So, the BBC began backpedalling on Jo Brand's acid 'joke' in under 24 hours. They airbrushed it from the iPlayer and went from brazenly supporting it to regretting "any offence we have caused".
That somewhat misses the point. It was never about 'offending' people (with the exception of acid attack survivors), it was about normalising acts of political violence. Some would go further and argue that it was incitement, indeed the Met police are investigating such a complaint. Certainly if some spiteful and easily influenced leftie hears about acid often enough it could encourage them to turn what Jo Brand called a "fantasy" into reality. Let's not forget this is not the first time a Labour supporter has suggested acid be used as a weapon against political opponents.
Comedian Alistair Williams interrupted his holiday to lend his thoughts on the controversy from his hotel room.
You can subscribe to Alistair's YouTube channel here.
It took the media a while to get on the Jo Brand story yesterday, but it was creating such a stir online that by this morning it was all over the news. The BBC itself has now been forced into addressing the issue, but rather unsurprisingly the organisation has rallied behind her. Whereas Danny Baker was sacked over a picture he described as a "joke", the BBC is supporting a woman who 'joked' about seriously injuring someone. There's clearly a glaring inconsistency on the part of the Beeb.
The BBC article in which it defended Brand last night is both dishonest and shows a clear political bias. During the European election campaign the Labour Party took to describing UKIP and the Brexit Party as "far right". It was a prominent feature of Labour's campaign and the same language appeared in the BBC's defence of Jo Brand yesterday.
"Brand, speaking after Mr Farage and a number of far-right European election candidates were covered in milkshakes during campaign walkabouts in May..."
BBC labels UKIP/Brexit Party 'far right'
The 'far right' label doesn't stand up to much scrutiny, but the left has done everything it can to normalise its use and demonise its opponents. The BBC deployed it to craftily undermine the target of the 'joke', but then the difference between the Beeb and the political left has long been a blurred line. Jo Brand herself is a famous Labour supporter (as is Danny Baker) and appeared in a Labour election broadcast in 2015.
In the article the BBC goes on to flat out lie about the online response to Brand's 'joke'.
"Her [Brand's] follow-up comments were edited out of widely-shared clips on social media".
BBC
This is simply not true. Her remarks after the acid 'joke' in which she said it was "purely a fantasy" were left in every single clip we can find, including the one we used yesterday. Guido Fawkes left it in, as did this YouTuber and also TV Licence Resistance.
Brand herself has not commented on the controversy. Nigel Farage was asked about it on Fox News.
Meanwhile, the petition to abolish the TV licence is fast approaching 200,000.
Jo Brand's remark about battery acid being thrown at "certain unpleasant" politicians has created a lot of chatter on social media, but strangely not a single media outlet appears to have carried the story (at time of writing). It doesn't take a genius to know exactly who Labour supporter Jo is referring to. The only people being milkshaked are Brexiteers. Imagine if the 'joke' was on the reverse side and a right-wing comic had suggested replacing milkshake with acid and throwing it over Corbyn and co?
Of course comedy is subjective and one look at our Facebook page will tell you that we all share a sense of humour, but this is beyond the pale. Acid attacks are one of the most horrific and sadistic ways in which someone can be physically assaulted. Victims are scarred for life in the most prominent part of their bodies - their face - and they are reminded of it every time they look in the mirror or see a photo of themselves for the rest of their lives.
It's just not funny Jo.
Will the BBC act? Danny Baker was fired for much less than this. Will there be any consistency? Don't hold your breath, but it's another good reason to sign the TV licence petition.
UPDATE
A petition dedicated to Jo's dismissal has sprung up already!
