Must not call an astoundingly thick quiz show contestant astoundingly thick
Britain:
It is a quiz traditionally associated with the finest minds in the country. But media watchdog Ofcom has ruled that Channel 4 was right to brand one Mastermind contestant 'astoundingly thick'.
Simon Curtis recorded one of the show’s lowest scores in the history of the programme, but took umbrage when comedian David Walliams mocked him on a comedy show.
The programme, which was shown on Channel 4 in January, included a clip of Mr Curtis on Mastermind which was introduced by Walliams who said: ‘Sometimes in life, you have to know your limitations... if you’re not, let’s say, very bright, it’s probably not a good idea to go on a quiz show that tests your mental agility. ‘And by not very bright I mean, astoundingly thick.’
The probation worker complained to Ofcom that he was portrayed as being of ‘low intelligence’ and that he had not given his consent for it to be shown.
In its defence, Channel 4 said that it was obvious Mr Curtis was not literally ‘astoundingly thick’ as he was on Mastermind in the first place. But it added: 'This was the worst specialist subject performance ever seen on Mastermind.’
Ofcom agreed and refused to uphold any of Mr Curtis’s complaints. It ruled: ‘We recognise that these comments carried the potential to be offensive and insulting to Mr Curtis. ‘However we took the view that it would have been clear to viewers from the beginning of the programme that Mr Walliams - himself best known as a comedian - intended to provide humourous and light hearted opinion and comment on examples of past television clips.’
Source
Good to see that British officialdom sometimes gets it right.
5 comments:
Being considered "offensive" in Britain seems to be the most heinous crime one can commit in a nation that is quickly devolving into the EU's version of the Twilight Zone. Sure, they do come up with a rational decision now and then, (probably by accident) but it's not enough to save them. No matter. Very soon now, Britain will be nothing more than a jumping-off point, one controlled by Sharia Law, for the country's millions of radical Muslims to attack the US.
BTW, rather than ridicule the obviously unqualified contestant, why haven't they made public the identity of the TV person responsible for approving Mr. Curtis? That's the one who should be ridiculed.
In any event, why insult and publicly humiliate the poor fellow?
The insult is not a crime, nor should it be, that's quite true. But it was also neither wise nor decent to use it.
At some point, in the last generation, our professional comedians lost all sense of humor and substituted anger and insult in its place under the same name.
That's truly a shame. They remind me most of all of the spoiled little princes and princesses of the past and their fawning hangers-on, sneering at the jester and seeking to humiliate him further.
Stinky said:
"At some point, in the last generation, our professional comedians lost all sense of humor and substituted anger and insult in its place under the same name..."
You are quite right. Today, they're just dirty and offensive. Not funny. Years ago, the very best comedians in show business, the truly great ones, didn't need to use foul language to make people laugh. Things have obviously changed, and as usual, not for the better.
Faint praise for the UK from A Levy, who probably thinks he doesn't live in the "twilight" of the American empire (as in "decline and fall of").
British empire: 1600-1960
US empire: 1890-2015
To learn american-english from US movies and TV, only two words are necessary "f**ck" and "sh**t".
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