OFCOM has cleared Channel 4 over a joke about Boris Johnson made by Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle, which attracted several complaints.
The joke was featured in a July 22 episode of The Last Leg, in which Boyle jested that he hoped Johnson would die soon and be “dragged screaming into hell”, prompting 11 complaints to the broadcasting watchdog.
The Glaswegian native made the comments while responding to the scandal-rocked ex-prime minister ending his final PMQs with the words: “Hasta la vista, baby.”
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He said: “You finished with a quote from The Terminator — The Terminator! — after you killed 150,000 f****** people during the pandemic.
“I don’t want to sound like I’ve got a grudge or anything, but I hope a vent opens up in the ground and clawed hands drag you screaming into hell.”
Following the joke, Ofcom received complaints about the monologue breaching “generally accepted standards”. However, after assessing the content, the regulator said the joke did not raise issues that warranted an official inquiry under the broadcasting code.
The show’s host, Adam Hills, addressed viewers after an advertisement break, saying “we do not wish Boris Johnson any ill”.
Boyle has previously attracted controversy with his edgy humour, with one notable example involving a joke about the Queen.
Back in 2008, he impersonated the monarch on Mock the Week, saying: “I’ve had a few medical problems this year. I’m now so old, that my p**** is haunted.”
Following the joke, the BBC Trust committee ruled that it was ageist and sexist despite clearing Boyle of any misconduct.
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