Sara Pascoe, the host of “The Great British Sewing Bee,” has found herself in hot water after making a controversial comment during a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In the act, Pascoe, aged 42, joked about the tragic Titanic submarine disaster, which claimed the lives of five individuals during a dive to the liner’s wreckage at a depth of 12,500 feet in the Atlantic in June. The comment that sparked outrage was, ‘It’s funny when billionaires die.’
Controversy Surrounds Sara Pascoe’s Joke about Titanic Submarine Implosion
The comedian posted a clip of this performance on Instagram but later removed it due to backlash from her fans.
In the video, Pascoe continued her jest by stating, ‘I did like it when those billionaires in the submarine died, I did like it when the submarine exploded and the billionaires drowned, I couldn’t help it. We don’t have to empathize with billionaires, they don’t empathize with us. They could solve all the world’s problems and they choose not to, so it’s funny, it’s funny when they die.’
She even went further, expressing a wish for the sea to ‘get a taste for the super-rich’ and imagined scenarios of the ocean taking revenge on the wealthy.
Among the victims of the submarine implosion were Britons Hamish Harding, 58, and Shahzada Dawood, 48, along with his son Suleman, 19. French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and Stockton Rush, 61, the head of OceanGate, a company that operated dives to the Titanic, also perished.
Controversy Surrounds Sara Pascoe’s Joke about Titanic Submarine Implosion
Sara Pascoe is a familiar face on BBC’s “QI” and has appeared on Channel 4’s “8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.”
Her Instagram clip drew severe criticism from fans and social media users, with some questioning the humor in light of the tragic event. One comment read, ‘Did you find it funny when you heard about the 19-year-old kid aboard too?’
Another expressed disgust, saying, ‘I’m really disgusted and horrified at this clip. People died and loved ones suffered.’
The controversy also sparked discussions about the boundaries of edgy humor, as some argued that this particular joke was mean-spirited, given the seriousness of the incident.
Sara Pascoe has a history of taking action on sensitive issues, having reported a celebrity to TV executives after being informed by a fan that he had raped her. Pascoe is currently married to Australian comedian and actor Steen Raskopoulos, aged 36, and is expecting their second child.