Comedians apologise for ‘malicious joke’ about influencer’s alleged rape, and she’s responded

Irish comedian Vittorio Angelone has issued a lengthy apology after a resurfaced clip saw him “joke” about the alleged rape of influencer Rebecca Goodwin. Other comedians who were on the podcast have also apologised for not challenging him in the moment. 

Rebecca Goodwin, an influencer and model in the UK, has been open with her followers about the alleged sexual assault since first reporting it in 2025.

Around the same time, the topic came up on the Have a Word podcast with so-called comedians Vittorio Angelone, Freddy Quinne, Adam Rowe, and Daniel Sloss. 

Turning to Freddy Quinne, Vittorio said: “If you’re here, who’s raping Rebecca Goodwin?”

The comments were part of a 2025 episode, but were locked behind a paywall until fairly recently, at which point Rebecca clocked the clips on social media. 

“I reported rape in July of 2025, so in a way I am grateful I never saw it sooner because it would’ve been just weeks after it happened and I was in a different mental state to what I am now,” she said in a Facebook post. 

Vittorio Angelone and the comedians have apologised to Rebecca Goodwin

After clips of the supposed joke emerged online, drawing massive amounts of outrage, the comedians involved privately reached out to Rebecca Goodwin and posted apologies to their social media accounts. 

On Instagram, Vittorio wrote: “I made a joke that I shouldn’t have made and I’d like to say sorry. The joke referenced sexual violence. At the very least I should have run the joke past the person mentioned and then still not told it because it isn’t funny. I let my need for validation supersede my own standards and morals. It’s completely pathetic and I’m ashamed to realise that about myself.

Credit: Instagram

“I pride myself on being able to talk about difficult topics and make them funny. I stand behind plenty of jokes that people have criticised. This is not one of those jokes. I’ve reached out and apologised directly to the person mentioned in the joke. I’m also sorry to all the people who are rightly upset by the joke. I know that’s not going to make it okay but I’m still sorry. I am not apologising in the hopes that this all blows over.

“I’m apologising because that’s what you should do when you realise you’ve done something wrong. I’m grateful to you for calling me out and making me realise where I should’ve done better. Sometimes you need a lot of people telling you that you’ve f**ked up to realise you’ve f**ked up. I will do better in future.”

Daniel Sloss posted a similar apology on his social media, stating that Rebecca “deserved better, and I’m sorry I didn’t do better.”

Most Read

It’s been three weeks since Christa Pike’s botched lethal injection – this is how she is today

Selena Gomez finally reveals the reason her voice has changed so much is down to nicotine

Rob Beckett opens up on his long friendship with James Acaster amid Celebrity Traitors claims

It doesn’t appear as though the other parties involved have responded, but Rebecca did say that people have reached out privately. 

Rebecca Goodwin posted a lengthy response 

In her lengthy Facebook post about the podcast, Rebecca said, “Their apology has been acknowledged but not accepted.”

“As of posting this, no contact or apology has been attempted by Vittorio Angelone himself, as someone that has built his career as a leftist comedian I am upset by his actions but never surprised anymore. He has however removed the joke from his own social media, again, over a year after it was made, edited, clipped, captioned and posted with my full name included,” she explained.

“I considered that a room full of people I would’ve ran to if ever I felt unsafe, in fact some of those people I did run to when I felt unsafe, I cried to them, they saw my hurt and it will forever live with me that it was allowed for my name to be used as the punchline of a malicious “joke” about such a serious issue.”

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Vittorio (@vittorioangelone)

At the same time, other comedians, rape crisis centres, and even the BBC have issued statements. 

Comedian Freya Mallard urged people to turn to female comedians when their “unproblematic” comedians turn out to be, in fact, very problematic. 

“When rape becomes a punchline and sexual violence is treated as entertainment, it becomes easier to dismiss its impact and harder for survivors to speak out,” a “very disappointed” Rape Crisis Northern Ireland said. 

Because Vittorio Angelone is set to star in a BBC comedy later this season, the broadcaster also said: “We are aware of the concerns that have been raised and are actively considering them, recognising their seriousness and the sensitivities involved.”

For more, like The Tab on Facebook. 

Featured image credit: Rebecca Goodwin/TikTok and Justin Griffiths-Williams/Shutterstock