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Frankie Boyle upsets mum of Down’s syndrome child
‘Excruciating moment’ as audience member objects to Scottish comedian’s humour
The Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle has described as "the most excruciating moment of my career" the moment he had to confront an audience member with a Down's syndrome child who was upset about him mocking Down's sufferers during his stand-up routine.
It happened during a gig at Reading's Hexagon theatre. Boyle was in full flow, taking the mickey out of the haircuts and clothes of Downs's syndrome sufferers, and mimicking their voices, when he noticed a couple in the front row whispering to each other.
He confronted Sharon and Keiron Smith - and got the answer back from Sharon: "My daughter has Down's syndrome and I'm very upset."
Boyle's agent has declined to comment, but a report in the Daily Mail claims Boyle was "unrepentant" and told the audience: "This is my last tour. I don't give a **** what people think."
Sharon Smith told the Guardian she was a fan of Boyle's humour and was well aware of his style - he once described Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington as "someone who's looking at themselves in the back of a spoon" - before buying tickets to the Hexagon.
"I knew what to expect," she said. "I put myself in the situation. I'm a comedy fan, so is my husband, we see a lot of stand-up. I was even ready for some jokes about disability, and decided I'd try to ignore them."
She went on: "What bothered me most was that it was very childish, playground stuff, really. I'd have had more respect for him if he'd come up with something new or funny. But it was so ignorant. Tanzie is beautiful and intelligent. She goes to the local primary school and most of the time you forget she's got Down's."
A Twitter campaign of support for the Smiths includes a message from the Gavin and Stacey actor Mathew Horne, who described Boyle's mockery of Down's syndrome sufferers as "rubbish". ·
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Comments against vulnerable groups are completely unacceptable. People with learning disabilities be they adults or children are in no position to defend themselves so Frankie Boyle is effectively bullying the weak and defenceless. Interestingly imagine the uproar if he had told a racist or homophobic joke - both groups by and large being "big enough and old enough" to defend themselves. Boyle is not on his own, I watched a particularly offensive routine from Jimmy Carr on mainstream telly last week where he liberally used the word "retarded" and mimicked a special needs person. substitute the word retarded for nigger or gay bastard C4 and lets see if you are so keen to defend satirism.
Frankie Boyle is top in the new breed of British comedians who can sweep away all this holier than thou attitude to the so called 'untouchable' subjects and be hilariously funny!! Before you go to see any 'wicked' act like Boyles,watch a few clips online first so you don't get upset by the New black comedy! Gawd!!
I can't help but wonder exactly why this couple were at this gig. Then they end up talking to the permanently up its own ares with false indignation Guardian of all newspapers. I'm quite sure the communists of the newspaper industry would love to use the disabled as political coinage to lever themselves into a holier than though position where they can demand that the law is changed to censor people even further. I can't think of this disgusting and failing rag without seeing the sulking, sullen, sombre and grotesque faces of the Soviet leaders, whilst the convoys of misslies and tanks passed the Kremlin on May Day. The sooner this paper is deceased the better.