Comedian Jimmy Carr is taking heat after speaking up for Lindsay Clancy during one of his shows.

What he said

Carr posted a clip from a performance where a fan in the crowd asked him about Clancy. In his answer he argued that people who have never faced postnatal depression struggle to understand her case.

He said many women who have lived with the condition feel for Clancy because they believe it could have been them. In his words, she was "not evil" but had lost her mind.

The comedian also claimed a father accused of killing his three children would barely make the news. He suggested people hold mothers to a higher standard.

The reaction

Plenty of viewers were furious. Many people who say they normally side with Carr wrote that this time he had gone too far.

A smaller group has stood up for him. The back-and-forth has the comic trending ahead of his upcoming "Killing Jokes" tour.

Where the case stands

Earlier this week a judge turned down a request for an evidentiary hearing about the lone holdout juror in Clancy's mistrial.

The judge ruled that the issues raised by her defense surfaced only after the mistrial was declared. That meant they could not be applied after the fact.

For now the debate is far from over, with Carr right in the middle of it.