Have you ever told a joke that went too far and came out as insensitive? If so, this is the exact same thing that happened during one of the loved Churchill Show recordings. In an episode that aired on Thursday, 8 November 2018, the show’s spin-off, Churchill Raw, that features upcoming comedians and is hosted by Mc Jessy did not receive the usual hearty laughter it is accustomed to after a joke said by the host did not sit well with viewers.
While telling one of his jokes, a series of production events turned the otherwise innocent joke into an offensive scenario. Things start off with Mc Jessy telling a joke about Men’s looks. He jokingly warns ladies that they should not get handsome boyfriends because they will attract attention from other ladies, “….hawa machali wa handsome, sio wako pekee yako, kuna wengine pia wanaona,” he says.
He then goes ahead to advice them to look for men who are not that good looking, “tafuta ki mtu tu, kiko na sura yake, private tu, sura personal,” he says laughing. At this point, the camera is pointing to an elderly man who doesn’t seem too amused by the joke but quietly laughs as the crowd bursts into laughter. Mc Jessy tries to brush off the moment by claiming the elderly man is someone he knows but the damage is already done.
Uyu cameraman wa @MwalimChurchill hakufanyia huyu msee poa 😂😂😂😫😫😫 pic.twitter.com/Bkm97jTfog
— ĸɪɴɢ'ᴏʀɪ 🇰🇪 (@kingori__) November 11, 2018
Following the airing of this episode and subsequent posting on YouTube, the public started calling out Mc Jessy terming the joke as “insensitive, shaming and disgusting”.
“I love watching churchill show but the camera person hapo u so wrong don’t show people mostly drunk n the old mzee found it so disrespectful hope u apologize to them…that man is somebody dad not a sponsor,” Read Martin Karanja’s comment on YouTube. “Jersy and camera man thts so personal … its disgusting,” echoes another comment.
Once the clip hit Twitter, the calls for Churchill Show and Mc Jessy to apologize intensified followed by more criticism:
Mc Jessy, Churchill, and his crew plus @ntvkenya should apologize to that man for embarrassing him on national TV, it's very unprofessional of all that that segment made it to public. Shame on y'all
— Tony Naich (@tony_naich) November 12, 2018
@MwalimChurchill can yo apologize for what your cameraman and Mc Jessy did by humiliating the old man on Thursday. This is someone's father and also a grandfather.#churchillshow pic.twitter.com/683jmJkTcH
— Moruri🇰🇪 (@O_NyangaiM) November 12, 2018
He went overboard. Not cool
— Lex (@Alex_Ndalila) November 11, 2018
After the social media uproar, Mc Jessy issued an apology through his account saying that he takes full responsibility for the production of the episode.
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. On behalf of Churchill Show & I, We want to take this apologize to Mzee Achoka, his family and Kenyans in general.I take full responsibility for the production of this episode that might have gone in bad taste. pic.twitter.com/mqicao5Q6A
— MC Jessy (@JessyTheMC) November 12, 2018
