Frankie Boyle suing The Mirror

[Tooting Gull]

There was a tasty exchange between Boyle and Piers Morgan on Twitter the other day, and to be fair (and a bit unexpectedly) Frankie got totally owned by the smug Arsenal twat.

I don't have a huge amount of sympathy for Boyle, but I don't for one second think he is a racist, and if someone says that he is in print, then he should sue them. Sounds like he'll win, and the best thing he could do is give the cash to charity (which I suspect he will).

If other people think what Boyle himself says goes outside the law, they are free to do the same to him.

 

[Mellotron]

if they state that he's racist without proof then they're committing libel.......surely if you were accused of being racist (which harms your reputation) you'd want something done about it?

He stated that Jamie Oliver had Down's Syndrome without proof. The Mirror could just say they were joking, as apparently that absolves all blame immediately. I don't buy this "I'm joking" as a get out clause for ANYTHING. I agree with Ricky Gervais, your conscience shouldn't take a break when you walk onstage.

Like others, I also don't think Boyle is a racist, I do however think he's an arrogant twat who has played with fire far too many times. Always picks cheap and easy targets, can't help but notice he's never made these jokes about Muslims, but disabled children? Sure, fair game.

 

[User removed 4]

Personally, I think he's absolutely right to sue the Mirror. They called him a racist, and to my knowledge he's not said anything racist ever. So why shouldn't he sue them? It's not a very nice accusation to level against someone.

from what I gather , the mirror is in the wrong here, what he said wasnt meant in a racist way, however the man is a cvnt, a very nasty piece of work and my sympathy is non existent if he finds that its a " not a very nice accusation to level against someone " , f*** him, he's said a lot worse in the past.

 

[00snook]

He stated that Jamie Oliver had Down's Syndrome without proof. The Mirror could just say they were joking, as apparently that absolves all blame immediately. I don't buy this "I'm joking" as a get out clause for ANYTHING. I agree with Ricky Gervais, your conscience shouldn't take a break when you walk onstage.

Like others, I also don't think Boyle is a racist, I do however think he's an arrogant twat who has played with fire far too many times. Always picks cheap and easy targets, can't help but notice he's never made these jokes about Muslims, but disabled children? Sure, fair game.

To be fair, he did say that Oliver had "mild Downs Syndrome"

And it wouldn't be funny if he didn't look like he does

 

[User removed 4]

I went out with a girl who liked Frankie Boyle for a while. She was a stupid f***ing bitch.

(not for liking Frankie Boyle ...... although that would make her a stupid f***ing bitch ............ She was a stupid f***ing bitch ................did Jimmy Carr there for free)

he's crap and nasty and I would not be upset if he gets a bad cancer or (preferably AND) goes blind.

I take it you've never had anyone close suffer with it then ? You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy, and I cant stand frankie boyle.

 

[Mellotron]

To be fair, he did say that Oliver had "mild Downs Syndrome"

And it wouldn't be funny if he didn't look like he does

I'm not questioning the merits of whether it's funny or not. But being funny doesn't absolve all blame for anything. He's played with fire many, many times so one of these days he's going to get quite badly burnt. Seems his TV career is already going down the toilet anyhow.

 

[DJ Leon]

For Frankie Boyle, there's a difference between being labelled 'offensive' and being labelled 'racist'. The former gets him bookings and the latter loses them. I don't like him and I don't find him especially funny, but I don't see why him suing a newspaper that called him racist is at all controversial. If any one of the targets of his jokes wants to sue him for libel then good luck to them (they won't win though).

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I think people are misunderstanding the difference between using a racist word in a joke and BEING a racist. Are rappers racist because they use a racist term? No.

If you WERE a racist, why would you go on stage and make it OBVIOUS. You wouldn't.

Whether you like his material or not, there is no way you can claim for FACT (as the paper did) that he IS a racist based on a joke using a racist word. The joke was based around the word. The word wasn't thrown in as a normal term by Boyle.

I imagine he will win this case VERY easily as the paper had no grounds to publish he is a racist. John Terry used the word in an even worse context. He actually brought race into a piece of abuse towards someone...but you still can't say he is definitely a racist for certain.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

If you WERE a racist, why would you go on stage and make it OBVIOUS. You wouldn't.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I would argue that's slightly different considering it was (and this is no excuse) more the 'norm' in that era.

Nowadays you get tarnished with the racist brush quite easily, so Boyles overly-exaggerated jokes are almost MORE proof to me that he's not.

I realise I've probably written that incredibly badly, but I know what I mean!

 

[Acker79]

I would argue that's slightly different considering it was (and this is no excuse) more the 'norm' in that era.

Nowadays you get tarnished with the racist brush quite easily, so Boyles overly-exaggerated jokes are almost MORE proof to me that he's not.

I realise I've probably written that incredibly badly, but I know what I mean!

If a performer is racist at heart, and can make money expressing this prejudice, and all they have to do is deny in public that they really mean it, why wouldn't they? They get to go out and make fun of people they hate, get paid well for it, be lauded for it, and all they have to do is pretend that it's just an act.

 

[The Spanish]

You could accuse Boyle of many things but being a racist isn't really one of them. I hope he wins this case; this is lazy journalism, and should get punished.

how do you know he isnt a racist? just because he doesnt say racist things in his stage act?

racist racist racist f***ing hell this country is going mental.

he is suing them because its the worst accusation that can be thrown in Britain today. its very very damaging.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

If a performer is racist at heart, and can make money expressing this prejudice, and all they have to do is deny in public that they really mean it, why wouldn't they? They get to go out and make fun of people they hate, get paid well for it, be lauded for it, and all they have to do is pretend that it's just an act.

Because they then get labelled a racist in a national newspaper?

I obviously don't know Boyle or his mindset towards certain subjects. But, to me, The Mirror are incorrect labelling him an outright racist when they have no proof. They are telling everyone his views when only Boyle would know them.

Therefore, I'm certain this is a libellous statement and Boyle will win the case with ease.

 

[The Spanish]

Could be interesting.

I'm not particularly familiar with Frankie Boyle's stuff, but I think "he's a comedian" or "it's a joke" is to cheap and easy an excuse. Comedians/Jokes don't have to be offensive to be funny, it isn't a pre-requisite or an obligation. It's a choice. When it comes to offensive humour, for me it has to have a point. Being offensive for the sake of it is too lazy. Offensive humour needs to be executed with intelligence. It has to tread fine lines about what exactly it makes fun of - making fun of victims of rape for instance is a no no, making fun of the attitude of entitlement or the culture of rape (when done well and in the right place) is fine. Making fun of a stereotype is fine, making fun of a person or a race is not, and so on.

I don't know if Frankie Boyle has the intelligence to walk that line, because I've never really seen his act. I don't know if he makes fun of disabled people because they are an easy target ("let's all point and laugh!"), or if it's to break down a barrier of fear ("don't mention the war!" kind of "if we ignore people's disabilities we're being good/no we're being ignorant and not accepting someone for who they are") and making jokes about them is an inclusive action to bring them into society with everyone else instead of leaving them on the sidelines because we don't want to say anything that might upset them.

I also don't know if he has any race related jokes in his repertoire, but if he does it could be interesting to see the argument. "I'm not racist, just a comedian" can be answered with a long list of comedians who have had his level of success and more without going down the route of offensive jokes (comedians like eddie izzard, peter kay, lee evans, michael mcintyre, immediately spring to mind without any great thought), and then a string of his jokes that may on the surface be about black people, but is actually a comment on the treatment of black people designed (at least subconsciously) to make people realise the absurdity of such treatment. That argument would be an interesting one, I think (as long as people steered away from simplistic "what happened to free speech?!"/"somethings just shouldn't be joked about!" arguments).

If he doesn't have any race related jokes, then I presume it would be much more straightforward.

of course not you can be vile about people but mention race and he knows thats beyond the pale in our current climate. makes him a bit of a coward in my eyes. you can take the piss out of young women or children with disabilities but hes to scared to broach the ultimate taboo.

go and watch jerry sadotz do it properly, step over far more lines, and do it with a bit of charm and really challenge accepted norms. boyles just a snide tit as this whole episode shows. i hope the mirror wins.

 

[Mellotron]

of course not you can be vile about people but mention race and he knows thats beyond the pale in our current climate. makes him a bit of a coward in my eyes. you can take the piss out of young women or children with disabilities but hes to scared to broach the ultimate taboo.

Wow. Agreed, for once.

 

[Acker79]

Because they then get labelled a racist in a national newspaper?

How often? Of all the comedians out there who use edgy race related humour, how many are labelled racist and how many are defended by most people as "he's just an entertainer!" Not just comedians, what about all the actors in films and stage shows that (get paid to) play racists? No one accusing them of being racist because "they're just acting". But don't you think it's possible with all the racist characters that have been portrayed, statistically speaking, at least one of the actors playing the role was racist in real life, too?

I obviously don't know Boyle or his mindset towards certain subjects. But, to me, The Mirror are incorrect labelling him an outright racist when they have no proof. They are telling everyone his views when only Boyle would know them.

Therefore, I'm certain this is a libellous statement and Boyle will win the case with ease.

I'm not talking about Boyle, as I said earlier, I don't know his act or him. I'm just making the more generic argument, that it's not so simple to dismiss accusations of racism because "why would you go on stage and be racist" - well, simply because you can, and with the defence of "it's just an act" you can get away with it.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

go and watch jerry sadotz do it properly, step over far more lines, and do it with a bit of charm and really challenge accepted norms. boyles just a snide tit as this whole episode shows. i hope the mirror wins.

So you hope the Mirror 'wins' becasue Boyle isn't your favourite comedian?

Or do you hope they win because you KNOW he is a racist and they were correct with their accusation? (which is what the court case is about)

 

[The Spanish]

So you hope the Mirror 'wins' becasue Boyle isn't your favourite comedian?

Or do you hope they win because you KNOW he is a racist and they were correct with their accusation? (which is what the court case is about)

yes and no

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I'm not talking about Boyle, as I said earlier, I don't know his act or him. I'm just making the more generic argument, that it's not so simple to dismiss accusations of racism because "why would you go on stage and be racist" - well, simply because you can, and with the defence of "it's just an act" you can get away with it.

I understand your point but I wasnt saying that to such simplistic views.

Boyle has as much chance being a racist as a banker, a miner, a car salesman, a milkman. However, my point is, I would find it odd if someone was racist, why they would channel their material in any way that could cause suspicion.

Again, I may be wrong, but I just can't see how The Mirror will get away with this one.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

yes and no

I really hope you haven't been on jury service...