Will Smith and Kate Bush feature in Top 10 Christmas cracker jokes for 2022

The witty one-liners reference topical moments in popular culture over the past 12 months

Ellie Muir
Monday 05 December 2022 06:38 EST
Comments
Kate Bush 'shocked' by Running Up That Hill's success through Stranger Things

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jokes about Will Smith, Chris Rock, Kate Bush, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield all feature in the Top 10 Christmas cracker jokes for 2022.

Topical stories from the past 12 months have been used as material for the best festive cracker gags, which were voted for by the British public to determine the winning one-liner.

The altercation between Smith and Rock on stage at the Oscars in March was referenced in one joke. It reads: “Why are Will Smith and Chris Rock not having turkey this Christmas? Because they’ve got beef.”

One joke alluded to the cost of living crisis, while another referenced Willoughby and Schofield’s alleged queue jump at the Queen’s lying in state.

TV channel Gold challenged the British public to tweet original festive gags to enter the competition. Entries were shortlisted by a panel of judges, led by comedy critic Bruce Dessau, which were then put to an anonymous public vote of 2,000 British adults.

The runner up, “Why does Kate Bush need to turn the heating off? She’s running up that bill,” is a reference to the cost of living crisis and the resurging popularity of Kate Bush after season four of Netflix’s Stranger Things featured Bush’s 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill”.

The song inspired a viral TikTok trend in which users pretended to levitate.

The winning joke reads: “What type of peas ruin Christmas Dinner? MPs.”

“After another year of ups and downs the British public has delivered the laughs, with this year’s modern Christmas cracker jokes covering topics from the rising cost of living to queue-jumping presenters and politicians performing u-turns,” said comedy critic Bruce Dessau, who led the Gold judging panel.

Dessau said the jokes proved that “once again we’re a nation with an unrelenting sense of humour”.

Here are the Top 10 festive jokes for 2022:

1. What type of peas ruin Christmas Dinner? MPs

2. Why does Kate Bush need to turn the heating off? She’s running up that bill.

3. How did King Charles III sign his Christmas cards to his family? The Artist Formerly Known As Prince

4. What’s the difference between Liz Truss and a shepherd? One U-turns and the other turns ewes

5. Why are Will Smith and Chris Rock not having turkey this Christmas? Because they’ve got beef

6. Why has Santa been banned from sooty chimneys? Carbon footprints

7. What crisps do Phil and Holly serve at their Christmas party? Skips.

8. Why are the Government having problems with their own version of the Christmas Nativity? They can’t find three wise men

9. What do people heating their homes and wrapping paper have in common this Christmas? Both of them are getting ripped off

10.  How can you keep your home warm this Christmas? Tinsulation

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in