Jimmy Carr fights back tears in a rare emotional moment during a gig as a fan thanks the comedian for 'saving his life' during depression battle

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Jimmy Carr choked up after receiving a message from a fan during a gig thanking him for saving his life during a period of depression and suicical thoughts.
The comedian, 52, put on a rare emotional display as he fought back tears after reading out the candid message from the man in the audience.
The fan share with Jimmy and the rest of the crowd that the star's Netflix shows and social media clips had given him a reason to laugh in moments of darkness.
Reading aloud the message with his audience, Jimmy said: 'In 2020 I tried to take my own life and didn't see a way out of my depression. Your shows on Netflix and clips on social media gave me something to laugh about when all I saw was darkness.
'I've been out of hospital for 2 years now and finally get to see you live with my wonderful partner, Hannah. Thanks for being the light in the dark Jimmy.
'In a perfectly timed moment, as Jimmy grew emotional someone shouted out 'gay' from the audience, which garnered a laugh from Jimmy and the crowd.'
He responded to the heckle and said it was 'perfect'.
Jimmy then went to address the sender of the message and said: 'If you want to say hello, you can say hello now or come backstage after the show and say hello. If you want to say hello now you're more than welcome.
Someone shouted out from the audience, signifying they were the person in question and Jimmy said: 'Hey man, I teared up a little. I'm so thrilled with that, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
'It's a very odd thing and obviously nothing to do with me, but it's a lovely thing. I'm glad you said that. Because I think a lot of people when you say that go oh I can sort of see beyond it and the honesty to send in a message.'
In response to Jimmy's words, the audience member said: 'It takes time and it gets better'.
Jimmy then replied: 'Thanks mate. That's amazing. And thank you Hanah as well. It's with any of that and I think sometimes when you're depressed its about being an individual. You're on your own and in your own head.
'And we've all got dispersed identities, our identities are who we are with our friends, family and other halves. And when you go to that it's sort of better. So thank you for being there for him as well.
'That's amazing that's really made my day. That's made my week. Incredible.'
Reading aloud the message with his audience, Jimmy said: 'In 2020 I tried to take my own life and didn't see a way out of my depression . Your shows on Netflix and clips on social media gave me something to laugh about when all I saw was darkness
Other members of the audience who had caught the moment live commented on the clip and admitted it was incredibly touching.
They said: 'I was there that night at the front and saw the tears in his eyes, he was really moved'; 'Aww! Jimmy was moved, a little tear, honestly such an emotional and inspiring segment';
'We were there at the Marlowe when the man text this message in, the whole atmosphere was so emotional. Jimmy was great and invited the man backstage after the show to meet him. I truly hope the man's recovery continues. Laughter is definitely the best medicine.'
Many also touched on how it was unusual to see Jimmy, who is typically cutting with his dark humour, get caught up in the emotional moment.
They said: 'I got choked up seeing Jimmy choked up'; 'Jimmys never made me cry before'; 'Jimmy Carr is a national treasure. He makes ruthless dark humour but he is genuinely a wholesome dude at his core';
'It was a lovely moment in the show, hopefully him and his partner took up the offer and came backstage after. I know you mentioned it again at the end too'; 'Wow. That got me!'; 'You don't see Jimmy getting emotional often';
'I didn't have crying at Jimmy Carr crying on my bingo card today'; 'Love seeing him being emotional'.
The heartfelt interaction came after Jimmy made a heartbreaking admission about his own mental health as he opened up to Alison Hammond in a rare candid interview.
He was the latest celebrity to spend a weekend with Alison Hammond on her new interview show.
The pair enjoyed a hike and a boat ride before Alison drove Jimmy to one of his tour performances in Kendal - and the TV funnyman got unusually candid.
'I was a bit depressed in my mid-20s,' he admitted to the Bake Off host at the beginning of the programme.
'I didn't like my life, I didn't like where it was going. I left everything to become a comedian to tell jokes above a pub.'
Later in the episode, Alison asked Jimmy about the death of his best friend and Eight Out Of 10 Cats co-star Sean Lock.
'It's a weird thing where you know it's coming but it's still shocking,' he said. 'I got sent all of the best bits of Sean and they all had me in them. It's a very privileged position.'
Jimmy also showed his emotional side as he spoke about another huge loss in his life, his mum Nora - who died from pancreatic cancer when he was in his mid twenties.
He revealed that his mum had also been depressed when he was a child, and making her laugh was his favourite thing so it went on to inspire his love of comedy.
He said: 'She was depressed for a lot of my childhood… Making her happy made me happy, so the compulsion to be funny came from that.'
Speaking about her death, Jimmy said: 'I was very close to my mother, so her dying was the worst thing I could imagine. When I was a kid, my fear was this sort of separation anxiety of something happening to her.
'When it happens, there's a weird freedom, where that's happened and I'm still here. It got across to me what mortality really is.
'This is it, this is your life, you don't get another go, so do what you want to do.'
'I don't believe in an afterlife,' he continued. 'But I carry her with me I think about her all the time. But there is an after life – the kids are the afterlife.
'There's a theory that you die twice, once when you die and then again the last time someone says your name.'
Last year Jimmy admitted he is 'still not over' Nora's death.
Speaking on The Development by David podcast with David McIntosh, Jimmy said: 'I lost her when I was about 26. I don't think I'm over it yet. Grief is the price we pay for love.
'I was so close to my mother, I couldn't imagine anything worse than losing her. The benefit of losing her is a sense of freedom, pushing the f**k it button.'
Jimmy likened a person's death to the time before they were born, saying there isn't any difference between the two.
He said: 'You get mortality, in a way. We die and we're the lucky ones because we get to live. Mark Twain said it brilliantly, I wasn't alive for billions of years before my birth and it didn't inconvenience me in the least.
'This is why life is so special, it's this little shaft of light in the middle of it all.
'It's not an easy thing to lose a parent. Grief, we don't talk about it enough. Society is set up to kind of hide it away.'
Jimmy's parents Nora and Patrick - known as Jim - moved to England from Limerick, Ireland and raised Jimmy and his two brothers in Slough.
The comic has been estranged from his father since Nora's death and said in November 2021 he hadn't spoken to his dad in 21 years.
Elsewhere during the interview, Jimmy spoke about cancel culture which he jokes about in his new Netflix special Natural Born Killer.
Jimmy is adamant that comedians should never apologise for jokes, no matter who may find them offensive.
He said: 'There's a bit on the new special. You can't go around apologising for jokes.
'So what I'm gonna do the next time I get cancelled, I'm going to say the day of the cancellation, I'm going to say, [mock childish voice] "I'm sorry."