Should Channel 4 apologise to Katie Price?

[sp1814]

Frankie Boyle told a joke about Katie Price's son Harvey on a recent show:

http://www.independen...-her-son-2155543.html

Should CH4 apologise, or is a joke just a joke.

By the way, the link above doesn't contain the joke itself because frankly, it IS tasteless in the extreme...however, the Daily Mail published the joke in their coverage:

http://www.dailymail....abled-son-Harvey.html

[Bobbisox]

Miss Price left her and her family very open when she lives her life in the spotlight, however I find FBs remarks sickening and if I were Dwight Yorke, I'de take the bugger out!!!

[B00]

Don't see why Dwight should care, he never has in the past.

[ummmm]

I was thinking that.

[Bobbisox]

can't see Mt Andre acting tough BOO...unfortunatley

[jd_1984]

Katie Price deserves all the stick she gets because she allows and even encourages the public intrusion. But, the line should be drawn at poking fun at a disabled child, who didnt choose to enter this world in the way that he has.

[B00]

Think he would for his kids, and for all his faults, he seems to treat Harvey as one of his own.

[ummmm]

I think he would as well...people are not always like their TV persona.

[Bobbisox]

I agree completley with you BOO but he comes over with a ver gentle persona, FB needs to take stock imo

[ummmm]

Everytime someone puts 'FB' I keep wondering what FaceBook has to do with it..

[China Doll]

'I have trouble understanding why other people don't seem to see the same boundaries as me...........'

^^^ I take your point Jack but for me that is what humour is, it is subjective and hence why I don't think the moral highground is a risky business. I find Bernard Manning (and that fella who's name I forget but wears weird clothes, I think I want to say 'Chuck' but I'm not sure) and his type of humour offensive but some people like it. Now if I take the moral highground then I can probably give myself grounds to look down on people who find it funny... but then am I any better because I find Frankie Boyle and Family Guy (which is damn offensive) funny? I can make a case for Family Guy at least being 'intellectual/satyric humour' but then essentially what I'd be saying is 'I'm offended by Bernad Manning's brand of humour humour but the sick stuff on family guy that you might find offensive is actually probably too intellectual for your tastes and is terribly funny.' I don't think that's a fair judgement to make on another person, much as I don't think every person who finds Bernard Manning funny is a racist or a woman hater so to me, taking the moral highground over someones subjective humour is a risky business because it leaves you open to stereotyping a persons views as in line with the comedian.

Another instance is a song Tim Michlin did about the pope and the allegations of sexual abuse in the catholic church. The song itself is a torrent of bad language and very offensive BUT I find it funny, or rather I find the message behind it both funny and relevant. I work in child protection and deal with sexual abuse cases five days a week, I don't think it's a laughing matter. However, satire used to draw out an essentially serious message does tickle my funny button.

I just think it's sometimes hard to draw a line.

[Invictas]

I find it no worse than having to put up with pages and pages of newspaper(and TV coverage) of the tasteless & talentless Ms Price,she is a FAR more offensive joke in herself!
Please don't give me all the usual crap about how wonderful a mother she is,I have heard it all before and it doesn't wash.

[B00]

I dunno CD, guess i personally draw the line where innocent people (especially children) are the target of such "jokes".

I truly fail to see the humour behind trying to get a cheap laugh out of a disabled child or a child that's been murdered. Would you honestly find them as funny if it was your child he was joking about?

[B00]

Really Invictis, you draw no distinction between laughing at or about a grown woman who courts publicity and laughing at disabled and dead children?

Wow!

[China Doll]

But that's the problem Boobies... Things become offensive often when a personal experience is involved and hard to seperate and then that leads to the whole looking at someone who did find it funny in a less than positive way. I lived with a severely disabled child from the age of 2 right up til I was 12, we were going to adopt him and I was fiercly protective of him. Do I still find humour in jokes about the disabled? Yeah, actually I do occasionally. I didn't hear FB's joke so I really don't know what exactly he said which leads me admit that I don't honestly know whether I would have found it funny or offensive, I just can't give an opinion on it yet.

I just think it's bad to judge someone on their sense of humour if everything else about their character says they don't actually think or agree anything that the comedian has stated. To me, that's just a very grey area.

[China Doll]

That's the fella Zippy! Roy Chubby Brown!

[B00]

Im not judging you on your SOH CD. ( you're a southerner, i already know it's crap:P).

Ok, scenario for you- this disabled child you lived with, would you find a joke about him or her funny?

Whatim trying to get at is, we all might laught at a joke about the disabled in general, in a kinda "oh god, that's terrible, but worryingly funny" kinda way, but when it's about a specific person, it's no longer funny.

[tiggerblue10]

I don't usually find anything offensive I have to draw the line at this. These are innocent children who can't defend themselves. Heat magazine once published a sticker with a picture of Harvey and a caption saying "I'm gonna eat you". I found this very distasteful and emailed the magazine saying it was in poor taste and that they should think twice about ridiculing a child who cannot defend themselves. Both FB and CH4 should apologise.

[China Doll]

I know you're not... but I am seeing a bit of hand wringing on this thread about people who admit to finding FB funny being a bit off themselves and I'm trying to present the other side. As to jokes about Karl, I didn't find it funny if someone too the pee out of him maliciously in the street and I would challenge that (all aged 9 of me lol), but to say that we didn't just sometimes laughat his antics would be untrue, some of the things he did could be quite disturbing and if you didn't find a certain black humour in it, you'd be overcome with the sadness of it all.

[B00]

That's what I meant CD.

Jokes about disability, or anything really, are fine (IMO) if they are generalised, but the minute they target a specific person, that to me, is too far.