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British stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr is copping heavy backlash online after taking a turn away from his signature dark punchlines to weigh in on one of America’s most tragic crime cases.
During a live stand-up show, the 54-year-old comic addressed the crowd on the subject of Lindsay Clancy — the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children before attempting to take her own life while reportedly experiencing postpartum psychosis.
A video shared to Instagram shows Carr responding to a crowd shoutout, asking, “Lindsay Clancy? Is that the lady that killed her babies?”
Instead of landing a joke, Carr adopted a serious tone to argue that public outrage often ignores the realities of mental illness.
“I think that it’s a very complex thing to talk to, because I think most people see the headline ‘Woman kills babies’ and they go, ‘Oh, she’s a monster, we should kill her,’” Carr said to the audience.
“Because they don’t understand what postnatal depression is, and they don’t understand what psychosis is.”
Carr went on to claim that many women who have struggled with post-partum mental health feel a sense of empathy toward Ms Clancy’s case.
“A lot of women that have looked over the cliff that she fell down feel an empathy because they feel like that could have been them,” Carr said.
“She went mad … She’s not evil, she went f**king mad, and a terrible thing happened.”
He then sparked further debate by taking aim at double standards in media coverage, adding that “if a man had killed three kids, it wouldn’t have made the local f–king paper. But women, we just expect … we factor in incredibly kind and generous”.
Carr’s comments regarding Lindsay Clancy have left fans and commentators online divided, with social media users clashing over whether his remarks on the horrific tragedy were okay.
Many people were slamming Carr’s comments, with someone claiming they were “utterly disappointed” by his stance.
“Worst Jimmy take ever,” one person commented.
“Maybe delete this, sir. Yikes,” a second person wrote.
“Terrible take,” another expressed.
“Wow, was expecting him to turn it around but just kept digging into the hole … L for Jimmy,” a fourth echoed.
“Lost some respect for this dude,” another person revealed.
“Normally, I mostly agree with Jimmy, but not this. There is zero excuse for what she did. And if it is acceptable by society that her excuse is valid, then all woman should be judged for their hormonal downfalls. Then absolutely no woman could ever be trusted, or be in a position of power. Simple as that,” one user commented as well.
Other people applauded Carr’s words and appreciated his view, calling it “brilliant.”
“Love this Jimmy!!! Clearly you know a lot more about the case than most of the bell—s that have written on here,” one person commented with the clapping emoji.
“I’m soooo shocked by these comments. He said everything exactly right. Jimmy, you’re a legend! Meanwhile, men in this thread aren’t even trying to use their brains, look into the issue, or do anything at all. They just sit there whining: ‘Oh, I thought better of you’, ‘Oh, I’m unsubscribing now’, ‘Oh, I’m disappointed.’ Guys, that’s absolute nonsense,” a second person wrote.
“I really respect him for being brave enough to speak out on this, knowing it would be controversial, a truly decent man,” a third echoed.
“Thank you for speaking out, Jimmy,” another user claimed.
“First man that ever commented on this case with a use of his brain,” another wrote.
The controversy comes just days after Carr found himself in the spotlight for defending American comedian Shane Gillis following his controversial Saturday Night Live monologue.
When asked by an audience member for his thoughts on Gillis being criticized for joking about women’s gym attire on SNL, Carr brushed off the outrage.
“If that’s what passes as controversy, great,” Carr said.
“The weird thing about that is, I say worse things than that every day.
“And also, I think intent is much more important than content.”
Carr described Gillis as a “lovely man” who was simply “trying to make people laugh,” urging critics not to take joke topics out of context.