Why did Jimmy ask, 'Do you think people are more offended by swearing in the States?'?

[Uncanny]

From 8 Out of 10 Cats:

- Have you really shagged Jack Nicholson?
- Yes.
- Well done.
- What was he like?
- The Joker was wild.
- Nice.
- The Joker was what? She's even got a line on it! ...Do you think people are more offended by swearing in the States?
- I think, uh, yes, yes.
- Good. Okay. I'll write that down. [the audience laugh]

Why did Jimmy ask, 'Do you think people are more offended by swearing in the States?'?

What does 'in the States' refer to (I understand the prosody will affect it):

A. the people in the States, not the people elsewhere
B. swearing in the States, not swearing elsewhere
C. offended in the States (rather getting offended elsewhere)

Is 'Do you think people are more offended by swearing in the States?' most likely to be interpreted as

1. Do you think people are more offended by swearing in the States than by what has just been mentioned?
2. Do you think people from all over the world are more offended by American swearing rather than by British swearing even if they have never travelled to these countries?
3. Do you think people from all over the world are more offended by identical swearing when they travel to the States rather than when they travel to the UK?
4. Do you think Americans are more offended by swearing (even when the swearer is neither American nor British) than the British?
5. Swearing in the States generally offends people all over the world (even if they don't travel there) more than swearing in other countries.

 

[jutfrank]

It doesn't appear that you've watched the show. The context you quote is totally unconnected.

The first passage is this:

- Have you really shagged Jack Nicholson?
- Yes.
- Well done.
- What was he like?
- The Joker was wild.
- "The Joker was wild". She's even got a line on it!

The second passage is here. They've just been talking on the topic of swearing and now Jimmy is asking Janice to compare the UK with the US. He's asking whether people in America get more offended by swearing than people in Britain.