Spitting Image failed to hit the mark with its new skit comparing Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer with backbencher MP Jess Phillips.
Starmer is depicted as a man “limited by the irrelevance of the Labour Party” by day, but by night he becomes “Fox Man” and tackles “injustice wherever I see it” – although he has “no super powers”.
The character fails to stop “a crime staring you right in the face”, a mugging, as Starmer gets caught up in the detail and fails to come to a definitive conclusion.
Starmer has faced such criticism for his light-handed scrutiny of the government since taking on the leadership role.
The satirical puppet show then reveals MP Jess Phillips as a rival superhero called Viral, described as “the annoying outspoken feminist superhero who wants to make Labour more electable”, as she shows him how to foil a crime.
The character then takes aim at the “bloody patriarchy” and makes crude remarks including, “you wanna suck some fucking milk from my big Labour tits?”
When Starmer asks if she, representing the centre of Labour, wants to join forces with him, representing the left, Phillips declines and says she’ll “never go viral” if she does that.
The sketch did not land with many people when it was shared on Twitter on Sunday, as viewers quickly dubbed it misogynistic and classist.
One Twitter user said: “This is genuinely one of the worst things I’ve ever seen, the absolute state of political commentary.”
A different account said: “I don’t know, it’s a yikes from me you guys.”
Another tweeted: “Whoever wrote this sketch is obviously trying to work out why nobody likes Starmer, but it falls flat because they have no idea, and at the end of the day, they’re probably little different from him.”
Others pointed out that it was in particularly bad taste considering there is a national conversation about women’s safety at the moment.
Starmer is depicted as a man “limited by the irrelevance of the Labour Party” by day, but by night he becomes “Fox Man” and tackles “injustice wherever I see it” – although he has “no super powers”.
The character fails to stop “a crime staring you right in the face”, a mugging, as Starmer gets caught up in the detail and fails to come to a definitive conclusion.
Starmer has faced such criticism for his light-handed scrutiny of the government since taking on the leadership role.
The satirical puppet show then reveals MP Jess Phillips as a rival superhero called Viral, described as “the annoying outspoken feminist superhero who wants to make Labour more electable”, as she shows him how to foil a crime.
The character then takes aim at the “bloody patriarchy” and makes crude remarks including, “you wanna suck some fucking milk from my big Labour tits?”
When Starmer asks if she, representing the centre of Labour, wants to join forces with him, representing the left, Phillips declines and says she’ll “never go viral” if she does that.
The sketch did not land with many people when it was shared on Twitter on Sunday, as viewers quickly dubbed it misogynistic and classist.
One Twitter user said: “This is genuinely one of the worst things I’ve ever seen, the absolute state of political commentary.”
A different account said: “I don’t know, it’s a yikes from me you guys.”
Another tweeted: “Whoever wrote this sketch is obviously trying to work out why nobody likes Starmer, but it falls flat because they have no idea, and at the end of the day, they’re probably little different from him.”
Others pointed out that it was in particularly bad taste considering there is a national conversation about women’s safety at the moment.
this is genuinely one of the worst things i’ve ever seen the absolute state of political commentary https://t.co/m7gEkgYTY9
— juniper ??(@juniposting) October 4, 2021
