Comedian Vittorio Angelone has issued a public apology after a joke referencing sexual violence about online content creator Rebecca Goodwin sparked widespread criticism. The Belfast-based comic made the remark during an appearance on the 'Have a Word' podcast this week.
Goodwin's Response
Goodwin responded with an emotional video on TikTok, stating she had not been informed of the joke in advance. In the footage, she revealed she is currently involved in an ongoing rape trial and expressed disbelief that she 'can not believe it was okayed' by those behind the podcast, reports Belfast Live.
Goodwin, who had previously reported a rape to police, said it will "forever live with me that it was allowed for my name to be used as the punchline of a malicious 'joke' about such a serious issue".
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre Condemns Joke
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre shared an image on Instagram condemning the comedian. The post read: "Rape jokes and sexist comments do not exist in a vacuum. Abuse and coercive control does not exist in a vacuum. Sexual violence and rape does not exist in a vacuum. And femicide - does not exist in a vacuum. Angelone should know this, being from the North of Ireland - deemed one of the most dangerous places in Europe to be a woman because of the domestic abuse and femicide epidemic."
The post continued: "Feminists and survivors/victims of abuse have long said: you cannot eradicate femicide or tackle abuse without tackling the entire spectrum of behaviour which serves to normalise and justify sexism, misogyny and gendered violence. We need more men calling this out."
Angelone's Apology
Angelone addressed the controversy on social media with a statement: "I made a joke that I shouldn't have made and I'd like to say sorry. The joke referenced sexual violence. At the very least I should have run the joke past the person mentioned and then still not told it because it isn't funny."
He added: "I let my need for validation supersede my own standards and morals. It's completely pathetic, and I'm ashamed to realise that about myself. I pride myself on being able to talk about difficult topics and make them funny. I stand behind plenty of jokes that people have criticised. This is not one of those jokes."
Angelone said he had "reached out and apologised directly to the person mentioned in the joke" and expressed regret to those upset by it. He stated: "I am not apologising in the hope that this all blows over. I'm apologising because that's what you should do when you realise you've done something wrong. I'm grateful to you for calling me out and making me realise where I should've done better. Sometimes you need a lot of people telling you that you've f****d up. I will do better in future."
The Instagram post has accumulated hundreds of responses, with some urging Angelone to make donations to sexual violence charities.
