Walliams and Lucas obvious racism....

[Charliebitmyfinger]

Excuse me whilst I vent spleen on the above 2, ds1 just put on BBC 3 in the middle of Downton! There was a comedy programme by the above called "Come Fly with Me" featuring the above pair. I hated it and dressed as Japanese school girls (with bad style (Mikado eye make-up circa 1897) and the fake accents. This is really bad comedy how do this pair get away with this in 2014 for chrissake. I do remember Little Britain but did not really watch it as used to do v.early shift work and so bed early, this offering seems beyond the pail. Walliams seems such a totally "right on " much loved "luvvie" , I just don't understand

But why can't a black person play Desiree or Precious, they have other actors so it is not exclusively W and L. I don't know perhaps Lenny Henry needs to call these guys out on it. If someone can explain to this Luddite how I can link a thread from August on AIBU on an Ipad there are other more erudite Mnetters who can explain why blacking up just can't cut it.

Neither of them are women either but half the characters they play are. Lucas is gay but plays straight men. Wallaims is allegedly straight but plays gay men. They're both white but play black characters. Why do we read more into the skin colour of a character? Why are you more offended by the colour of the fat suit than the fact it's a fat suit? I bet black people aren't a bit bothered but luckily there are lots of professionally offended white people to take offence on their behalf. Seriously, would you be remotely bothered if Kenny Henry had a white character he "whited up" for?

I dunno who Kenny Henry is.

@bottleofbeer Is he a cartoon character apart from the Precious and Desiree characters I thought Taj and the Japanese schoolgirls were offensive. I have a Japanese friend (a mother of 2 DD's at DS 's school ) and she said she didn't like the portrayal (I showed her a screen capture) when I did pick up this afternoon. I just thought it would be good to get her perspective, I have yet to ask my Asian friends about Taj...

Taj is a totally loveable character, he's dim but that's not a reflection of his race in it. A scene with him and Alan Foot is again, a total parody of your average ukip voter. It's not Taj that looks stupid and the humour isn't at Taj's expense, it's at Alan's.

I can see what you mean with the Japanese girls, but is it really any worse than the checkout girls? It's just over playing the stereotypes. We just don't notice the potential for offence with those two because they're average white girls. As a scouser I could take offence at Keely St Clare because she's stereotypical scouse.

Check in girls, really!

Is Keeley the Flybe Ground stewardess, with matching uniform and eye makeup?

LBs representation of Ting Tong carries no more irony than the representation of foreign characters in Mind Your Language. Crying parody or irony is s lazy get out of js free card.

Get out of jail free!

"I bet black people aren't a bit bothered "

What an utterly ridiculous assumption/sweeping statement.

Yeah, the one with the pig nose and vacuous personality. In fact as the series goes on the other one (Wallaims) can't remember the character name, Melanie? Goes from vague Yorkshire accent to Scouse by the end of the series. It just plays on every stereotype from different cultures. The Scottish wannabe pilot with the ginger hair, the air hostess who had an affair with the pilot so his wife trains to become a pilot too, to keep an eye on him. Peter and Judith Surname, middle aged, middle England couple; she likes to complain, he's henpecked. Everyone could choose to take offence at the characters that most resemble them, but it's only the different race characters that anyone notices to take offence at.

It's Mr Dudley that is the laughing stock of the Ting Tong sketches. Ting Tong has the last laugh.

Ok, it's utterly ridiculous. Can you tell me why anybody would be offended by the skin colour of any character if the joke is absolutely nothing to do with race, when it really is just that the character happens to be black? Should we be offended that Bubbles is white or that she's not English?

"Seriously, would you be remotely bothered if Kenny Henry had a white character he "whited up" for?"

I am guessing you don't know the history of blackface or you wouldn't be asking such a foolish question.

Please stop. I don't know you but you are sounding either hopelessly naive or a racist.

is Britain a multicultural country? So why wouldn't there be black characters in it?

Ok, change "blacked up" (I was paraphrasing btw) to wearing a costume that makes the actor appear black. I barely even noticed the ethnicity of the characters. They were just characters. Some white, some black. Just like real life.

I won't dignify that.

I actually thought the pilot and wife were the funniest characterisations and they could almost have a sitcom with just them. They worked (kinda like Alan Partridge) and as a white half Irish half Surrey woman I was not overly offended the husband needed to be stronger as a character, equally as petty as the wife for balance, darker humour and it could work.

I love the pilot's wife! He really does play a convincing woman!

OP as a matter of interest, why do you think it's OK for you to say 'for chrissake'?

"hmm is Britain a multicultural country? So why wouldn't there be black characters in it? "

If you think LB offers a positive representation of African British people in the media, you are plain daft. This is boiling my piss so I'm bowing out.

But bottle they do more than just dress up applying black make up for example....

Flipflop as a lapsed catholic YES what is your point for chrissake. Jaysus Wept and for Feck's sake as my DH would say...

Boiled piss? Sounds painful. See ya then! I've said no such thing as it being positive representation of anybody you fool.

I honestly don't think there is anything more to it than characters. All of them. All races, genders, sexuality. Do gay men prance about like David? Nope, I don't see anybody calling those scenes homophobic.

Some do bottleofbeer, i know two who hate the "only gay in the village" mind you they described the humour as "boringly predictable drivel"........