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UK regulator investigates Rowan Atkinson sketch on BBC

The BBC is under investigation after Rowan Atkinson told viewers that Jesus said love your neighbours but "it doesn't mean shag your neighbours."

2013-04-24_0129UK Media watchdog Ofcom is investigating a controversial sketch, in which Rowan Atkinson appeared as the Archbishop of Canterbury, comparing boy band One Direction to Jesus’s disciples and saying praying “doesn’t work”.

The Guardian reports the BBC received more than 2,200 complaints to the sketch during charity special Comic Relief.

Atkinson told viewers that Jesus said love your neighbours but “it doesn’t mean shag your neighbours”.

The BBC later apologised for the sketch and removed it from its iPlayer.

It said it was “intended to amuse and entertain” but said it was “clear from feedback that [it] was problematic for a number of different reasons”.

About a quarter of the complaints about the Atkinson sketch were understood to be about religious offence, with the rest relating to  language.

Ofcom is understood to be investigating the programme on grounds of offensive language and generally accepted standards.

12 Responses

  1. @carolemorrissey, do you believe if some people in a group do something bad, that removes all the rights of all members of that group? Especially if the members involved either had a) no knowledge of the bad actions (perhaps because they were covered up) or b) acted against it.

    Given the various actions of the Australian government over the years (including covering up child sex abuse), I presume you also believe that no Australian has the right to be offended by anything.

  2. Perhaps some people tuned into see Mr Bean and got a surprise. Or – complaints from the same sort of people that also complained about Blackadder, Not The Nine O’Clock news, or – for that matter – many of the Comic Relief specials that have ever screened. Time to check You Tube for “The Devil” sketch…

  3. This is absolutely redicilous. Rowan Atkinson is an ausome comic, the point of comedians is to make you laugh and usually they do it in a smart way whic pokes fun at the current social surroundings. He is right though that you can still love thai neighbour but you can do it without any sex being involved. Once again people need to get a sense of humour. I think that the BBC overreacted because of the whole six months to a year of the whole sexual abuse claims that went on at its premises whilst Jimmy Saville was their. Hasnt been a good year so far for the BBC.

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