There was a synchronised effort to fill my inbox with hate'

Olaf Falafel has revealed he received death threats for writing a pun about broccoli.

The Swedish comedian received widespread media coverage when he won Dave’s Joke of the Fringe award in 2019 for his line: ‘I keep randomly shouting out "broccoli" and "cauliflower". I think I might have florets.’

However he revealed that the attention attracted a backlash from people with Tourette’s.

Speaking to Steve Otis Gunn on his Television Times podcast, Falafel said: ‘Literally, the day after, The Tourette's Association really kicked off. They wanted me to come onto BBC Breakfast to talk to the head of The Tourette's Association.’

He admitted that he can ‘kind of see both sides’ to the argument as to why it might be offensive, saying: ‘I can kind of understand if you have a child who was going through it and having a really tough time. 

‘I think that joke wasn’t the most [offensive]. I’ve heard so many really hack, offensive Tourette's jokes that you just think that’s just base level…’

The comic and illustrator said he thought that outrage probably fomented on a Facebook group for carers of children with Tourette’s.

Falafel – who jokes that his real name is Derek Chickpeas – explained: ‘There was a synchronised effort to fill my email box with hate. There were actually death threats in there.’

He insisted the joke was just wordplay and likened it to another of his lines that could be considered in dubious taste: ‘My mums just found a lump. It’s in the shape of Heathrow Airport. I think it might be terminal.’

‘This joke isn’t about you. This joke isn’t real. I think you have to be the kind of person who looks to take offence at some of these.’ 

At the time Falafal was named winner of the Dave award, Tourettes Action said it was ‘so disappointed’ with the gag, tweeting: ‘The joke was about #Tourettes - not vegetables.  Why is it still OK to joke about disability, or more alarmingly provide a platform to further perpetuate tired, stereotypical jokes that only reinforce stigma?’

And chief executive Suzanne Dobson said the ‘rubbish’ joke had brought ‘shame on Dave’.

She told the BBC: ‘Humour is a great way of educating people - but not only is it not funny to poke fun at people with Tourette's, it's not even that funny a joke, is it?’

Falafel’s comments on the podcast were first reported by the British Comedy Guide.

They came after Chortle reported how writer Jimmy Donny Cosgrove also got death threats for writing Warren, a poorly-received sitcom starring Martin Clunes as a grumpy driving instructor,

Published: 5 Dec 2025