Comic breaks his silence

Frankie Boyle has broken his silence over his controversial joke about Katie Price’s disabled son Harvey.

The comic has not publicly spoken about the gag since it caused uproar on an episode of Tramadol Nights in December, but at a charity gig at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival last night, Boyle defended his comment.

He said the joke was aimed at highlighting how the model exploits her son – who suffers from septo-optic dysplasia and autism – for publicity.

In what is expected to be his only stand-up appearance this year, Boyle told the audience: ‘Jordan’s twin prongs of media profile are her disabled son and her sexuality – and they don’t really belong together.’

But in a reference to the eight-year-old’s blindness, Boyle added: ‘There’s no way Harvey was watching that joke.’

And he countered claims that his comments could lead to playground bullying with the gag. ‘I find it hard to believe there are kids at that school who would like to slag Harvey, but can’t think of an angle.’

Boyle also jokingly urged the audience at the benefit gig for Palestine Legal Aid Fund to ‘join me in my attack on a disabled boy’.

Price has sought legal action over the original joke, and lodged a formal complaint with broadcast watchdog Ofcom. The offending line was: ‘I have a theory about the reason Jordan married a cage fighter - she needed a man strong enough to stop Harvey from fucking her...’

Yesterday, the watchdog responsible for online video ruled that Channel 4 had not breached its guidelines with Tramadol Nights.

Published: 22 Mar 2011