The Daily Show has been heavily criticised for tweeting a “vile” joke after the reversal of a controversial Texas abortion law.
The US talk show sent out a “celebratory” message to its 4.25 million followers, telling them to “Go knock someone up in Texas!” following the Supreme Court’s pro-choice ruling to overturn a 2013 law that threatened to shut down half of the state’s abortion clinics.
The backlash began immediately, with fans accusing The Daily Show of crossing the line “at 120mph” with its “exceptionally poor taste” gag.
Realising too late that the tweet was worryingly far from funny, The Daily Show attempted to diffuse the situation, to little avail. “Friends, we’re certainly not promoting abortions. Just excited about SCOTUS reaffirming right to choose,” their follow-up tweet read, only for angry followers to reply that they had missed the point.
Kate Harding, author of Asking For It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture - and What We Can Do About It, said: “I wouldn’t care if you were ‘promoting abortions’. What you’re promoting is the objectification of women’s bodies.”
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was among the high-profile figures voicing their support for the ruling. “SCOTUS’s decision is a victory for women in Texas and across America. Safe abortion should be a right - not just on paper but in reality,” she tweeted.
“The fight isn’t over: the next president has to protect women’s health. Women won’t be ‘punished’ for exercising their basic rights.”
