‘Absolutely brutal joke, sack your writer.’
Several Irish viewers have been left “annoyed” with US host Seth Meyers over a joke he made this week about the newly-appointed Taoiseach Simon Harris.
The 37-year-old succeeded Leo Varadkar in the role on Tuesday (9 April) and as such, became the youngest Taoiseach in the history of the State.
Highlighting this on his US late night show was Meyers, who quipped:
“The Irish parliament today confirmed the country’s youngest ever new prime minister, so whoever wins here in November, they will be asking you for help with the wifi.”
This was before he showed a picture of US presidential hopefuls Joe Biden (aged 81) and Donald Trump (aged 77).
The host then adopted a highly exaggerated Irish accent to add: “Have you tried unplugging the router? It’s often the router.”
Though it hasn’t gone down quite so bad in Ireland as the recent New Yorker “humour” piece on Cillian Murphy, many Irish viewers have taken to social media to criticise Meyers over the joke.
TikTok user Catherine Prasifka summarised people’s issues with the quip in a video in which she sarcastically says: “I love when Americans talk about Irish politics, especially when the joke is how funny our voices are.
“Oh and it’s the Dáil and the Taoiseach.”
@prasifcat Not defending Simon Harris, but I’m grumpy this morning #irishpolitics #sethmeyers #ireland ♬ original sound – Catherine Prasifka
When JOE posted a clip of Meyers making the Simon Harris joke to our Instagram, meanwhile, many took to the comment section to complain about the host’s comments and Irish accent.
“Has to be one of the worst jokes I’ve ever heard,” one said.
Another added: “Absolutely brutal joke, sack your writer, there could be better material made of this event.”
“Worst accent attempt ever. Typical American chat show host,” a third wrote.
A fourth also said: “Typical American attempt at an Irish accent. Nobody here speaks like that.”
However, some defended Meyers, with one person writing: “It’s funny. But accent not on point. Still think it’s funny though.”
Another commented: “Cue, whiney Irish replies in 3…2…1.”
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