angry at Frankie Boyle, but at yourselves for finding this joke so funny / offensive. The fact that you see Adlington as some sort of 'victim', even though she is an Olympic Gold Medal winner, says more about how you perceive attractiveness then anything else.
If Boyle had said that Micahel Phelps looked like a jug earred freak, no one and I mean no one on this forum would have batted an eyelid.
And let's not forget that South African runner who had the sex test - I'm sure no one on this Forum laughed at any jokes made at her expense.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 2:13 PM GMTYou're not angry at Frankie Boyle, but at yourselves for finding this joke so funny / offensive.
I'm sensing a bit of tilting at windmills here.
I honestly don't think anybody on this thread is angry/upset/offended by the joke mate. I think we're just discussing it.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 2:13 PM GMTThis is, in fact, the actual truth. You're not angry at Frankie Boyle, but at yourselves for finding this joke so funny / offensive. The fact that you see Adlington as some sort of 'victim', even though she is an Olympic Gold Medal winner, says more about how you perceive attractiveness then anything else.
Thank you, Henri Bergson!
Quote: Kevin Murphy @ December 16 2009, 2:16 PM GMTI'm sensing a bit of tilting at windmills here.
I honestly don't think anybody on this thread is angry/upset/offended by the joke mate. I think we're just discussing it.
Indeed.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 2:13 PM GMTThis is, in fact, the actual truth. You're not angry at Frankie Boyle, but at yourselves for finding this joke so funny / offensive. The fact that you see Adlington as some sort of 'victim', even though she is an Olympic Gold Medal winner, says more about how you perceive attractiveness then anything else.
No, I just thought there's a young woman out there who's just getting on with being good at something and someone's making a joke about an aspect of her appearance that she can't do much about. She might just think f**k you Mr Boyle, or she might just feel not too good about it all. There was also a joke about her being a slapper or something wasn't there?
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ December 16 2009, 2:19 PM GMTThere was also a joke about her being a slapper or something wasn't there?
The joke in full:
"Rebecca Adlington looks pretty weird. She looks like someone who's looking at themselves in the back of a spoon. And then, when she arrived back on the flight, she met her boyfriend. Did you see her boyfriend? He was really attractive. He was like a male model. So from that I have deduced that Rebecca Adlington is very dirty. I mean, if you just take into account how long she can hold her breath…"
Excuse my 'tilting at windmills' but as always, I'm mystified by the duplicity of the posters on here yet again.
As I've mentioned before, no one gave a shit about Boyle's joke until the papers got a hold of it - then in come charging the 'outraged brigade'.
I can't be asked to go through the previous Mock The Week forum thread, but if you guys posted on there how much you despised the Adlington joke the week the show went out, then I will humbly apologise and retract my statements.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ December 16 2009, 2:28 PM GMTAs I've mentioned before, no one gave a shit about Boyle's joke until the papers got a hold of it - then in come charging the 'outraged brigade'.
I can't be asked to go through the previous Mock The Week forum thread, but if you guys posted on there how much you despised the Adlington joke the week the show went out, then I will humbly apologise and retract my statements.
I wasn't around when the Holacaust happened, but I still think it wasn't a good thing. 