A Scottish mom has slammed Russell Howard after he made fun of a 10-level home access ramp that the local council installed at her home for her disabled daughter.
Mocking the structure, the comedian said on his Sky TV show that ‘the only good thing’ about it was ‘not getting bothered by Jehovah’s Witnesses.’
Thirty-eight-year-old Clare Lally said when she heard the audience laughing at the ramp, it was the ‘worst feeling ever.’
The local council in Duntocher, Dunbartonshire, built the 60 feet ramp for Clare’s 12-year-old daughter Katie, who has to use a wheelchair for moving around.
Mocking the ramp during his show, Howard said: “Can you imagine what that’d be like if you forgot your wallet?
“The only good thing about that [ramp], you’re not getting bothered by Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Clare, who was terribly upset about the whole thing, hit back at the comedian, telling him Katie was ‘not the butt of people’s jokes.’
“Seeing your home appear on TV and folk laughing is the worst feeling ever,” she tweeted later.
“I’m truly upset at your remarks and jokes about our ramp at our home. Firstly, it’s for my disabled daughter, it’s her life and her way of getting in and out her home.
“If this gives you and your audience a laugh at my daughter’s expense, then shame on you and everyone that laughed.
“I really thought you were one of the good guys, truly gutted watching you laugh at my disabled child.”
Clare also posted a photo of her twin daughters, Katie and Holly, both of who were born prematurely in December 2006.
The mother-of-two added: “She’s disabled, Russell, she is not the butt of people’s jokes. She is the most strongest, loving person in the world.”
A spokesman for Russell Howard Hour said: “We have spoken to the family and, at their request, we have no further comment on this matter, but on an important related note we would like to take this opportunity to again highlight the ongoing problems many disabled people have regarding access to buildings and transport in the UK.”
Clare had to campaign for more than two years to get the ‘slalem-style’ ramp installed at her home so that her daughter can have better access.
After the structure was built in 2014, youngsters started using it for skateboarding.
The local council didn’t install a gate at the ramp due to some safety concerns, despite getting repeated requests from the family.
Replaced!