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Article published In: ‘Only joking’: Negotiating offensive humour in interaction
Edited by Chi-Hé Elder, Eleni Kapogianni and Ibi Baxter-Webb
[Pragmatics & Cognition 32:1] 2025
► pp. 39–68

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The joke and the joker

Ascribing accountability for offensive humour in stand-up comedy

 | University of Kent
ORCiD logo with link | University of East Anglia
 | University of East Anglia
Published online: 26 September 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.24027.kap
Abstract
The ongoing and divisive discourse regarding the use of offensive humour in stand-up comedy is taking place both off-stage and on-stage: comedians use jokes that target sensitive characteristics ostensibly to show that no topic is ‘off limits’, while also taking a stance against those who argue for more empathetic comedy that does not reinforce stereotypes and discriminatory beliefs. Taking Jimmy Carr’s ‘holocaust joke’ (2021) as a case study, we examine the entire life-cycle of jokes from their live-performance context to entering the public sphere, questioning what a joker can be held accountable for in stand-up comedy. Specifically, we look at the performance frame, comedian personality and persona, and how different types of audience may react to a joke, in order to shed light on what exactly it is that the producer of an offensive joke can, or should, be held accountable for.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Offensive humour and accountability
  • 3.Jimmy Carr’s holocaust joke: Factors weighing on the ascription of accountability
    • 3.1Performance frame
    • 3.2The joker: Personality and persona
    • 3.3The joke and its audiences
  • 4.Discussion and conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (74)
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