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Child Item

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.

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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.

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

My name is URL

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

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.

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

Headshot

Mock the week hasnt been the same since he left

kowloon

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

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...

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

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.

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?

Wacker The Attacker

Hypocrite