New Zealand

'Humpty Dumpty', 'little ginger kid' - Jimmy Carr roasts NZ's political leaders

"The average man in the street can tell between something that is a joke and something that's mean-spirited," Carr told Tova O'Brien.

British comedian Jimmy Carr is the handsdown King of one liners.

He's been touring New Zealand for so long now, Kiwis are almost used to him being in the country.

We're not even writing news headlines every time he tweets or sneezes anymore.

But still, it's an absolute pleasure to have him in the country and speaking on Tova, Carr shared his thoughts on Aotearoa and even the country's politics.

He told Tova O'Brien he was surprised to see Jacinda Ardern not receive as much support in New Zealand compared to around the world.

"When you think about the bullying or hate speech or whatever, Jacinda seemed to get a very tough time. I was amazed," Carr said.

"When you come from outside New Zealand, Jacinda is so admired around the world as this wonderful leader and then within New Zealand, when you travel around, you go, oh, people have got strong opinions here, very strong opinions."

As for the current Labour and National leaders, Carr said Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon both have great qualities.

"I think Chris Luxon is the answer to the egg crisis, we crack his head open there's plenty to go round, right? He's basically New Zealand's Humpty Dumpty," he said.

"And then I think it's wonderful you've let a little ginger kid have a go at being Prime Minister. I think it's very inclusive. It seems lovely."

When asked about his view on hate speech versus freedom of speech, the comedian told O'Brien that if people aren't laughing, it isn't funny.

"The average man in the street, even in a tweet where it's difficult to read tone, can tell between something that is a joke and is intended to cause laughter and something that's mean-spirited and is intended to offend.

"The idea of that office banter where people go 'it was a joke' and all they've done is said something incredibly mean - it wasn't a joke.

"It's a good test if people are laughing."

Listen to the full interview between Jimmy Carr and Tova above.

You can also download the full interview on the Tova podcast, and listen on the go.

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