A painting of a sex offender Rolf Harris was saved in a controversial program jimmy carr Destroys art.
The 75-minute special hosted by the comedian saw a live studio audience vote to keep an artwork of a controversial character, including Hitlerto be destroyed.
At the start of the show, broadcast Tuesday on Channel 4, Dom Joly and Nina Power were the experts each trying to defend a work by Harris and Eric Gill.
Harris, now 92, was convicted of 12 indecent assaults in London‘s Southwark Crown Court in June 2014, one of which was overturned in 2017.
These included one about an eight-year-old autograph hunter, two about girls in their early teens, and a catalog of abuse against his daughter’s friend of over 16 years.
The Australian-born artist was jailed for five years and nine months in 2014 and released on license in May 2017.
Meanwhile, Gill, a sculptor, who died in 1940, allegedly sexually abused two of his daughters.
The Jimmy Carr Destroys Art audience chose to destroy the image of Gill, described by Power as “ungodly”, which was set on fire, while Harris’ painting was left alone.
Since Channel 4 announced the show it has been criticized for being offensive, with the broadcaster airing a trigger warning before it is broadcast.
A Holocaust memorial group had slammed the special for deciding to feature Hitler artwork, saying: ‘There’s nothing entertaining or laughable about Hitler or the murder of six million Jews. and the persecution of millions more”.
“This episode of the TV series, Art Trouble, makes Hitler a topic of lighthearted entertainment – it’s deeply inappropriate, and in a time of growing Holocaust distortion, dangerously trivialized.
“The question of how closely art can be linked to its creators is important, but this program is only a shock stunt, and cannot excuse the trivialization of the horrors of Nazism.”
Jimmy Carr destroys art is available on All4.
You have a story?
If you have a celebrity story, video or photos, contact the metro.co.uk the entertainment team by emailing us at [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or visiting our submit stuff page – we would love to hear from you.
AFTER : Jimmy Carr destroys art introduced by trigger warning after Adolf Hitler painting controversy
