Controversial comedian Jim Jefferies has addressed how his relationship with his abusive mother has influenced his ‘misogynistic’ jokes.
The funnyman, 47, is known for his shocking and graphic quips, which have arguably seen him become one of Australia’s most divisive stand-up comics.
The 1% Club Host has now addressed allegations he is a misogynist because of his controversial jokes about women, which have been branded as ‘sexist’ in the past.
Jim said he doesn’t think he is misogynistic but shared how his difficult relationship with his physically and verbally abusive mother has influenced how he views women.
‘I don’t believe I’m a misogynist, no,’ he told Rolling Stone Australia. ‘But that’s probably what a misogynist would say, women are half the population, I am going to make jokes about them.’
Describing his mother as a ‘hard woman’, he went on: ‘(She) was physically very abusive and verbally a very abusive person, so sometimes, I imagine I have had a chip on my shoulder about women.
‘And it’s probably been for much of my life […] because my abuser was a 300 pound woman growing up. So that’s where that might come from.’
He argued that people would understand his perspective better if he was a woman speaking about an abusive father as he addressed his alleged issue with women.
Controversial comedian Jim Jefferies has addressed how his relationship with his abusive mother has influenced his ‘misogynistic’ jokes
The funnyman, 47, is known for his shocking and graphic quips, which have arguably seen him become one of Australia’s most divisive stand-up comics
Jim described his trademark comedy as self-deprecating and said people could argue that he ‘hates’ himself, rather than accusing him of taking aim at anyone else.
Jim is no stranger to courting controversy and recently revealed he has been punched by enraged hecklers during his comedy sets.
Promoting his upcoming Australian tour on Sunrise in May, Jim admitted he is ‘not the best’ at dealing with hecklers as he discussed two shocking incidences.
Jim told how he has been punched twice by hecklers, one of which was caught on camera in 2007 at Manchester’s The Comedy Store in now-infamous footage.
The audience member had stormed on stage and hit him after being upset by a joke, with Jim explaining that they had not exchanged a single word before the assault.
‘If you Google Jim Jeffries punched, you will see what people do with me when they heckle,’ he said of the incident.
‘I’ve actually been punched on stage twice, but it’s only been caught on film once. I’m not the best.’
However, the actor laughed off the shock situation and told how his tour began selling out after the video went viral.
