Jewish comedian David Baddiel also had harsh words for the verdict and the policing of comedy. “An actual Nazi would not be teaching his *pug* to Hitler salute,’’ he wrote on Twitter. “Because in 1940s Germany, that would have got you arrested and murdered for taking the piss.”A man has been convicted in a UK court of making a joke that was deemed "grossly offensive". If you don't believe in a person's right to say things that you might find "grossly offensive", then you don't believe in Freedom of Speech.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) March 20, 2018
Others were more measured. Simon Wiesenthal Center’s associate dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, said after the conviction that he didn’t find the video amusing but also didn’t believe Meechan deserved jail time.“Speech may be free,” said Cooper, “but there are consequences for one’s actions... If I were the judge, I would sentence the young man to meet with aging Holocaust survivors and UK WWII war heroes to learn why the Nazi Seig should never be a laughing matter.”I am that stupid, Karen. Because: an actual Nazi would not be teaching his *pug* to Hitler salute. Because in 1940s Germany, that would have got you arrested and murdered for taking the piss. https://t.co/FBSl84c8kK
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) March 20, 2018