Craig David says that Bo' Selecta 'bullying' forced him out of the UK

Craig David once opened up about how Bo’ Selecta! "ruined his life" and encouraged him to move to Miami to escape the "bullying."

Bo’ Selecta! was a comedy show with Leigh Francis depicting different celebrities while wearing exaggerated masks. These include Mel B, Elton John and singer Craig David among others.

David slammed the comedy as "bullying" and felt like it was a "vendetta" that "affected him," he told The Sunday Timesin 2022.

"People would shout at me on the street and I felt the same feeling I had when I was bullied at school. Leigh Francis had normalised bullying by making it comedy," he told the publication.

He also accused Francis of being "racist" when "he put blackface on."

In 2009, David moved to Miami to "get away physically from the David who everyone thought wore a colostomy bag and had a big rubber face and gigantic chin."

Getty Images/YouTube

Back in 2020 in wake of the George Floyd killing and Black Lives Matter movement, Francis issued an apology.

In the caption of his Instagram video Francis wrote: "Following recent events, I've done a lot of talking and learning and I would like to put this out there. I want to apologise to anyone that was offended by Bo'selecta. I'm on a constant journey of knowledge and just wanted to say I'm deeply sorry. #blacklivesmatter."

He continued: "My name's Leigh Francis, I play a character called Keith Lemon on television.

"It's been a weird few days, I've sat and thought about things and what I could post to try and help things.

"Back in 2002, I did a show called Bo’ Selecta, I portrayed many black people. Back then I didn’t think anything about it, people didn’t say anything- I’m not going to blame other people.

"I’ve been talking to some people. I didn’t realise how offensive it was back then.

"I just want to apologise, I just want to say sorry for any upset I caused whether I was Michael Jackson, Craig David, Trisha Goddard, all people I’m a big fan of. I guess we’re all on a learning journey."

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