In a stand-up comedy performance released as a Christmas 2021 Netflix special titled His Dark Material, Carr said that a "positive" of the Holocaust was the genocide of thousands of "Gypsies" by Nazi Germany. During the show, Carr defended his joke saying that it had the educational value of raising awareness about groups who suffered genocide in the Holocaust. The show had been released in December 2021 but received widespread attention the following February after an edited clip was posted and shared online. He was condemned by the Auschwitz Memorial, Hope not Hate and The Traveller Movement, who called anti-Romani prejudice the "last acceptable form of racism" in the UK. He also faced criticism from British politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said they were "absolutely appalled" and "horrified", and describing Carr's joke as "abhorrent". Despite the criticism, Carr stood by the joke.
