A Sketch Combining The Real Housewives & ISIS Provokes Internet Outrage

A new sketch which parodies both Bravo's Real Housewives and the Islamic State has provoked internet ire after appearing online Tuesday. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the satirical video is a part of promotional efforts for the BBC 2 series Revolting. BBC 2 describes the show as "a comedy series satirizing the state of the nation." The sketch, which appears in the pilot episode, reads like a condensed episode of The Real Housewives of [Insert Place]. Instead of glamazons flaunting their status, though, the sketch presents Muslim women in hijab. "It's only three days 'til the beheading, and I've got no idea what I'm gonna wear!" Mel from Syria explains. Later, two of the "housewives" wear the same suicide vest, meant to evoke the tension that occurs on reality shows when two characters wear the same dress. Users on Twitter and Facebook aren't pleased that the sketch makes light of the militant group. "@BBC Your new show real housewives of ISIS is disgusting! Nothing comedic about what ISIS are doing to people's lives in places like Syria!," writes @ashajunniee. Another notes, "I'm so offended by the 'Real Housewives of Isis' don't know how people can laugh about such a sick and heartbreaking thing ???" Still others defend the pastiche for being bold. Already, the website gspellchecker.com has posted an opinion editorial titled "Why We Need The Real Housewives Of ISIS." "As soon as the mainstream is able to own the narrative on these things, and mock them for the absurdities that they are, the sooner their mystique and power will be diluted," author Stephen Knight writes. Revolting is the brainchild of British satirists Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein, who are best known for the Daily Show-esque series The Revolution Will Be Televised. The two feel the extreme nature of their work is necessary in the current climate. "You have to be fearless or it undermines your credibility," Prowse told i newspaper. "You can't go after David Cameron for five years like we did and not go after the Islamic State." Watch the full sketch, below.