Backlash over 'hateful, misogynistic' sketch

Spitting Image has sparked a misogyny storm over a Jess Phillips sketch full of crass, sexualised comments.

In the scene, the Labour MP is depicted as a superheroine who thwarts a robbery after Keir Starmer’s alter-ego fails to reason with them.

When the Labour leader suggests convening a meeting to discuss the crime, Phillips responds: ‘Convene my big Labour vag’

And she scares off the criminal by shouting: ‘You wanna suck some fucking milk from my big Labour tits?’

In a later conversation with Starmer, Philips uses ''Diane Abbott's tits!' as an exclamation of frustration.  

Hundreds of people have commented on the sketch on Twitter, including comedian Rachel Parris, whose own series Late Night Mash is no stranger to controversy.

She tweeted: ‘Many good friends work on Spitting Image so I’m not keen to have a go at it but wtf is this? Depicting the female politician utilising her "big vag" and inviting ppl to milk her"big tits". This is a female politician who has incidentally been subject to rape and death threats…’

Writer Mollie Goodfellow tweeted: ‘The optics of people interrupting a crime at night after the last week and then including overtly grim sexualised "joke" references is a bit, uhhhh.’

Another Twitter user, Ben Folley, said: ‘That @SpittingImage clip was clearly a sexist attack on @jessphillips. Unbelievable it was created and published at all, but particularly when currently so many high-profile incidents exposing sexism and sexual violence against women.’

Clare F Davies added: ‘What the actual fuck.  Reducing Jess Phillips to her "tits & vag" is not the hilarious satire the misogynistic 12-year-old boys who appear to be writing Spitting Image these days think it is.’

And sociologist professor Alison Phipps added: ‘Oh ffs - Spitting Image are going to force me to feel sympathy for Jess Phillips aren’t they’.

Alex Tiffin wrote: "When there's a national conversation about violence against women and misogyny in daily life, why would Spitting Image include jokes about @jessphillips and @HackneyAbbott's genitalia?"

Others called the sketch ‘diabolical’, ‘sinister’, ‘beyond pathetic… and had a good smattering of misogyny’; ‘unfunny and in terrible taste’ and ‘hateful’, with any pointed out the poor timing with the murder of Sarah Everard at the forefront of the national consciousness.

Spitting Image was  last year revived for streaming service Britbox, which is now airing the second series.

However the Jess Philips sketch has received greater attention after the official Spitting Image account circulated it on social media.

Original co-creator Roger Law heads up the creative team with Futurama writer Jeff Westbrook as showrunner.

Chortle has approached the show’s producers, Avalon, for comment.

Published: 4 Oct 2021