The joke and the joker: Ascribing accountability for offensive humour in stand-up comedy

Kapogianni, Eleni, Elder, Chi-Hé and Baxter-Webb, Ibi (2025) The joke and the joker: Ascribing accountability for offensive humour in stand-up comedy. Pragmatics & Cognition. ISSN 1569-9943 (In Press)

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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.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Media, Language and Communication Studies
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > UEA Experimental Philosophy Group Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Area Studies Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Language and Communication Studies Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Film, Television and Media
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2025 18:30
Last Modified:	14 Feb 2025 16:49
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98496
DOI:

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