Irish traveller threatens to 'lay out' a Jimmy Carr gig attendee in heated protests ahead of comedian's show
- 2 years ago
This is the moment an Irish traveller threatened to 'f***ing lay out' a Jimmy Carr gig attendee in heated protests over the comedian's controversial Holocaust joke.
Video footage shows a protestor and lorry driver clashing ahead of Carr's comedy show in Cambridge last night.
Dressed in a red gilet, Irish traveller Martin Ward, 30, shouts "Don't get in my face, I'll f***ing lay you out".
A woman out of shot can be heard shouting "Freedom of speech means listening".
Ward continues: "Freedom of speech? F*** off you racist animal.
"Go on, Jimmy Carr, f*** off. Go on you racist people. You're racist people.
"Why don't you go and run a story about Jimmy Carr avoiding the taxman, why don't you do that, and talking about raping children."
Filming himself on his phone, Jamie Kidman, 37, remains silent throughout the exchange and can be seen rolling his eyes.
Speaking last night, the lorry driver from Cambridgeshire said: "The joke is just words. It's freedom of speech.
"I don't diss these people [protestors] here. It's just a joke mate."
The tense clash came as around 50 protestors gathered outside Cambridge Corn Exchange ahead of Carr's sold-out gig last night.
The crowd branded Carr a racist after he joked that the death of thousands of gypsies was a "positive" of the Nazi Holocaust in his Netflix show 'His Dark Material'.
Carr had previously assured city councillors that no material from the show would be used at last night's gig.
Yet protestors descended on the venue with banners reading "Genocide is not a subject for mockery" and "The only death I'm laughing at is Jimmy Carr's career".
Around a dozen protesters formed a tunnel at the venue's entrance and handed leaflets to gig attendees as they went inside.
Chants of "Roll up, roll up see the racist" and "It's no laughing matter" were shouted through a speaker outside the building.
The demonstration was led by anti-racism groups in the city.
Martin, who is the nephew of bare-knuckle boxer Paddy Doherty and cousin of X-Factor winner Shane Ward, travelled from his home in Kent to attend the protest.
He said last night: "I think everyone should be ashamed of themselves for going to this gig.
"Jimmy Carr's joke was a disgrace. It's pushing the level too far.
"They should have cancelled the show. I get that it's freedom of speech but you've got to know what you're talking about before you say that."
Another protestor, Tony Booth, 77, who is Jewish, said: "The joke is worse than Holocaust denial - it's saying it did happen and it was a good thing.
"Free speech has its limits. How will the audience react to that joke? They may find a traveller and beat them up.
"I don't think the show should have gone ahead.
"If the joke was about Jews he never would have worked again. He's picked on travellers because he can get away with it."
Video footage shows a protestor and lorry driver clashing ahead of Carr's comedy show in Cambridge last night.
Dressed in a red gilet, Irish traveller Martin Ward, 30, shouts "Don't get in my face, I'll f***ing lay you out".
A woman out of shot can be heard shouting "Freedom of speech means listening".
Ward continues: "Freedom of speech? F*** off you racist animal.
"Go on, Jimmy Carr, f*** off. Go on you racist people. You're racist people.
"Why don't you go and run a story about Jimmy Carr avoiding the taxman, why don't you do that, and talking about raping children."
Filming himself on his phone, Jamie Kidman, 37, remains silent throughout the exchange and can be seen rolling his eyes.
Speaking last night, the lorry driver from Cambridgeshire said: "The joke is just words. It's freedom of speech.
"I don't diss these people [protestors] here. It's just a joke mate."
The tense clash came as around 50 protestors gathered outside Cambridge Corn Exchange ahead of Carr's sold-out gig last night.
The crowd branded Carr a racist after he joked that the death of thousands of gypsies was a "positive" of the Nazi Holocaust in his Netflix show 'His Dark Material'.
Carr had previously assured city councillors that no material from the show would be used at last night's gig.
Yet protestors descended on the venue with banners reading "Genocide is not a subject for mockery" and "The only death I'm laughing at is Jimmy Carr's career".
Around a dozen protesters formed a tunnel at the venue's entrance and handed leaflets to gig attendees as they went inside.
Chants of "Roll up, roll up see the racist" and "It's no laughing matter" were shouted through a speaker outside the building.
The demonstration was led by anti-racism groups in the city.
Martin, who is the nephew of bare-knuckle boxer Paddy Doherty and cousin of X-Factor winner Shane Ward, travelled from his home in Kent to attend the protest.
He said last night: "I think everyone should be ashamed of themselves for going to this gig.
"Jimmy Carr's joke was a disgrace. It's pushing the level too far.
"They should have cancelled the show. I get that it's freedom of speech but you've got to know what you're talking about before you say that."
Another protestor, Tony Booth, 77, who is Jewish, said: "The joke is worse than Holocaust denial - it's saying it did happen and it was a good thing.
"Free speech has its limits. How will the audience react to that joke? They may find a traveller and beat them up.
"I don't think the show should have gone ahead.
"If the joke was about Jews he never would have worked again. He's picked on travellers because he can get away with it."