The British comedian Harry Enfield has sparked fury after he used a racial slur during an interview on BBC Radio 4 about blackface.
The 59-year-old star who is best remembered for his 1990s sketch show Harry Enfield and Chums was speaking to Nick Robinson and the writer, Ava Vidal on the topic of shows like Little Britain, The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentleman being removed from streaming services for featuring comedic character wearing blackface.
While recounting the history of blackface he mentioned the performer GH Elliott who played a deeply offensive character in the 1930s called the 'Chocolate Coloured C**n' but rather than skirt around the name Enfield said it outright.
Obviously, Al Jolson or GH Elliott who played the Chocolate Coloured C**n, in the thirties, they perpetuated the myth of the happy negro, who was very happy to sing under the crack of the whip. Obviously that’s deeply offensive.
This forced Robinson to interject and clarify that Enfield was just repeating what the character was called and wasn't using the slur to be racist to which Enfield replied:
Well, that was his name on stage.
Enfield was then asked about performing in blackface which he did when he played his 'hero' Nelson Mandela who he portrayed as a drug dealer in the sketch show Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry and Paul.
At the time, there was a lot of things in the paper about drugs, so I made him a drug dealer, or a peddler of alcopops to children and things like that, which I thought was so wrong it was alright. I wouldn’t do it now, but I don’t think I regret it. I definitely think there should still be a conversation about it.
Vidal didn't agree with Enfield and asked why he didn't then portray someone like Margaret Thatcher in a different profession?
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?
Although in the context of the debate Enfield might have felt he was justified to say the word and his defence of the Mandela sketch made sense but the backlash against the comment would say that he should have used more caution.
This Harry Enfield interview on @BBCr4today. NOPE.— Alice Jones (@Alice Jones) 1591861872
Awoke to hear Harry Enfield obliviously rambling about how he doesn’t regret “blacking up” on @BBCr4today & using m… https://t.co/OjpLtwoDRf— kat (@kat) 1591862060
Listening to Harry Enfield saying ‘coon’ on @BBCr4today (“but that’s what he was called!”) is not really how I wanted to start the day— Anita Singh (@Anita Singh) 1591862212
That Harry Enfield was even asked on to ‘defend’ black face on BBC R4 at the same time the *same* BBC is removing s… https://t.co/AzmZr8JH3b— Mollie Goodfellow (@Mollie Goodfellow) 1591862755
Radio 4 getting Harry Enfield on Today to defend blackface in comedy is another horrid example of the media somehow… https://t.co/iHxNhWFuUn— James Temperton (@James Temperton) 1591864249
Oh god. Car crash on @BBCRadio4 with 2 white men cutting over black woman, mispronouncing her name & telling her wh… https://t.co/qXGlVsYflY— Beth House (she/ her) (@Beth House (she/ her)) 1591862226
‘You portrayed Mandela as a drug dealer, why didn’t you portray Thatcher as a hooker?’ And Harry Enfield is left… https://t.co/oBy6WyL17z— Helen the Zen 🏴 💙 (@Helen the Zen 🏴 💙) 1591862053
@BBCr4today I’d like to complain about the language used by Harry Enfield, the fact that you felt the need to have… https://t.co/c1bFRa1NAP— Calah Singleton (@Calah Singleton) 1591862603
Enfield did explain that although he has played several prime ministers during his career he wouldn't feel comfortable portraying Rishi Sunak should he become PM in the future.