The audience was having fun. They thought Jimmy Carr funny. Now they had a chance to see him live, recording a special for Netflix. What would be the subject of his next joke?

"When people talk about the Holocaust, they talk about the tragedy of six million lives being lost to the Nazi war machine," he said, "but they never mention the thousands of Gypsies killed by the Nazis." Then the punchline: "Because no one wants to talk about the positives."

Many laughed. But when a clip began circulating, a lot of people did not agree.

"We are absolutely appalled at Jimmy Carr's comment... and horrified that gales of laughter followed his remarks," said the head of the Holocaust Memorial Day TrustA charity founded by the British government to support the annual commemoration..

Carr defended his joke, saying it was educational. "A lot of people don't know, because it's not really taught in our schools, that the Nazis also killed, in their thousands, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people and Jehovah's WitnessesA Christian community who believe that the end of the world is imminent.."

Comedy, he argues, is on its way out.

Victoria Coren MitchellA journalist and TV personality. She is married to the comedian David Mitchell. defended Carr. She said that although he had made "about a thousand jokes I wouldn't make myself", he was "full of goodness and kindness".

David BaddielA comedian and writer. Like Coren Mitchell, he is a friend of Jimmy Carr's, and also Jewish. said the joke was indefensible. "You can obviously tell a Holocaust joke that is cruel and inhumane and mean-spirited and racist. Or you can tell one that targets the oppressors, or draws attention to the fundamental evil of it, or shines a light on the humanity of the victims."

Writing in Wired, the novelist Sunny Singh argued that many were complicit in Carr's solecismBad behaviour or mistake.: "Dozens and dozens of people are part of production, filming, post-production, marketing, the whole film and TV apparatus."

A lot of comedy is offensive.

In the 1960s, comedian Lenny Bruce was famous for joking about politics, religion and sex. He was arrested for obscenity.

In 1979, Life of BrianThe film is about someone who is born at the same time as Jesus and is constantly mistaken for him. caused an outcry for making fun of Christianity.  

The difference, writer Jon Ronson argues, is that people take offence at certain words and topics, without considering context: "Nobody seems to be able to tell the difference between a racist joke and a liberal joke that comments on racism."

But the comedian Hall Cruttenden does not feel he is being silenced: "People will always look for something that might shock them. They have an appetite for hearing something edgy, something that hasn't been controlled."

Yes: Comedians know their careers could be ended if people take offence at their jokes. As a result they have started to censor themselves - but comedy can only flourish when the imagination works freely.

No: Comedians always thrive on controversy. The more some people complain about a joke, the more others will want to see him perform. We all enjoy being shocked: the riskier the material the better.

Or... It is perfectly possible to make people laugh without offending them. Some jokes focus on the differences between people, but there is lots of comedy to be found in the things we all have in common.