Durham MP Mary Foy berates Jimmy Carr joke in letter to Netflix

Mr Carr sparked controversy earlier this month when a clip was shared from his recent one-hour Netflix special, ‘His Dark Materials’, where he joked about the horror of the Holocaust and “six million Jewish lives being lost”.

In the punchline he made a disparaging remark about the deaths of thousands of gypsies at the hands of the Nazis – calling it a “positive”.

Since releasing the clip, the TV comedian has been widely criticised for what many have described as “truly disturbing” gag.

Read more: Jimmy Carr's 'truly disturbing' holocaust joke in Netflix special

Despite Mr Carr issuing a trigger warning to his audience before delivering the joke, where he admitted that the performance contained “terrible things,” that hasn’t stopped him coming in for criticism from charities, politicians, and social media users.

Now, almost a week after the clip was first circulated, City of Durham MP, Mary Kelly Foy, has shared an open letter that she’s penned to Netflix bosses, where she addresses the “appalling” and “racist” joke.  

Writing in the letter, which is addressed to Netflix chiefs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings, Ms Foy questions why the joke was allowed in the show at all, while also alleging that the comedian’s joke could “fuel hostility” towards certain groups.

City of Durham MP, Mary Kelly Foy.

The Durham MP has also called on Netflix to “play their part” in standing against all forms of racism and to cancel ‘His Dark Materials’ from the platform.

Her letter reads: “I recognise that humour can sometimes challenge, provoke, and even offend, and that some comedians take this to extremes.

“Indeed, Mr Carr has previously boasted that he will “probably get cancelled” for his material. However, some things should never be joked about, and the Holocaust is one of these subjects.

Read more: Carr Holocaust joke ‘deeply disturbing’ but matter for Netflix – Downing Street

“In addition to the six million Jewish people killed in the Holocaust, the Nazi’s genocidal campaign resulted in the deaths of over 500,000 Roma and Sinti people. I fail to see how this could ever be funny and it certainly is not a ‘positive’.

“Mr Carr’s ‘joke’ risks fuelling hostility and prejudices towards Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers (GRT), communities that are already subject to appalling racism and discrimination. They must be condemned without qualification and His Dark Material must be removed from Netflix.”

The letter continues: “I am well aware that any calls for action to be taken against Mr Carr will be branded as ‘cancel culture’, however, it would be deeply irresponsible to allow this racism to remain on your platform and to do so could only be viewed as an endorsement of the comments by Netflix.

Ms Foy has called the comedian's joke "abhorrent" and "racist".

“It is sometimes said that anti-GRT bigotry is the ‘last acceptable form of racism’, it is time to demonstrate that, for Netflix at least, this is not the case.”

Alongside Ms Foys’ criticism of the comedian’s joke, The Traveller Movement, a charity supporting the traveller community in the UK, have condemned the use of the material in the Netflix special.

The charity has launched a petition to Netflix calling for the “removal of the segments of His Dark Material which celebrates the Romani genocide”.

Read more: Opening date for Beamish Museum's 1950s town - how to book now

In total, there were around 23,000 Sinti and Roma people deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War, according to the Auschwitz Memorial.

Nazi criminals marked those belonging to the community with black triangles in one of many dehumanising acts. By the end of the war, 21,000 Sinti and Roma people died or were murdered in gas chambers.

Though the horrific death toll and mind games at Auschwitz did not stop there. Auschwitz Memorial reports how 1,700 Polish Sinti and Roma people were murdered immediately after arriving at the camp, without being entered in the records.

Jimmy Carr responded to the controversy during an appearance at Whitley Bay over the weekend. Picture: PA MEDIA.

In the aftermath of the backlash, Mr Carr has addressed the joke at one of his shows over the weekend at Whitley Bay Playhouse for his Terribly Funny Show.

During the appearance, he made quips about being cancelled, telling his audience: "I am going to get cancelled, that's the bad news. The good news is I am going down swinging.

"The joke that ends my career it's already out there. It's on YouTube, Netflix, or whatever, and it's fine until one day it isn't."

He was also heckled by a woman who yelled: "Are we going to talk about the holocaust?"

Carr replied: "We are going to talk about cancel culture, the whole thing."

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