Dear Amnesty
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) understand that you have booked Jimmy Carr to appear at the Secret Policeman’s Ball which seems extremely inappropriate for your organisation.
Mr Carr makes offensive remarks about women, gang rape, disabled people and children and is also racist. Aren’t Amnesty supposed to support women who have been gang raped yet you are willing to allow someone to appear on your behalf who thinks it is amusing?
“What do nine out of 10 people enjoy? / Gang rape.
https://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/10/rape-jokes-in-comedy
When called to account for this last year, Carr responded by naming
his next show Rapier Wit.
“Why are they called Sunshine Variety coaches when all the kids on
them look the ****ing same?”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2065573/Jimmy-Carr-blasted-sick-Downs-syndrome-joke.html
“Say what you like about those servicemen amputees from Iraq and
Afghanistan, but we’re going to have a fucking good Paralympic team in
2012.”
https://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/nov/05/jimmy-carr-paralympics-joke
“The male gypsy moth can smell the female gyspy moth up to seven miles
away – and that fact also works if you remove the word ‘moth’.”
https://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/jan/05/raceintheuk.bbc
Channel 4 may have a remit to experiment and take ‘risks’ but Amnesty is supposedto “protect the human” not promote the over-paid careers of those who effectively make a mockery of your work.
Disabled People Against Cuts believe that if you allow Jimmy Carr to perform for Amnesty then this will irreversibly damage your reputation and credibility amongst many groups which is I am sure something you would wish to avoid.
Linda Burnip
DPAC steering group
and Amnesty’s reply.
Dear Linda Burnip,
Thank you for contacting us to let us know your views about the upcoming Secret Policeman’s Ball (SPB). Apologies for the delay in replying, we have been particularly busy recently. For your information, all of the feedback that we receive on our work is recorded, and reported regularly to the wider organisation and to the Board of Amnesty UK. We will use all the feedback received about this particular event in our evaluation of the Secret Policeman’s Ball project.
In making decisions about each artist taking part in SPB, especially comedians, we have had to use our judgement to navigate through the complex debate that exists about humour stereotypes and discrimination, and where this crosses over into offence. Judgements in this area are difficult and subjective, and in relation to Jimmy Carr we recognise that his style of humour can be controversial. We appreciate that you may feel that in the past he has crossed the line and caused offence, and are sorry to hear that our decision to have Jimmy Carr on the SPB bill has upset you.
The purpose of the SPB is to raise awareness and encourage people to support us in our work protecting human rights around the world. Having artists on board who are well known enables us to reach the widest possible audience. None of the comedians or artists who are part of the Secret Policeman’s Ball do so as representatives or ambassadors of the Amnesty cause. They take part as guests with views, values and opinions which may or may not differ from our own, and we will not be changing the line up at this stage.
At Amnesty International UK, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and have just developed a new equality and diversity policy. We are also in the process of setting up a high level scrutiny committee to look at all our equality and diversity work. We are prioritising work on gender for the next 18 months, and an organisational-wide gender action plan and development plan will help us to do this. Alongside this work we will be promoting disability and race equality as part of our broader equality and diversity action plan.
I hope this goes some way to explaining our position.
Kind regards,
Philip Lim
Supporter Care Team
Amnesty International UK
The Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London
EC2A 3EA
Tel: 020 7033 1777
Email: sct@amnesty.org.uk
Linda you got that slimiest of slimeballs in one. Excellent.