TV presenter Mo Gilligan has said it is “difficult” being a young black man in the entertainment industry, and he feels he is “representing almost the whole community”.
Career and identity
The 38-year-old rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and has since pivoted towards broadcasting, hosting The Lateish Show With Mo Gilligan and appearing as a regular panellist on The Masked Singer.
The TV star, who is of Jamaican and St Lucian descent, has detailed how his identity has made it difficult for him to establish boundaries in his career.
Chicken suit request
Appearing on The Louis Theroux Podcast, he was asked about part of his stand-up routine where he recounts a TV producer asking him to wear a chicken suit – a request he denied as he felt it was demeaning.
Gilligan said: “I was like, ‘I’m just not feeling this. I’m just not feeling this at all.’
“It wasn’t malice, but I guess as a young black man in this space you feel like if you say no, you then might get the card of ‘oh, he’s very difficult, very hard to work with’.
“I only know that because it’s stuff that I’ve heard before from other people that have been in this space.
“If I say no, I might be difficult. They might not even invite me back again.
“I’m not trying to be a diva, but I do want to have ownership of what I do and how I do it.”
He continued: “You have to stand up for what you believe in, and you’re like, ‘my morals just tell me I don’t want to do that because I’m going to be laughed at, and I don’t want to be laughed at.’
“I’m representing almost the whole community.
“They’re going to be the ones who sit there and be like, ‘oh bro, what are you doing? That’s just not it. Why are you wearing a chicken suit?'”
Addressing racism
Gilligan is outspoken about racism in the entertainment industry, and has previously addressed the systematic barriers faced by black artists such as social inequality and tokenism.
The comedian started his career making comedic parodies imitating DJs and MCs on social media, and a viral video noticed by Canadian rapper Drake helped launch him to stardom.
He later landed opportunities such as hosting The Big Narstie Show alongside the rapper in 2018, and a year later he launched his own talk show.
Gilligan has served as a judge on ITV’s The Masked Dancer, and has appeared on The Masked Singer since 2020.
