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AIBU?

To think that Frankie Boyle is a despicable human being?

189 replies

MiniEggsinJanuary · 29/01/2013 23:06

Just flicked on to an old episode of Mock the Week to find Frankie Boyle. I had forgotten about him and why he was so controversial so I googled and read the Wikipedia section on controversy about him. I knew he was a racist bigot but didn't realise he also made fun of disabled children. Please tell me I am not being unreasonable to think that he doesn't deserve the fees he must get when his programmes are repeated on Dave?

OP posts:

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navada · 30/01/2013 10:07

Why do people watch & read about people they don't like? & then want to talk about them? < confused >

Cortana · 30/01/2013 10:07

"I am not sure what some posters mean that he is " as leftie as you can get" - you mean as leftie as STALIN who wanted to kill disabled people and did kill them and killed millions?"

Yes, that's what leftie means to those on MN. JUST LIKE STALIN!

Agree ICBINEG. I think his mistake has been bringing his comedy to the mainstream.

I read his book and liked it. He seems to be disgusted at society, his upbringing and thoughts on the working classes alongside his descent into drink and drugs and the effect it had on his life. I think he's a very clever disillusioned man who sneers at those who laugh at the face value of his jokes and has nothing but contempt for those who claims to loathe him but give him so many column inches and web hits they've made him a fortune.

Flobbadobs · 30/01/2013 10:08

I follow him on Twitter, one of the things he uses it for is to promote other stand up comedians, many of them his support artists on tour. At least one of them has been a disabled comedian.
He's a smart bloke, thats very obvious. He says things, people react to them, many switch on to find out if he's really that bad, discuss it on websites, other people switch on to find out what all the fuss is about...
I personally find Ricky Gervais exceptionally offensive but somehow he gets away with it.

navada · 30/01/2013 10:12

Agree cortana - he has almost a million followers on twitter & retweets most of the insults he receives - he just laughs at them ( all the way to the bank )

Lovelygoldboots · 30/01/2013 10:21

Yabvu to call him a racist bigot when he successfully sued the daily mirror. If you don't like him don't bloody watch him! I have read his first book and he has some really interesting observations on poverty. There are plenty of comedians out there that people find distasteful or just plain annoying like Michael Macintyre

Cortana · 30/01/2013 10:26

Ah Lovely, not many have seen Michael Mcintyre's earlier stuff. Lovely piece he does on disabled bays and how he watches to see if people really need them, and how he feels when he can't spot a disability. If he'd posted it in AIBU he'd be ripped to pieces, yet he seen as tame and inoffensive.

Flobbadobs · 30/01/2013 10:26

Forgot to actually answer your point. YABU to call him a despicable human being. It's a (very succesful) stage persona.
And I highly doubt he gets royalties from repeats. Some shows are repeated so often on Dave/Gold etc if the stars got royalties it would bankrupt the business!

jeee · 30/01/2013 10:29

I stopped watching MTW when that nice David Mitchell used offensively disabilist (and extremely childish) language. What made it worse was that none of the other right-on comedians pulled him up on it.

But yes, OP, Frankie Boyle is a dispicable human being.

Wallison · 30/01/2013 10:31

He, like any good comedian/writer/creative person in general, holds a mirror up to society. Thus you might not always like what you see. I actually think he is a very funny and clever man, and he was brilliant on Mock The Week and even Tramadol Nights.

Even if he is pretty much STALIN.

Lovelygoldboots · 30/01/2013 10:32

Cortana I saw him on mtw making jokes about a woman breast feeding on the tube. Cant stand him. ((shudders))

MrsReiver · 30/01/2013 10:40

I'm with Flobbadobs and ICBINEG here, I'd rather watch Frankie Boyle than Michael McIntyre or Ricky Gervais, or even Billy Connelly's earlier stuff.

ubik · 30/01/2013 10:40

No I think Idi Amin is a despicable human being.

Frankie Boyle is just a comedian. Sometimes he's funny. Sometimes he's not.

I don't know why you have googled him just so you can get even more offended. Are you very bored?

ouryve · 30/01/2013 10:43

YANBU.

Vile man.

Ricky Gervaise is a close second in the vileness, but brings himself up level by pretending he's not.

ICBINEG · 30/01/2013 10:43

Yup it is all about the mirror to society. It's kinda sad that Jenni didn't get that she actually agreed with Frankie when he was sneering at his audience....

ICBINEG · 30/01/2013 10:44

disablist jokes are all around us...but how many column inches proclaiming the wrongness of making jokes about the disabled would have been written without FB and the like slapping the issue front and centre?

blindworm · 30/01/2013 10:44

I've only seen The Office, what did Ricky Gervais do that was so bad?

Hammy02 · 30/01/2013 10:50

I really like Frankie Boyle. He was easily the funniest person on MTW. I found the Madelaine joke funny too. I find the X Factor offensive as this pretends to be an entertainment program but most people I know enjoy the early auditions when they show the people that clearly have learning disabilities that have no idea how ridiculous they look.

ScarletLady02 · 30/01/2013 10:51

I find him in a similar vein to Brendon Burns (although not as funny). I can understand why people don't like the comedy but the point of it is to be controversial.

ouryve · 30/01/2013 10:57

So if FB sneers at people who laugh at his jokes, and sneers at people who don't, who doesn't he sneer at. Sounds pretty misanthropic in general.

The thing that tipped Ricky Gervaise over the edge for me, blindworm was his reaction when he was pulled up for using the word "mong." There's been a few other similar things that have led to me blocking him on Twitter so I don't have to read his re-tweeted crap. I'll not be watching Derek because I have serious doubts about the sincerity of it.

MrsReiver · 30/01/2013 10:58

I think Marcus Brigstock makes a good point in this tweet about Frankie Boyle

"He's a blinding comic with an exquisite ability to shape hilarious images with words. Some of which I don't enjoy."

Flobbadobs · 30/01/2013 11:05

RG has used the word 'Mong' (sorry) to describe Susan Boyle, made a 'joke' about Anne Frank and frankly The Office was shit.

threesocksmorgan · 30/01/2013 11:09

isn't he dead yet....shame

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Nancy66 · 30/01/2013 11:10

I agree that Ricky G doesn't always come across well in interviews etc but The Office was one of the best things ever seen on TV.

blindworm · 30/01/2013 11:12

Yeah, I really liked The Office too. One of my favourites. Not sure how much I like Ricky Gervais on his own though.

Hammy02 · 30/01/2013 11:22

I know for a fact that Ricky Gervais doesn't evade tax. More of a measure of a decent person IMO.

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