TV

Viewers shocked after comedian says she makes jokes out of losing her baby

Lorraine faced backlash after Lou Conran made the controversial comments

Comedian Lou Conran appeared on Monday’s Lorraine to talk about how her new show at the Edinburgh Fringe has caused controversy.

Lou revealed that she jokes about the tragedy in her shows and it has helped her cope with her loss.

She explained that she made a difficult decision to end her unborn baby’s life after she discovered her daughter was carrying a condition that meant she would not survive.

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Stand in host Christine Lampard was quick to ask Lou: “I slightly feel uncomfortable talking about this. The termination of a baby, where is the humour in that?”

Lou explained: “It’s not really a subject you’d think, ‘Oh that’s a barrel of laughs’, but I wrote an article last year for an online magazine that tackled the subject and there was some humour in it.

“The response I got was, ‘how are you able to make a serious subject humorous?’ and I thought there must be something in that.

“I tried to develop it a bit further and that’s how the show came out.”

Lou then opened up about her heartbreak after losing her daughter.

She told Christine: “Throughout the early months I thought something wasn’t right but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was so I couldn’t get excited about the pregnancy.

“But when I went to the five-month scan the sonographer said there were irregularities that she hadn’t anticipated.”

Talking about the decision to end her unborn daughter’s life Lou added: “It was taken out of my hands.

“Doctors had said her condition was a lethal condition and she wouldn’t survive and there was no point in carrying on the pregnancy because there was no benefit for her or me.”

Lou went on to say that her article made it easier for her to talk about the incident and make it “normal”.

She added: “You have to have humour in these situations like that because otherwise you would just go under wouldn’t you.

“In the middle of the show when I drop the grim bits I say [to the audience] ‘you are allowed to laugh at the bits coming up’.

“Once I had given them permission the audience started to enjoy themselves.

“After the show people, who have been through similar situations, have stuck around and had a chat with me and shared their experiences and most people have thanked me for talking about it.

“Then they start crying and I start crying.”

But viewers watching from home were not impressed, as one tweeted: “How can you ever laugh at losing a baby? This cannot be serious. #Lorraine.”

“#lorraine each to their own, but can’t see a funny side to baby loss,” another added.

A third wrote: “#lorraine sorry… losing a baby is never funny. No matter what angle you look at it.”

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Christine, 38, is currently standing in for regular host Lorraine Kelly while she enjoys some time off over the summer.

Expressing her excitement about the gig, the Loose Women panellist said: “I’ll do my best to fill her shoes for a few weeks and have some fun along the way too!”


Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)

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