Comedian Frankie Boyle slammed for joke about ‘raping and killing’ Holly Willoughby
COMEDIAN Frankie Boyle has sparked outrage after cracking a 'low quality' joke about Holly Willoughby.
The controversial comic, 49, performed a set at Latitude festival last weekend where he joked about 'killing and shooting people', including the This Morning host.
He said during the routine: "I’d obviously kill her and rape her afterwards. I’m joking, I’d rape her first."
After the set attracted controversy, Frankie defended his comments.
"Can I just say, my routine about raping and f*****g Holly Willoughby was part of a very long routine about whether or not it’s okay to do a joke about that, and I look at it from both sides, there are pluses and minuses," he said at a book launch on Saturday.
But women's groups slammed Frankie's routine.
"There is nothing funny about male violence and seeking cheap applause at the expense of traumatising women speaks of low-quality material," a spokesperson for feminism campaign group FiliA told the .
The comedian is no stranger to controversy and came under fire in 2020 for joking about then Prime Minister Boris Johnson's death.
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He had boasted that he "bought fireworks" to celebrate the Prime Minister's possible death as be battled coronavirus.
Boyle tweeted: "Boris Johnson said contingency plans were made for his death.
"That’s true - I’d bought fireworks."
Frankie also came under fire when he famously made a vile joke about Katie Price's disabled son Harvey in 2010 during his stand-up show.
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It came after Katie's split from first husband Peter Andre, and her marriage to cagefighter Alex Reid - and she was furious about the references to her son.
Katie then hired lawyers and stepped up her campaign to protect her son.
Speaking on Sky’s Standing Up For Harvey in 2021, she said: “I want him and other disabled kids to be treated with a bit of respect, just like the rest of us.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, please contact Rape Crisis for support on 0808 802 9999.
