Jennifer Saunders has become embroiled in a controversy over political correctness in comedy following remarks she is alleged to have made onstage at an event at the Garrick Theatre on Monday night.

According to a major article in The Sun Saunders said: 

"What pisses me off? Quite a lot of stuff actually. I get pissed off by people and gentle criticism all the time.

This is a modern thing, isn’t it? If someone says something it always has to be, ‘Oh, but sorry, you can’t say that’. I say, ‘Oh fuck off’.

It’s not a crime to have an opinion or say something.

It is always petty and small-mindedness that ps me off — bigotry and small-mindedness.”

The Sun reports that she talked further about the state of modern comedy and how it has responded to 'wokeness'.

“I think it has changed comedy like what we used to make. I think we would probably talk ourselves out of most of it now. It would be like, ‘We won’t have a good answer so let’s not do that’.

I think people do talk themselves out of stuff now because everything is sensitive.

It stops a lot of the fun, maybe, like jokes. I remember jokes. Silly jokes.”

There has, however, been some debate on social media, suggesting that Saunders comments were part of a wider conversation and the full context might not have been included. 

One suggestion in The Sun was that Jennifer Saunders' hit show Absolutely Fabulous might not be made in today's climate.