Sheffield City Hall should reconsider hosting comedian Jimmy Carr, says MP

Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield has criticised Sheffield City Trust, which runs the venue.

Other politicians who strongly spoke out against Roy Chubby Brown, when his show was banned from the City Hall, have refused to comment on Jimmy Carr.

Mr Blomfield was one of 100 MPs who signed a letter to Netflix demanding the Holocaust comment be removed from Carr’s TV show His Dark Materials.

Mr Blomfield said: “Jimmy Carr’s ‘joke’ in his Netflix show, in which he says the mass murder of Gypsy and Roma people in the Holocaust was a good thing, wasn’t funny or clever.

“It trivialises genocide and legitimises the racism and discrimination still faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. I’m sorry that Netflix haven’t removed it, but we can do better in Sheffield.

“Carr has put Sheffield City Trust in a difficult position by coming out with this long after he was booked.

“I’d ask the Trust to look again at their contract, and urge people to show their disgust by staying away and demanding refunds if they’ve already bought tickets.”

The Trust said it did not in any way condone Carr’s comments and had been assured by the promoter that the show does not repeat the Netflix material.

Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough MP Gill Furniss, who has a large Roma Gypsy community in her constituency, declined to comment about Jimmy Carr.

When Chubby Brown’s show was cancelled, she wrote an open letter supporting it saying: “This is the right thing to do. There is no place for any hate filled performance in our diverse and welcoming city.”

Council Leader Terry Fox also declined to comment on Jimmy Carr.

When Chubby Brown’s show was cancelled he said: “As a diverse City of Sanctuary, with multicultural, accepting and welcoming communities, we do not feel that a show containing homophobic, racist and sexist ‘humour’ has any place in a publicly funded venue in Sheffield.”

Sheffield Racial Equality Commission also declined to comment on Jimmy Carr.