Asked whether Netflix should pull the show, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “That will be a matter for them. We are clear that mocking the atrocities of the Holocaust is unacceptable.”
Jimmy Carr’s joke about the Holocaust was “deeply disturbing” but it is a matter for Netflix whether the comedian’s show should remain on its streaming service, Downing Street has said.
Last week a joke from Carr’s latest Netflix special, His Dark Material, circulated on social media.
In it, the comedian, 49, speaks about the horror of the Holocaust and “six million Jewish lives being lost” before making a disparaging remark about the deaths of thousands of Gypsies at the hands of the Nazis as a punchline.
The joke prompted criticism from his fellow comedians, such as David Baddiel, and the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, who suggested bringing in a law to control streaming services.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said on Tuesday: “Those comments are deeply disturbing and it’s unacceptable to make light of genocide.”
The government is “toughening measures for social media and streaming platforms who don’t tackle harmful content”, he added.
