2. Madeline McCann
The Madeline McCann kidnapping story, which has been ongoing for the last six years, was a tragic incident of a young girl being taken on holiday from her parents, and as of yet has reached no conclusive ending. However, whenever an incident grips the newspaper headlines for as long as it did and still continues to do, it will not be long before comedians begin to utilise it for their routines. Boyle is therefore not alone in his exploitation of the event for comedic purposes, but is arguable that nobody has found a cutting edge to these jokes like he has. If jokes are going to made about this, then they might as well make us laugh. Indeed, despite the complete understanding of the tragedy that has befallen the poor girl and her family, sometimes you need to laugh to stop from crying. Boyle has not escaped derision for his McCann jokes, which include:
"I would have liked it if during the Leveson Inquiry, the McCann's would have said to the judge "Could you speed this up, with left the kids in Starbucks""I think the McCann's should calm down - they're probably grandparents by now""There must have been a small part of Gerry McCann when he looked in Maddie's bedroom that said "I could put a pool table in here" It may offend people that comedy has taken such tragic circumstances as new material, and I don't feel that they are wrong to feel offended. If too many people take situations like this lightly, then it is as if nothing can be taken seriously. Some people have suffered greater hardships than ourselves, and it is not right to abuse their pain. However, these are simply words, and people will laugh at the joke, rather than the actual situation. Britain is a country that is proud of its withstanding comedy tradition, and comedians will always push the boundaries of taste to provide the most humour. The British have an ability to maintain a twisted sense of humour whilst still feeling sympathetic to the true situation. And, though it may seem harsh, people stopping jokes like this are not going to change reality. If you don't enjoy those jokes, you have no requirement to listen to them.