Harry Enfield has been criticised after giving an interview on Radio 4 in which he defended having performed in blackface.
In the last few weeks, shows like Little Britain, The League Of Gentlemen and Summer Heights High, which have all featured blackface, have been removed from
BBC iPlayer and Netflix.
“I’ve done it, several times in the past, I’ve played Nelson Mandela in one thing for laughs,” he said on Thursday’s edition of the Today programme. “And I did it because this thing had sort of come round from the BBC that we couldn’t do it anymore.
“And so I thought, ‘well, who is my hero?’ – Nelson Mandela, who I had the pleasure of meeting once – and ‘what’s the stereotype of Black people?’. Well, at the time there was a lot of things in the papers about drugs and stuff, so I made him a drug dealer or a pedaller of alcopops to children and things like that, which I thought was so wrong that it was alright.”
He added: “You know, I wouldn’t do it now, but I don’t think I regret it... but I definitely think there should still be a conversation about it, really.”The
Actor and comedian went on to use a racial slur when discussing the historical use of blackface.
“Let me tell you, obviously, Al Johnson or G H Elliot, who played the Chocolate Coloured C**n in the 30s — they perpetuated the myth of the 'happy negro' who was just very happy to sing under the crack of the whip, the
American whip or the
British imperial bayonet, and obviously that’s deeply offensive and always will be,” he said.
At that point, presenter Nick Robinson interjected, stating: “Just to be clear, Harry, because there will be people offended by that term you just used. You’re using it in inverted commas. Let’s not repeat it, but it’s a term that was used at the time.”
“Well that was his name on stage,” Harry responded.Good morning, the presenters today are @JustinOnWeb & @bbcnickrobinson#R4Todayhttps://t.co/P9P1YlXB5lpic.twitter.com/MkbCjBg82m— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) June 11, 2020The Kevin And Perry star then stated that having played four former prime ministers in the past, he “would find it difficult” that he “would not be allowed to play [Rishi Sunak] “because of the colour of his skin”, should he go on to become PM.
Comedian and writer Ava Vidal, who was also appearing on the segment, suggested: “I’m sure you can take the mickey out of the prime minister without blacking up, if there was a Black prime minister.”
Ava also questioned why Harry didn’t choose to “subvert” stereotypes rather than play up to them, saying: “If you’re going to do comedy, why wouldn’t you subvert the stereotype, why wouldn’t you challenge it, why would you reinforce it? ’Did he play Margaret Thatcher as a hooker? Why did he denigrate the Black one?”
She also spoke about blackface in general, telling listeners at the beginning of the show: “You have to look at the origins of blackface. It was distorting Black people’s features, it was done for the entertainment of white people and it was done promoting negative stereotypes, and it normalises dehumanisation.”
“Comedy is about being funny, and punching down and picking on oppressed people is not funny,” she later added.
The interview was immediately met with a backlash on
Social Media, not just for Harry’s comments, but also from those pointing out that Ava was given less time to talk than the comedian, and that her name was repeatedly mispronounced.
Many also questioned why there was even a debate asking why blackface was bad in the first place.This morning on #r4today I heard @thetwerkinggirl having to explain why blackface
comedy is wrong. She was amazing! In the debate, Harry Enfield used the word c**n & wouldn't understand why blackface is wrong. 2020 you're just too much! Plus they couldn't pronounce her name!— Tracey Gyateng (@TGyateng) June 11, 2020Soooooo Harry Enfield on Radio 4 whining about restricting his creative license to be racist . And a good morning to you all !— Sandra Harper (@SarnieHarper) June 11, 2020Can't believe that Harry Enfield was trying to justify the portrayal of Nelson Mandela as a drug dealer— OP4C (@OP4C) June 11, 2020did someone put mushrooms in their tea? why did a whole team of journalists at the country's news programme of record collectively decide it was a good idea to have a segment questioning why blackface is bad? @BBCr4today— Golnar Motevalli (@golnarM) June 11, 2020Harry Enfield's racist slurs aside, blacking up is a white disorder. if you want to discuss it, discuss it in terms of a disorder. Don't put the onus on @thetwerkinggirl to explain why it's bad and force her to answer absurd questions like "is it any worse than paying ginger?"— Golnar Motevalli (@golnarM) June 11, 2020Harry Enfield was always trash and he showed his full colours in that interview! https://t.co/3dbyFUqsw3— DJ Yardman 🇯🇲 (@DJ_Yardman) June 11, 2020That Harry Enfield was even asked on to ‘defend’ black face on BBC R4 at the same time the *same* BBC is removing shows that feature it shows something is broken imo.— Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) June 11, 2020Holy fuck, what????????? I cannot BELIEVE that they even got someone on to defend blackface, let alone so VEHEMENTLY!— Rhianna Dhillon (@RhiannaDhillon) June 11, 2020harry enfield Y A W N, entertainers have the single most tedious arguments about
racism bc they all just boil down to "why am i not allowed to do something wahhhhhh" and it's like "why do u want to"???— G (@oneofthosefaces) June 11, 2020Absolute disgrace that @BBCr4today gave way more time to Harry Enfield to waffle on rather than hear the views of Ava Vidal. And Nick Robinson had the gall to refer to the interview as a “conversation”. Travesty. #r4today— Ian Barnes (@Ianbarnes2001) June 11, 2020If you were trying to construct a segment to show how wildly out-of-touch @BBCr4today has become, you couldn't come up with anything more damning than that Harry Enfield slot and the positioning of him 'versus' the sole voice of reason on it, @thetwerkinggirl.— Paul Trueman (@paulwtrueman) June 11, 2020Just listened to @BBCr4today, a conversation about blackface. It pretty much missed every single note!-Harry Enfield defending his right to play Nelson Mandela as a drug dealer because he is his ‘hero’-Presenter mispronouncing the name of the woman he was interviewing 3 times! https://t.co/hjJ8eBfjoz— Sacha Coward (@sacha_coward) June 11, 2020-The presenter telling his one black interviewee to ‘hurry it up’ after giving Enfield loads of airtime.-Enfield defending his right to play Indian characters because he ‘read a book’.-The comparison of blackface to ‘posh accents’ and ‘ginger jokes’— Sacha Coward (@sacha_coward) June 11, 2020This whole Harry Enfield thing is another example of the stupid idea that some ideas need a balancing view. Blackface is racism, and racism has no need for a counterpoint - this is not some huge moral conundrum. https://t.co/pu6N9VSsQL— Anton Emmanuel (@AntonEmmanuel2) June 11, 2020Ava has also since tweeted on the matter, commenting: “C**n. Before 9 in the morning. I haven’t even eaten yet. I can’t stop laughing. WTAF? I’m in shock.”
She also told Metro: “It proves how deeply ingrained these attitudes are that he could utter that word without so much as a by your leave. This is why Black and POC have to lead the conversation on racism because many White people don’t even notice it.
“I would have liked more time cause I had more points to make and I feel I wasn’t given the chance to do so.”
After the show, Nick Robinson apologised for Harry’s use of the slur during the programme, tweeting: “I’m really sorry a racial slur was used on air. I pointed out that it was offensive and asked Harry not to repeat it. As I have said in the past – in a totally different context – ‘Normal service from the BBC means you will hear people you disagree with say things you don’t like’ but you should not hear racially offensive language and I’m sorry you did.”The discussion on @bbcr4today about comedy & the portrayal of black people between Harry Enfield & Ava Vidal has provoked a lot of comment. I’m really sorry a racial slur was used on air. I pointed out that it was offensive & asked Harry not to repeat it 1/2— Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) June 11, 2020As I have said in the past - in a totally different context – “Normal service from the BBC means you will hear people you disagree with say things you don't like” but you should not hear racially offensive language & I’m sorry you did. 2/2— Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) June 11, 2020The BBC had no further comment when contacted by HuffPost
UK.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that the BBC and BritBox had followed Netflix’s lead and removed Little
Britain and Come Fly With Me – which frequently saw comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams performing in blackface – from their platforms.
Since then,
Netflix has also removed a number of other comedy shows worldwide, including The League Of Gentlemen and much of Chris Lilley’s back catalogue.
However, Chris’ shows are still on iPlayer at the time of writing, with a BBC rep tellingMetro: “The change only affects Little Britain. There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review.”READ MORE: Netflix Axes The League Of Gentlemen And Other Comedy Shows Featuring Blackface Gone With The Wind Temporarily Pulled From
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