Jimmy Carr in fresh joke controversy following Zayn Malik and 9/11 comparison

8 Out of 10 Cats and The Big Fat Quiz presenter Jimmy Carr has once again faced condemnation online, after he chose to compare the 9/11 terrorist attack to singer Zayn Malik leaving the hit boy band One Direction in 2015.

The comments were made during his appearance at the 'Netflix is a Joke: The Festival' in May, with the “best” bits being added into a highlights programme available on the streaming platform.

He told the audience: “Now, you might think this is silly, but I assure you, it’s absolutely true. When Zayn left One Direction, for me, it was like 9/11. I didn’t care about that either."

Almost 3,000 people lost their lives on 11 September 2001, when four planes were hijacked and struck the World Trade Center’s North and South Towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

The latter was intended to hit another major US building, but crashed in the field following a revolt by the plane’s passengers.

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And 9/11 isn’t the only horrific tragedy which Carr has used in his comedy – if it can be called that in this instance.

Back in February he was slammed for remarks he made about the Holocaust during his Netflix special, His Dark Material.

Carr said: “When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine, but they never mention the thousands of Gypsies that were killed by the Nazis.

“No one ever wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.”

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said it was “absolutely appalled” by the comment, while The Traveller Movement said it was “truly disturbing” and “goes way beyond humour”.

Carr never once issued a statement about the comments, but his management reportedly told councillors in Cambridge that the joke would not be repeated in his set at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in the weeks after it went viral online.

It has also been said that Carr addressed the controversy during a show at the Playhouse in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear – also back in February.

It’s claimed the comedian responded to a heckle from an audience member and said: “We are going to talk about cancel culture, the whole thing. We are going to talk about f***ing everything, people. Relax.

“We are speaking, my friends, in the last chance saloon. What I am saying on stage this evening is barely acceptable now. In ten years, f***ing forget about it.

“You are going to be able to tell your grandchildren about seeing this show tonight. You will say, ‘I saw a man and he stood on stage and he made light of serious issues. We used to call them jokes and people would laugh.’”

Carr is yet to respond publicly to the latest backlash.

Indy100 has approached both Netflix and Carr’s representatives for comment.

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