Comedian Dawn French is facing a furious backlash after posting a bizarre video in which she appears to mock the slaughter of 1,200 Jews on 7 October.
The comedian, best known for her roles in The Vicar of Dibley and French and Saunders, adopted a cartoonish baby-like voice to seemingly parody those killed and kidnapped and those mourning the atrocities.
In the short clip shared on social media platform X, French is heard saying: “Yeah but you know they did a bad thing to us,” before switching to her natural voice and replying, “Yeah, but no.” She then returns to the exaggerated tone, adding: “But we want that land… Those people aren’t really even people,” to which she again replies, “No.”
While French made no direct reference to Israel, Hamas or Gaza, the insinuation seemed clear to many and the response was immediate.
Actress and writer Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “saddened” by the sketch, calling it deeply offensive. “This mocking voice ‘bad thing’ of October 7 that Dawn (who I revere by the way) appears to be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack involving rape, sexual violence, burning alive, child mutilation and taking of civilian hostages. Why would Dawn seem to deny that which has affected so many of us personally in the most painful way possible?”
French later replied to Oberman, saying: “I do not say ‘a little thing’. In NO WAY do I support the atrocities of Oct 7th. Of course not. Appalling. Horrific. But starving innocent children is not the answer. NO is the answer to ALL of it Tracy.”
Author Sarah Vine said: “I love Dawn French and think she’s a genius. But October 7 wasn’t a ‘bad thing’. It was the most appalling, savage, inhumane attack on innocent civilians. Women were gang raped, tortured, mutilated. Whole families were set on fire, deliberate, carefully planned and calculated atrocities were committed. I would urge her to watch some of the footage recorded by the terrorists herself before dismissing it as merely a ‘bad thing’. These are crimes against humanity, and they endure while the bodies of the hostages, alive or dead, remain in the hands of Hamas.”
