Irish comedian Vittorio Angelone apologises for rape joke about content creator

The Irish comedian Vittorio Angelone has apologised for a rape joke he made about a woman who says her sexual-assault case is being heard in court in the UK.Rebecca Goodwin, an OnlyFans model and influencer from England, posted a video on her TikTok account earlier this week in which she cried about Angelone’s remark.In a statement posted to his social-media accounts, Angelone said he “made a joke I shouldn’t have made and I’d like to say sorry”. He also said he had contacted Goodwin privately to apologise.The Belfast comedian made the rape remark on one of the Have a Word podcast’s roast episodes, which invite guests to mock, tease and insult a particular person. For this programme it was his fellow comedian Freddy Quinne.READ MOREThe roast was published on the podcast’s subscriber-only Patreon page. Angelone then shared a screenshot of himself making the joke to his 498,000 followers on Instagram.He faced a swift backlash for his joke online, and his comments were condemned by Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.Rachel Morrogh, the centre’s chief executive, said in a statement: “For survivors, hearing rape treated as a punchline can be deeply hurtful, and it reinforces the attitudes that discourage people from coming forward. “Reporting sexual violence and going through the courts takes enormous courage, and survivors deserve to know that the process will be treated with seriousness and respect. “Anyone with a public platform, including performers, promoters and venues, has a responsibility to consider who is listening and the harm this kind of material can do.”In a video Goodwin posted to TikTok addressing the joke, she said: “I am currently going through a rape trial at the minute. It is active. It is in court. I am really disappointed...“I just can’t believe that it was not only okayed by the Have a Word pod, but it was also allowed to be aired in front of millions of people.”Goodwin, who had appeared on a previous roast episode of the podcast, said she was not approached before the episode was released and found out about it from her followers.Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s national 24-hour helpline is at 1800-778888