Controversial Comedian Boyle Sues Newspaper: Funny Guy Or Just Too Far?

He’s probably the most controversial comedian around (we said “probably” Boyle…) but now he’s suing tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror for describing him as a “racist”.

Comedian Frankie Boyle complained today that he had been libelled when the red top started an article with the words, “Racist comedian Frankie Boyle”. His lawyers told the High Court in London that the statement was defamatory.

A barrister told a jury that the newspaper also defamed Boyle, from Glasgow, by saying he had been “forced to quit” the BBC show Mock The Week.

The trial is expected to last a week.

So what better time to recall the most controversial statements the comedian has ever made?

Funny or just too far…? They're not the kind of jokes you'd laugh out loud at or have a quiet giggle to, it's more of a cushion-up-to-the-face, "Did he just say that?" shock-reaction humour...

Mock The Week's lines you wouldn’t expect to hear in a super hero movie…

Frankie: “What’s that Joker? You’ll be back? Somehow I don’t think you will be…”

During a stand-up…

Frankie: “I thought it was a bit sad that they had that pop concert to commemorate the life of Diana, she didn’t have much to do with pop really did she? They should have done something to celebrate what was really great about her life, like staging a gangbang in a mine field….”

Speaking about adverts…

Frankie: “That should be the footage used for a speeding advert… Richard Hammond trying to remember his own wedding day.”

Channel 4 were said to have "cut all ties" with Boyle this year as he used his Twitter account to publish controversial comments about this year's London Paralympics.