To be shocked that this was ever ok?! Blackface on Little Britain...

[BrexitBingoGenerator]

Hello. I've just been looking at the Daily Mail (sorry) and there is a thing about this. I was genuinely gobsmacked seeing the photo and it's completely offensive. However, at some time in the not-so-distant past, this was seen as mainstream comedy and I remember it being on primetime telly. So a critical mass of people must have thought this was ok? I never really watched little Britain and this sketch in particular made me want to heave, but I think at the time it was rather for its horrible portrayal of women generally. I don't remember outrage over it at the time. But maybe there was? I guess I'm just ashamed that comedy like this could have been screened in my adult lifetime.

It’s an awful program. Also a horrible racist caricature of a Thai woman played by Matt Lucas in it too.

Walliams and Matt Lucas are a lot less funny than they would have us believe. Can't stand either of them.

Honestly, as a black person, I don't see how this character is any more offensive than every other character in the show. The purpose of every single character was to portray the worst stereotypes of every faction of society. The gay representation is offensive, the black overweight representation is offensive, the white middle class woman, the on-benefits teen mother is offensive... Every stereotype is offensive and that's the entire point.
There isn't a demographic of society that is not offensively represented in the show. Blackface is where white people would dress as black people and exaggerate our features to mock us for our very blackness. That's not what is happening here.

For the record, I don't find the show funny either way - just don't think it's racist.

The League of Gentlemen was worse. Blackface and a trans character!

Yeh the whole show was offensive. Wasn't there some hilarious sketch about an old lady who peed herself?
Can't bear either of them....it wasn't even that long ago. It was offensive then....
Although 'the only gay in the village' was funny.

Lockeduporknockedup I completely agree, don’t forget Anne, the cruel mockery of a woman with a learning disability!

Destroyedpeople I disagree, as does my brother, who as a gay man, gets tired of the stereotypical gay bashing on television.

What a load of nonsense! What is happening to this country?

David Walliams is so unfunny and his books are shit.

As a previous poster said all the characters in the show were offensive, not saying I agree with it, but they pretty much “targeted” everyone for ridicule.

It is a horrible programme full of lazy stereotypes.

The character of Andy for example perpetuates the myth that people routinely fake disability

Ting Tong the Thai lady

Bubbles DeVere mocking obesity

The one bit I did like was Fat Fighters Majory Dawes, where her obviously racially patronising behaviour towards the Hindu lady (Mina, i think her name was) in her FF group is mocked. A bit like the making fun of that racist Alf Garnett in 70s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour.

It wasn't really 'gay bashing' though was it?

Yes but the character of margery dawes was a direct rip off of Pauline from the jobcentre in League of Gentlemen..

Shall we just say that on the whole Walliams and Lucas are unfunny fuckers?

@Shallwedancetomojito care to elaborate on what you mean?

It was uncomfortable watch at the time. I also disliked the portrayal of the disabled man and the breastfeeding adult man.
I just felt they were very cruel sketches and not particularly funny either.

How is this raciest? There is a made up ‘white woman’ doing the sketch with her? They just take on various characters

I watched it in my early teens. Watched it again recently and was disgusted.

Wasn’t keen on the disabled man or woman though - just not my taste

It’s grim. Aged very badly.

It was always shit, unfunny, and offensive - I'm surprised people NOW find it unacceptable

and the tiny Dennis Waterman? WTF was that all about?

Well I thought it was hilarious- and it's equal opportunities offensiveness. My only thing would be if anyone black thought it was offensive/felt uncomfortable or offended and that would not be cool.

Comedy is, as a general rule, pretty close to the bone if it's good stuff. There is literally no group of people I have not seen sent up from the mighty Queen Elizabeth II to people driving Prius's. No one is safe - that's the point. We are all going to get the piss taken out of us for something.

Not everyone watched it at the time or thought it was the kind of thing that should be on TV.

The idea is that from a comedians POV everyone is up for having the piss taken out of them. Fat, short, bald, old, ginger, every colour, every culture etc etc.