Brendan O'Carroll was 'absolutely disgusted' with himself for racist 'joke' on Mrs Brown's Boys set
Brendan O'Carroll has spoken out on the 'joke' that left him 'disgusted' with himself and saw him at the centre of controversy earlier this year, after a member of staff flagged the issue
Brendan O'Carroll has openly expressed his remorse for a racist joke he made during a script run-through on the set of Mrs Brown’s Boys.
Earlier this year, the comedian was embroiled in controversy when rehearsals for the show’s annual Christmas special were halted due to what was deemed a "clumsy racial joke", which prompted a staff member to bring it to the attention of BBC bosses.
Addressing the incident on Friday night's Late Late Show, O'Carroll acknowledged his mistake and recognised why the joke caused distress, reports RSVP Live. He explained his thoughts behind the controversial joke, saying: "I like to poke fun at particularly people who marginalise other people. When Mrs Brown found out her son was gay, I showed how she didn't understand it. She now knows her son is gay and accepts it, but she doesn't know what gay is."
READ MORE: Mrs Brown's Boys' Brendan Carroll's racist 'joke' that brought filming to standstill exposed
READ MORE: RTE Late Late Show viewers call out 'boring' interview amidst star-studded lineup
Setting out to highlight "intergenerational racism", O'Carroll discussed Mrs Brown's naivety regarding racism: "I wanted to poke fun at intergenerational racism, and how Mrs Brown doesn't get racism. She doesn't know what racism is. [The joke] was kinda like, 'Eenie meenie minie mo catch a -,' and then Kathy interrupts and says, 'Mammy you can't say that'. We went on with the rest of the read through."
O'Carroll continued, reflecting on the fallout of his actions: "The next day we went into rehearsals and got a note from the director about the runner who was at the read through. The read throughs are about finding out what you can and can't say, there's always a BBC executive there. Everyone laughed and at the end of it we clapped. Then I found out he had been offended. So I immediately sent him an email apologising, I don't want to offend anybody, I don't want to be that guy."
O'Carroll told Patrick Kielty of his regret on the Late Late Show, saying: "Yeah, that's why I apologised. I completely get it."
He explained his approach to humour and acknowledged a recent misstep, adding: "If Mrs Brown is going to say blowjob, Kathy would stop her. I know the audience would finish [the sentence] in their head. That's what happened here, I expected them to finish it their head but I expected it to be they realised, 'Oh, she doesn't get it'.
"It backfired, it landed on its arse, I landed on my arse. You have Ukraine, Gaza, the American election and I ended up on the frontpage of the English papers for a week. I obviously deserved it."
Brendan conceded that while striving to push the comedic envelope, there's a risk of crossing the line, and it's vital to recognise when a boundary has been overstepped. He elaborated: "Oh Jesus, yeah. That's what you do. You're a comedian, you try something on the edge, it doesn't work, you don't do it."
Reflecting on the offence caused, he expressed genuine remorse, admitting, "I was disgusted with myself that I offended him, absolutely disgusted. I apologised to him and if he's watching now, I apologise to you again. I got it wrong, move on."
Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
