Comedian Jeff Innocent has revealed he grew facial hair to stop people assuming he is far-right, after being called a 'racist grandad' in public. The 70-year-old comic, known for his shaven head, tracksuits, and hoop earring, now sports a well-maintained beard and curly mustache, which he admits has softened his appearance and changed how people, especially people of colour, react to him.
From '1990s racist' to 'Victorian racist'
In an interview ahead of his new show Leaning In, which starts touring in early 2027, Innocent said that 'how people perceived me often got me into trouble'. He added: 'The only problem is, I've gone from looking like a 1990s racist to a Victorian racist.'
The comedian, who has two grandkids, previously referred to his aesthetic as 'Racist Grandad' during his last tour, Smart Casual. He told audiences: 'I call this look "Racist Grandad". If I ever had my own celebrity fashion line, I'd call it the "Jeff Innocent Retired Cockney Criminal Leisurewear Collection"'.
Reassessing at 70 and letting go
Leaning In is about how Innocent is changing now that he has hit 70, which he described as 'a bit of a milestone moment for me to reassess'. One revelation was that he should become 'less incident prone' and was 'too old to be getting into tricky situations'.
He admitted to a recent confrontation on a train, where he sat opposite a man making loud phone calls and told him he was getting on his nerves. After a conductor intervened and offered the man first class, other passengers clapped Innocent. He asked why he wasn't offered first class, and the conductor replied: 'Even if you were offered, I knew you wouldn't be satisfied because you would have seen it as the other man winning.' Innocent said: 'He was right.'
Innocent acknowledged that giving up his intervening ways is difficult: 'It's like trying to stop smoking; like breaking a habit of a lifetime and I haven't always been successful.'
Accountability and a new audience
He also recounted an incident where a woman from the traveller community called out his use of stereotypes in a joke about rescue dogs. Innocent said: 'I realised she was right and on reflection, I should have framed the joke differently. The joke was never about travellers – it was about dog owners – and so I took it out. While I can't remove it from my specials, I removed all clips of it online and I won't tell it again.'
Innocent now has 286k Instagram followers, his special on YouTube has 653k views, and Leaning In is selling out quickly. He said: 'If I could, I would always be on tour. I love performing to people who have come out just to see me. I love the travel and hotels.'
