Controversial comedian Jim Jefferies has spoken out about how his relationship with his abusive mother has influenced his “misogynistic” jokes.
The 47-year-old comedian is known for his shocking and graphic comments, which have arguably made him one of Australia’s most divisive stand-up comedians.
The 1% Club host has now addressed accusations that he is a misogynist due to his controversial jokes about women, which have been branded “sexist” in the past.
Jim said he doesn’t believe he’s a misogynist, but he shared how his difficult relationship with his mother, who is physically and verbally abusive, has influenced how he views women.
“I don’t think it’s misogynistic, no,” he said. Rolling Stone Australia“But that’s probably what a misogynist would say, women are half the population, I’m going to make jokes about them.”
Describing his mother as a “tough woman,” he continued: “(She) was physically very abusive and verbally a very abusive person, so at times, I guess I’ve had a resentment towards women.
“And it’s probably been that way for a lot of my life (…) because my abuser was a woman who weighed 300 pounds as a child. So that’s where it may be coming from.”
She argued that people would better understand her perspective if she were a woman talking about an abusive father while addressing her alleged problem with women.
Controversial comedian Jim Jefferies has spoken out about how his relationship with his abusive mother has influenced his “misogynistic” jokes
The 47-year-old comedian is known for his shocking and graphic comments, which have arguably made him one of Australia’s most divisive stand-up comedians.
Jim described his signature comedy as self-deprecating and said people might argue that he “hates” himself, rather than accusing him of targeting someone else.
Jim is no stranger to controversy and recently revealed that some angry rioters beat him up during his comedy performances.
Promoting his upcoming Australian tour at Sunrise in May, Jim admitted he’s “not the best” at dealing with troublemakers as he discussed two shocking incidents.
Jim told how he had been beaten up twice by rioters, one of which was caught on camera in 2007 at The Comedy Store in Manchester in a now infamous video.
The audience member stormed the stage and punched him after becoming upset over a joke, with Jim explaining that they had not exchanged a single word before the assault.
“If you Google ‘Jim Jeffries punched,’ you’ll see what people do to me when they boo me,” he said of the incident.
“I’ve been punched twice on stage, but only once was it caught on video. I’m not the best.”
However, the actor laughed off the shocking situation and recounted how his tour began selling out after the video went viral.