Frankie Boyle vs. The Daily Mirror

dark crystal

http://www.digitalspy.ie/media/news/a430781/frankie-boyle-accuses-the-mirror-of-serious-libel-after-racist-tag.html

Frankie Boyle has today told a jury at the High Court that he was "very seriously libelled" by a Mirror article that described him as a "racist comedian"....

....The lawyer representing Boyle said in court today that the comic's reputation had been severely damaged by the article, and so he was seeking vindication and damages from Mirror Group Newspapers....

.....But Mirror Group Newspapers stands by its accusation of racism, and the court heard that the publisher intends to use examples of Boyle's jokes, including material from his Channel 4 show Tramadol Nights, to prove the allegation.

Personally I find it rather amusing that a comedian who bases much of his comedy on hurling insults at other people, takes such offence when someone does the same to him. Still, the printed word seems to be much more of a legal minefield than the verbal kind.

Did The Mirror have a point calling Boyle racist, or should comedians be free to tell any joke they want without being labelled as sexist/racist/homophobic by the press?

I think the outcome of this case will be very interesting.

Wacker The Attacker

Hypocrite

brummytom

Comedians should be free to tell any jokes they want, but others should also be free to express their opinions in response.

His whole act is based on being purposely offensive/bigoted, he perpetuates that with his childish 'shock humour' all the time, so what's he complaining about?

Einhard

If the Mirror can show that Boyle hates people based purely on the colour of their skin or their ethnic origin, then I hope they win. If they can't, as I expect, then I hope he wins a shedload from them, and hopefully it will teach people that terms such as racist and racism have very specific meanings and shouldn't be thrown around like confetti at a wedding.

super_furry

Going to be very hard for him to prove too. He did a lot of stuff on Tramadol Nights in particular that could be termed as racist. He claims satire when he's using words like 'pakis' and '****' but it's going to be very difficult to get that stand up in court. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/23/frankie-boyle-tramadol-nights

youreadthat

It must be wrong to print "racist comedian". It implies that he is a person who has genuine racist views, which is silly and unproven.

It would be better to say "the comedian who uses race as a basis for some deliberately provocative jokes", but it's the Mirror...

kowloon

Was the article intended as humour or a statement of fact? I think that's where the difference might lie.

Headshot

Mock the week hasnt been the same since he left

nocoverart

He's a typical comedian that loves to throw out insults that frequently step the mark, but anything remotely negative back and he clams up like the little biyatch he is.... OH and he probably has the most punchable face on TV. Apart from that he's quite funny

Procrastastudy

Boyle isn't racist he's an equal opportunity abuser. To put him in the same category as Jim Davidson is not only absurd and probably libelous.

My name is URL

I've never thought of him as racist despite his style and material.

Wacker The Attacker

nocoverart wrote: »

He's a typical comedian that loves to throw out insults that frequently step the mark, but anything remotely negative back and he clams up like the little biyatch he is.... OH and he probably has the most punchable face on TV. Apart from that he's quite funny

That honour goes to Ryan Tubridy

dark crystal

super_furry wrote: »

Going to be very hard for him to prove too. He did a lot of stuff on Tramadol Nights in particular that could be termed as racist. He claims satire when he's using words like 'pakis' and '****' but it's going to be very difficult to get that stand up in court. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/23/frankie-boyle-tramadol-nights

You see, I get what he's trying to say there - I would definitely class those two jokes as satire. He wasn't being offensive to black or asian people, rather he was mocking the way the western media portrays such people.
However, the fact there were complaints to Ofcom could be used as a defence by The Mirror, i.e; he clearly offended people based on the terms he used.

In this article, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1341263/Revulsion-racist-jokes-fuel-calls-Channel-4-sack-Frankie-Boyle.html., it mentions that Ofcom were assessing whether Boyle broke the broadcasting code when using racist language. Not sure what the outcome of their findings were, though.

ScumLord

Tabloids like the mirror have done more to promote racist xenophobic views throughout the years than any comedian. They endeavour to incite hatred and fear in every paper they sell, so **** them and the horse they rode in on I hope they lose and lose in a big way.

Jimoslimos

He's not racist, a lot of his material is satire. It's somewhat similar to accusing the producers of Brass Eye of making light of paedophilia, when in fact the target is the media perception itself

In a similar fashion, I think he's also been accused of homophobia and take the joke below as an example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biqIrB6dQW4

It's actually a good comment on how the media and public stereotype gay men rather than a homophobic joke

Nodin

super_furry wrote: »

Going to be very hard for him to prove too. He did a lot of stuff on Tramadol Nights in particular that could be termed as racist. He claims satire when he's using words like 'pakis' and '****' but it's going to be very difficult to get that stand up in court. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/23/frankie-boyle-tramadol-nights

Its blatantly obvious he uses it to satire racism.

Brain Stroking

Frankie Boyle is hit and miss but he is not a racist. His comedy is clearly satirical. He is not mocking black/gay/etc people, he is mocking our/media's ways of tackling such issues.

People on this thread are allowing their personal view of Boyle to cloud the actual facts of this case.

Nodin

dark crystal wrote: »

Personally I find it rather amusing that a comedian who bases much of his comedy on hurling insults at other people, takes such offence when someone does the same to him. ,...........

They didn't insult him. They described him, in a factual manner, as a "racist comedian".

dirtyden

Nodin wrote: »

Its blatantly obvious he uses it to satire racism.

It is not satire, nor is it racism in my opinion. He relies on shock value for much of his humour.
To call it satire is I feel giving Frankie too much credit. This is the same guy who like to tell Maddie McCann jokes, purely shock shclock nothing else.

He can be funny though.

Headshot

I remember watching this when it came out first and I fell to the floor with laughter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ESgHRI5HI

Nodin

dirtyden wrote: »

It is not satire, nor is it racism in my opinion. ............

Trust me, its satire....

At Geneva other countries would have agreed not to use aeroplanes for bombing purposes, but we insisted on reserving the right, as D. puts it, to bomb niggers!

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Lloyd_George

Headshot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvO4KrfIvyk

We just dont see dark jokes like this anymore on tv, gone to ****ing pc

Frankie is brilliant with the one liners but I never really gotten the same laughs out of his stage shows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCLQRfLePA0

MrJoeSoap

I've a few short points to make on this.

Firstly, if Frankie Boyle is to be found guilty of being a racist based on his comedy, then many, many other comedians better watch their backs. Frankie Boyle attacks pretty much every vulnerable group in his shows, it's what he does. Handicapped and abused children, cancer victims, celebrities, different races, everything. If you don't like it, that's fair enough. I happen to find him quite funny because he is so harsh, much moreso than most other comedians at the moment.

Secondly, it's quite clear to anyone with a brain that he is not a racist. I know it's a complete copout to say this, but for anyone who follows him on Twitter you will know that most of the music he listens to and Tweets is hip-hop and rap. He's an intelligent guy with a strong media persona that he uses to back up his on-screen image, and his comedy is clearly satirical.

It will be interesting to see how the case unfolds.

Cienciano

He's probably the funniest person to follow on twitter.

Frankie Boyle ‏@frankieboyle
Jahmene looks like Lewis Hamilton got his head stuck in a pint glass #xfactor

MrJoeSoap

Cienciano wrote: »

He's probably the funniest person to follow on twitter.

http://www.joe.ie/uploads/story/27430/BoyleFrankie%20tweet.jpg

LizT

Can we just change this thread to 'Frankie Boyle's best bits'. I forgotten the pussy is haunted line, pure gold.

Guy:Incognito

They should have just used facts. Facts like "Frankie Boyle is a Cu*t"

Fizman

This is one racist I'm looking forward to seeing on Dec 7th.

smokedeels

Jimoslimos wrote: »

He's not racist, a lot of his material is satire. It's somewhat similar to accusing the producers of Brass Eye of making light of paedophilia, when in fact the target is the media perception itself

In a similar fashion, I think he's also been accused of homophobia and take the joke below as an example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biqIrB6dQW4

It's actually a good comment on how the media and public stereotype gay men rather than a homophobic joke

Spot on. I remember a Stewart Lee show a few years ago in which he spoke about the worry he felt when doing a satirical piece of comedy on a subject like race as it could be seen some night at 1am on the Paramount Comedy Channel by somebody not well versed in satire.

I'm sure a sizable amount of the Pub Landlord's audience thought he was legit as they chuckled along.

[-0-]

Einhard wrote: »

If the Mirror can show that Boyle hates people based purely on the colour of their skin or their ethnic origin, then I hope they win. If they can't, as I expect, then I hope he wins a shedload from them, and hopefully it will teach people that terms such as racist and racism have very specific meanings and shouldn't be thrown around like confetti at a wedding.

If Matthew Woods can be locked up for paraphrasing a joke from sickipedia, something he never created, then surely Boyle can be accused of being a racist based on the 'jokes' he created.