Irish Examiner view: Channel 4 Hitler prank not terribly funny

Comedian Jimmy Carr's repertoire includes jokes about the Holocaust, fat women, dwarves, abortion, female genital mutilation, Travellers, and gypsies.

If you had to guess which “edgy” stand-up comic lacked sufficient taste and judgement to become involved in a TV prank which might involve the destruction of art works by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and Spanish genius Pablo Picasso, it may not take you long to come up with the name of Jimmy Carr.

Carr, if not “straight outta Limerick”, was born and raised in London to Irish parents from the city. He has made a name as a travelling comedian, TV host, and deadpan shock jock who travels on an Irish passport. His repertoire includes jokes about the Holocaust, fat women, dwarves, abortion, female genital mutilation, Travellers, and gypsies. Most recently, he has toured with a show called Terribly Funny.

While everyone is aware of Carr’s shtick, and may buy into it or not, depending on how you feel about the argument, often self-serving, that humour should have no boundaries, there is a bigger question to be asked of the broadcaster, Channel 4. Why would anyone try to turn the Final Solution into a piece of light entertainment?

It is a strange time, with many struggling with cost-of-living challenges, to invest several hundred thousand euro on a painting so it can be destroyed. Channel 4 chief content officer Ian Katz says the show “celebrates the channel’s long tradition of iconoclasm and irreverence”. It is more a case of headline-grabbing opportunism with destruction of art (and its replacement with a “non-fungible token”) being all the rage at the moment. Thank you for that contribution to life’s rich pageant, Damien Hirst.

Carr was given a certificate of Irish heritage by the mayor of Limerick in 2013. Perhaps for his next piece of performance art, he could stand in the middle of O’Connell St and eat it. Just for a laugh, you understand.