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Frankie Boyle in Down's syndrome row
Friday 09 April 2010
Mock the Week comedian offends mother of child with Down's syndrome
Frankie Boyle, star of BBC2's ‘Mock the Week', faced "the most excruciating moment" of his career when he offended the mother of a daughter with Down's syndrome.
The Scottish comedian was performing at the Reading Hexagon theatre on Wednesday night, when he launched into a routine about people with Down's syndrome. Mocking their haircuts, clothes and employment prospects, he repeatedly used the word ‘mongoloid' and joked that people with Down's syndrome are destined for an early death.
Sitting in the front row was Sharon Smith, the mother of five-year-old Tanzie, who has Down's syndrome. Her discomfort was spotted by Boyle, who asked why she was talking to her husband. Mrs Smith, 37, from Hampshire, said that she was upset by some of his comments. Boyle apparently responded by saying "Oh, well, it's all true isn't it?"
The confrontation has received huge publicity after Mrs Smith posted details of it on her blog. Following the jokes about Down's syndrome, Boyle explained his humour, and said that Mrs Smith should have known what to expect. "He was obviously unsettled by the episode," she said, "but nothing like the way I felt. I truly have never felt so small."
The blog has become a Twitter sensation. Among those posting support for Mrs Smith is Mencap ambassador and 'Gavin & Stacey' star Mathew Horne, who described the routine as "rubbish".
Ismail Kaji, a spokesperson for Mencap, said: "Making fun of a person's disability is not a joke. This kind of comment is no different to bullying, and I am shocked that anyone would be so aggressive and want to hurt people's feelings in this way.
"I hope that Frankie Boyle will learn a lesson from this and I think he should apologise in public to the people he has upset."
Boyle and his agent have so far declined to comment on the issue.
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Comments
I'd never heard of Frankie Boyle before this gaffe he made. It's sad and I believe common of some to pick on the vulnerable. This is the lowest common denominator. I think this kind of hate speech rebranded as humor is all too common. Humanity and civilisation has a long way to go. http://tr.im/4258k
A pathetic excuse for a human being who has no compassion, heart or sense.
In Northern Ireland we have recently seen deeply upsetting abuse of young people with learning difficulties by other young people from their neighbourhood in north Belfast. This has been brought to the media attention by the volunteers from the 174 Trust in Belfast who care for these kids some of whom I understand have disabilities that are life threatening. It is not to great a leap to assume some of their torturers have watched the Frankie Boyle TV show and have been moved to act in this way by a misplaced desire to emulate their comic hero.
If Channel 4 wish to retain a shred of credibility they should drop this vile creature immediately. As a recent review of his live show put it, the world just seems a little bit more ugly with Boyle in it.
Personally i am disgusted by what this so called "comedian" had to say about people with Downs. I have grown up around my late uncle who had downs syndrome and have since grown up with his friends and colleagues. To me it's second nature and doesnt phase me. I can appreciate that not everyone is the same in regards to this but what Frankie Boyle has done is disgusting and he should be ashamed of himself.
I fully commend the audience member for standing up against him as i would have done exactly the same and more. Personally i'm going to boycott anything linked to Frankie Boyle.
Just what did Mrs Smith think she was going to.....a meeting of the local Temperance Society? Boyle is a famous, or infamous, entertainer. He is known for outrageous comments. Nothing is sacrosanct. Historically, people in this Country didn't take every comment made that might have reflected upon any particular perceived disability they may have, or be a party to, as directed at them. Today, so-called "special pleading" why they are different or exempt or, indeed, that making any comment that they find unacceptable is below public standard is too common. Mrs Smith I sympathise with your daughter, and you are undoubtedly a devoted mother to her, but you do not help your cause by attempting to exclude a topic from being the subject of entertainment.
I would just like to say "What Goes Around Comes Around" and one day this so called comic will get his come upance
I'd never heard of Frankie Boyle before this gaffe he made. It's sad and I believe common of some to pick on the vulnerable. This is the lowest common denominator. I think this kind of hate speech rebranded as humour is all too common. Humanity and civilisition has a long way to go, but the first thing I would say is Vote with Your Wallet. Money Talks and when there's no dosh on the plate, some begrudgingly have to raise their standards.
I can easily understand why a parent of a child with Downs syndrome might be offended by Frankie's comments. I'm less understanding about starting a campaign against him as a response though. Every type of humour and most jokes can potentially be offensive to someone somewhere. That is the nature of comedy. So where do we draw the line? And who makes that judgement? Is it alright to laugh at jokes about 'fat' people or the Irish or the Taleban or 'my boyfriend' but not at jokes about disabled people?! Is the measure of how funny a joke is whether it is on us or not?! Comedians pick on everyone - purposefully not making jokes about disabled people would amount to nothing more but reverse discrimination. Personally I don't find Frankie Boyle all that funny but I know his kind of comedy and I have a choice not to buy a ticket to go see his show or to turn to another station if I don't want to see him on TV. The same goes for everyone else out there: If you don't like it, don't watch it. It's fairly easy! Don't get me wrong: I don't condone abusive or discriminatory remarks in general. All I'm saying is that they are an essential part of comedy as it is today and I would rather have someone crack the odd joke about something that I find offensive than starting to tell people what they can and can't joke about. That would amount to nothing more than censorship and be completely against all principles of equal rights and freedom of speech. I'm sorry people got offended but I'm not as sorry as I'm glad we live somewhere where that freedom of expression is possible. Just a thought...
If Frankie Boyle ever has or indeed does have children, I hope that they don't ever have a disability!
Can i add that he is not the only one to use disability as a target, from memory i think ricky gervais has done the same. If i see his name on a programme i will not watch that programme.
frankie boyle has got to be the unfunniest comedien that there has ever been. i find all of his material offensive and feel the bbc should call it a day with him. he does not care who he offends, the last time i saw him he said he was like a paedophile, cos every time he F****d his wife it as like doing it to his kids! im sorry but he can't stoop any lower. he makes me and many others sick, and people who actually pay to listen to his offensive jokes are only making him feel he can get away with it.
This is an interesting situation, generally speaking society has moved on from the days when it was considered ok for so called 'funny men' to make game of issues such as race for example. Those who do are I feel are now considered by the mainstream to represent ignorence in a way that perhaps only bernard manning, chubby brown, and maybe nick griffen would appreciate. Why then does it appear then that it's still socially acceptable for those with learning difficulties to be targeted in such a way?
What I think it would be interesting to find out what people who actually have a learning difficulty feel about this. I personally agree that Frankie Boyle does owe people who have Down's Syndrome an apology, but it does need to be people who have Down's Syndrome [or in this case a family member] who request it. Disablist comedy will always exist for as long as difference is seen as a negative and as something to poke fun at. This is the unfortunate truth. However, it is situations like this that bring the issue into the front of people's minds and will hopefully provide food for thought for people who think mocking people who have a learning difficulty is ok. There are comedians out there who are not discrimatory and they should be celebrated for it. Hopefully it would then become the preferred option, rather than going for the cheap, easy dig. It would also be nice to see more disabled comedians (e.g. Francesca Martinez, Laurence Clark, Liz Carr...) on these panel shows to give them the opportunity to raise their profile and gain the success of other comedians as a result.
I love the Down's Syndrome Associations response:
'In 1985 we had a very successful nationwide poster campaign, with the strap line
" You say Mongol
We say Down's syndrome
His mates call him David"
It is a shame that Frankie Boyle, 25 years later, has not understood this message'
There is still so much work to do to change the way society views disabled people, but I really thought we had got past this. Let's hope that the fact that this has happened with improve things in the future by making it a focus of discussion.
sadly the link to the blog doesn't work, would you mind updating it?
i'd like to leave a comment on this lady's blog. comedy doesn't really hold itself accountable to anyone and i love that. but in return i expect comedians to be erudite and original. but boyle's routine about people with down syndrome is pathetic. it shows a lack of imagination and a total disregard for people who have a life long condition.
he had his say in his arena and now it's the mum's turn on the internet. i hope she brings him down.
paulb
Yes, it is hurtful that Frankie Boyle would make a joke about disabled people with Down's, but I'm afraid we all have to take it on the chin and get used to it, comedians regardless of gender, sexuality and background, will be making often crude and scathing jokes like the ones Mr. Boyle made, until time itself comes to an end, this e-mail comes from a soon to be 21 year old man, who has a mild form of Aspergers, personally, I LITERALLY don't care what jokes comedians crack, there are also some comedians I just can't stand, by the way if there's one comedian I can recommed to you to look up on the internet, a comedian who can send a message and send out a few points on the world to think on, here it is: Marcus Brigstocke, check him out he's an excellent comedian,
Thank You.
I can't understand why people think it's all right to come out with offensive comments about disability, and learning disability in particular, when every other group is protected in law from such comments. Do we know how the political parties feel about this, and if they have any plans to extend current laws on offensive comments to include people with learning disability.