Harry Enfield has defended his use of blackface to portray Nelson Mandela on television, describing the decision as “so wrong that it was right”. The comedian made the comments on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, in a discussion with host Nick Robinson and fellow comedian Ava Vidal.
Enfield, best known for characters such as Loadsamoney and Kevin the Teenager, said he had also used makeup to play an Indian soldier in a BBC programme, a decision he deemed appropriate. While he acknowledged he would not use blackface now, he argued there was a distinction between his material and earlier incarnations such as the “Chocolate Coloured Coon” of the 1930s, a term Robinson apologised for.
Vidal challenged Enfield on his portrayal of Mandela as a drug dealer, saying blackface “normalises dehumanisation”. The discussion comes amid renewed conversations on race in the UK following the killing of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, and after shows containing blackface, including Little Britain and The Mighty Boosh, were removed from UK streaming services.
Ant and Dec also issued an apology this week for portraying black characters on Saturday Night Takeaway, stating they had “purposely stopped doing this several years ago”. Last week, Leigh Francis, known as Keith Lemon, apologised for his portrayals of black people on Bo’ Selecta.
