Jeremy Clarkson has defended Jimmy Carr following a backlash against the comedian for making a joke relating to the Holocaust.

In Carr’s latest Netflix special — His Dark Material — he joked that people “never mention the thousands of Gypsies killed by the Nazis” because “no one wants to talk about the positives”.

Carr was widely criticized for the remark after a clip of the show began circulating on social media but Clarkson has claimed the 8 out of 10 Cats host should be able to “say whatever” he wants.

Writing in The Times, the former Top Gear presenter said Carr should be free to joke about anything as long as “the audience is laughing”.

Carr’s joke was criticized by people such as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and fellow comedian David Baddiel but Clarkson insists everybody needs to show some “common sense”.

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He elaborated by saying: “Are we now so stupid we can’t see a difference between someone with a swastika tattooed on their forehead barking far-right propaganda at half a dozen skinheads, and someone on stage in Southend-On-Sea trying to make people laugh”.

Carr had also been defended on Twitter by Only Connect host Victoria Coren-Mitchell who called him a “close friend” and a “properly decent person”.

Carr has made reference to the joke several times in recent stand-up appearances. At a recent gig he said: “The joke that ends my career is already out there”.

The comedian, who has previously been criticized for his jokes regarding abortion, dwarfism and obesity, then said: “I am going to get cancelled, that’s the bad news. The good news is I am going down swinging”.