Broadcaster rapped over Tiernan's 'sickening' gags

Tommy Tiernan has again landed Irish TV station RTE One in trouble, with routines about a disabled road-crash victim and having sex with a traveller.

Broadcasting watchdogs have upheld eight complaints about the comic’s routine about buying a motorbike, which he told on the Late Late Show in October.

Viewers were angry that Tiernan impersonated the disabled victim of an accident he said he bought the bike from, then later joked that when he was riding it, he had to contend with ‘flies dying against your helmet’ – adding: ‘I haven’t had that since I rode an itinerant.’

Among those who complained were Donal Lehare, who said he felt ‘sickened’ by the comments, which Hazel Murphy agreed were in ‘extremely bad taste’. James McMahon thought they were ‘tasteless and degrading’, while Aidan Murphy, who had been in a crash himself, criticised the ‘mocking… spasticated’ voice Tiernan adopted saying it was ‘grossly insulting and wholly inappropriate’.

RTE argued that Tiernan’s motives in telling the routine were to embrace travellers and people with disabilities, not to stigmatise or stereotype them. ‘The remarks he made were designed simply to entertain and were made without malice,’ they said.

The broadcaster added these were ‘the eccentric off-the-cuff musings of a comedian and it would be a mistake to ascribe any significant meaning to the remarks’.

However the watchdogs upheld the complaints, ruling that: ‘While accepting that humour can be irreverent and that freedom of speech is of paramount importance, the manner and content of the joke went beyond acceptable standards.’

They also said that host Gerry Ryan – in his only time presenting the show – failed to challenge or curb the offensive comments

Tiernan has often been the subject of complaints for his appearances on the Late Late Show, some of which have been upheld, where others were rejected.

Here is the subject of the latest complaints:

Published: 8 Jan 2009