Controversial comedian blames abusive mother for his ‘sexist’ jokes-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

Australian stand-up comic Jim Jefferies addressed his issue with women (Picture: Getty)

Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, known for his provocative humour, has opened up about his abusive mother amid ongoing accusations of misogyny.

The US sitcom star, 47, real name Geoff James Nugent, who also has American citizenship has made a name for himself with his divisive routines that touch on gun control, atheism and different religions.

His jokes have historically poked fun at women – such as his extended bit about why it is ‘easy for women to be s*uts’ – and he has acknowledged the fact his quips have been labelled ‘sexist’ by some fans.

When asked whether he has an issue with women, the 1% Club Host talk show host refuted this idea.

‘I don’t believe I’m a misogynist, no. But that’s probably what a misogynist would say, women are half the population, I am going to make jokes about them,’ he said in a new interview.

He then pointed to his turbulent relationship with his mother who he described as a ‘hard person to grow up with’.

The comedian has touched on a plethora of sore subjects in his shows (Picture: Getty)

‘She was a very hard woman. [She] was physically and verbally very abusive. So sometimes, I imagine I have had a chip on my shoulder about women,’ he shared in a new interview with Rolling Stone Australia.

Jim first addressed his controversial female-centered humour in 2017 in the wake of the #MeToo movement while hosting his Comedy Central programme, The Jim Jefferies Show.

‘Now, I’ve been known to make the occasional inappropriate or sexist joke.

‘My act is what you’d call an acquired taste. But I’ve always believed that my audience understood that those are jokes and don’t represent my actual beliefs,’ he said during his monologue, per Yahoo.

He went on to explain that the terrible behaviour from men which has come to light since the Harvey Weinstein reports gave him a stark realisation.

‘We as men have been incredibly ignorant about what’s happening right underneath our noses,’ he continued, praising the women who had spoke up across the US about their experiences.

Although he has maintained his controversial stand-up style, in a recent interview with RTE, he admitted that his priorities are changing.

He resolved to do better in 2017 after the #MeToo movement took off (Picture: Getty)

‘There was a phase in my career where I felt I was telling the audience what they needed to know, right? My edgy comedy was holding a mirror up against society and blah, blah, blah,’ he said.

‘Now do you know what I want you to do? I want you to have the best night of your life.’

He added: ‘I’ve done all the gun control, and I’ve talked about all the politicians, and I’ve talked about atheism, and I’ve given my opinions on different religions and all that type of stuff.

‘Now, man, I’m a 46-year-old guy and you know what my opinions are. I just want to make you laugh now,’ he concluded.

The comedian has had a tough time with hecklers on his show, admitting that he is the ‘best’ at dealing with them and has even been punched twice.

From getting punched by hecklers to getting involved in breastfeeding discourse, Jim still makes headlines (Picture: Getty)

‘If you Google Jim Jeffries punched, you will see what people do with me when they heckle,’ he said on Australia’s Sunrise show.

‘I’ve actually been punched on stage twice, but it’s only been caught on film once. I’m not the best.’

Earlier this year the father-of-two waded into an online debate after fellow comedian Arj Barker faced backlash for removing a mother who was breastfeeding her baby at his over-15s gig.

‘It’s an adult show you are going to. It’s not like if you went to a strip club, “I was trying to breastfeed me baby in the strip club and everyone got upset at me”, no, of course you aren’t meant to have kids there,’ he said, according to the Daily Mail.

‘It’s nothing to do with breastfeeding, mothers, not battle of the sexes thing, it’s just children shouldn’t be at live comedy shows.’

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