Rhys Ifans is under fire after cracking a joke about paedophilia at an anti-slavery concert in London.

The Notting Hill actor was booed when he made the gag while compering the Voice of Slavery concert at the Forum in Kentish Town.

A spokeswoman for Ifans, 38, apologised for the comment and put it down to ‘bad judgment’, reports the Daily Post.

The concert, organised by charities Stop the Traffik and Anti-Slavery International, featured Razorlight and Supergrass.

The controversy came when Ifans told the crowd: “Why is paedophilia so popular? Because kids are so f*****g sexy.”

But the ‘joke’ did not go down well with an audience sympathetic to the charities’ aims of abolishing child slavery and prostitution.

Ifans’ publicist Pip Gill said: “Rhys was there fully supporting a cause that helped make a lot of money.

“He did crack a joke. But it was a misjudgement and it came across worse to some people due to the fact it was an event about slavery.

“It was genuinely meant as a joke and I think it was bad judgment on his part. It was taken out of context and has grown from something that was just a harmless joke.”

An NSPCC spokeswoman said: “We would like to think that Rhys Ifans now realises that the comments he made were foolish and unfortunate.”

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