Craig David has questioned Keith Lemon star Leigh Francis’s apology for “normalising bullying” and “racism” on Bo’ Selecta.
Francis’ comedy show, which was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2002 to 2009, saw the comedian impersonate a selection of celebrities. One such star was musician David, who has opened up about how much his portrayal has “affected” him in a new interview.
“He was highlighting characteristics he felt would trigger us personally,” David toldThe Times, adding: “Every sketch felt personal.”
The “Fill Me In” singer continued: “It felt like a vendetta and when it got a following, it became something that affected me. People would shout at me on the street and I felt the same feeling I had when I was bullied at school. Leigh Francis had normalised bullying by making it comedy.”
He said of Francis’ wearing Black masks depicting himself, as well as singer Michael Jackson and TV star Trisha Goddard: “When he put blackface on, that was being racist.”
Francis previously apologised for wearing the masks on the show, stating: “I didn’t realise how offensive it was. I just want to say sorry for any upset I caused. I guess we’re all on a learning journey.”
However, David said that “the moment of” Francis’ apology “seemed very coincidentally timed”.
He said to the outlet: “We can all apologise when on the back foot. Has he reached out to any of the people he did on his show? He hasn’t reached out to me. Has he gone to communities to talk about bullying? Racism? And to be educated? You can only ask him.
“All I’ve seen since his apology is people still tweeting him thinking Bo’ Selecta! is fun and the tone of his response being very much still, ‘I’m the funny guy here’. That he still plays it like a joke after his apology tells me everything.”
The Independent has contacted Francis, who regularly appears on TV as the character Keith Lemon, for comment.
