Lee Mack hits back at ‘offended’ viewers who called for him to be ‘cancelled’ over his Jill Scott sex toy prank at the National Television Awards
Lee Mack has hit back after insulting viewers during Tuesday’s live broadcast of the National Television Awards.
The stand-up comedian, 55, took to the stage when his program, The 1% Club, won the Quiz Game Show award.
After getting the gong from former soccer player Jill Scott, 36, things quickly went downhill when he joked that the award looked like an X-rated item.
In an attempt to ridicule the Lioness, he joked, “It’s an absolute pleasure to receive such a sex toy from Jill Scott.”
Viewers immediately took to X — formerly known as Twitter — to comment on the controversial joke — with “cancel Lee Mack” briefly trending.
Not taking any criticism: Lee Mack has hit back after insulting viewers during Tuesday’s live broadcast of the National Television Awards
Still spoken The sun After the ceremony, Lee lashed out at offended viewers, saying, “My job as a stand-up comedian is to take the mickey out of the contestants.
“I decided never to be too cheesy with it. I just wanted to try to laugh a little.
“It’s like a performance, especially in front of a hundred people. That was most of my Edinburgh Fringe shows in the early days in front of 100 people.
“It’s a pretty intimate laugh and the only thing is the audience can really take it, you can get the mickey out of them.”
It’s the people watching that get offended, not the audience. They’re always okay with it.’
Lee had also raised eyebrows joking about diversity in his acceptance speech.
He joked: “I want to thank all the nominees because they are all brilliant. I’d like to thank Michael McIntyre, Richard Osman and Bradley Walsh, which proves that if you get really funny people to host a show, it’s a really good idea.
“It also shows that diversity goals really work, doesn’t it? It doesn’t matter if you’re six feet tall or six feet tall, it’s for everyone… That would have worked better for the BAFTAs.’
Under fire: Lee joked about receiving a sex toy from Jill Scott after she and Mo Gilligan presented the comedian with the Quiz Game Show award
Shock: Viewers immediately took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to comment on the controversial joke – with ‘cancel Lee Mack’ briefly trending
Shocked viewers told X during the speech, “I couldn’t tell if Lee Mack’s joke at the #NTAs was a joke about the lack of diversity in that category or if he was opposed to people hiring people from different backgrounds to host. When I see how he blanked Mo, I unfortunately think he meant the latter’;
“I’m sure the diversity joke was really, really funny…in Lee Mack’s head,” as another viewer typed, “I just saw the snowflakes trying to cancel Lee Mack, comedians can’t be comedians anymore” ;
‘Well, Lee Mack is now being canceled’; “I’m sure the diversity joke was really funny…in Lee Mack’s head”; ‘Seeing Lee Mack trying to be funny is just painful #NTAs’;
‘Well, Lee Mack is now being canceled #NTAs’; The gutted Lee Mack won and cruelly joked onstage at someone else’s expense. Be gracious and kind #NTAs.”