An awkward moment occurred onQuestion Time on Thursday evening after host Fiona Bruce called upon the only non-white person on the panel to answer a question about racism first.
The episode, which came from Beckenham, Greater London, covered the revelations from cricketer Azeem Rafiq who has told how he experienced racism, harassment and bullying while he was playing for Yorkshire Cricket Club.
Rafiq’s claims were investigated by cricket officials and parliament and were found to be true, which led to a number of resignations at Yorkshire.
Question Time addressed the issue with the following question from an audience member: “With the revelations from cricket’s Azeem Rafiq and footballers still taking the knee, what does this say about racism in modern day Britain?”
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After the audience member fielded the question, host Bruce immediately turned to the solicitor and OBE Nazir Afzal, who seemed rather taken back that he was being asked to answer the question first.
“The brown person will answer first,” Afzal jokingly said to the audience – who did laugh in response – before he added: “No disrespect.”
A rather stoic looking Bruce then replied: “Nazir, so do you think that was wrong of me to come to you first?”
“I think so, I think what...” Afzal started to respond, before Bruce sternly cut him off and said: “Well let’s not do it then”. She then handed the question over to one of the fellow panellists, the outspoken Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson.
“I’m not being sarcastic at all, I mean if that’s how you feel I respect that,” Bruce added.
The incident has since been shared across social media with many feeling that Bruce was wrong to go to Afzal first and applauding his response.
Nazir Afzal was spot on. That look from Fiona Bruce in being called up on it though. 😬#bbcqt pic.twitter.com/FsHHK7K08E
— Eddie Burfi (@EddieBurfi) November 18, 2021
Holy shit Fiona Bruce 😮
— kerry ✊💙 (@hewitson10) November 18, 2021
she went straight to Nazir Afzal on the racism question
His response is golden
‘The brown person will answer first’
Put her firmly in the seat of shame#bbcqtswitchoff #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/RCfH9d35AI
I’ve watched this back a couple of times and Fiona Bruce gets it wrong at every turn
— Gareth Roberts (@Gareth_Roberts_) November 19, 2021
Not a hint of contrition, not a hint of self doubt and when she gives a semi-apology, just talks right over Nazir Afzal who wanted to explain what the issue was
pic.twitter.com/sxNgvFPiwd
To make the situation even more agonising, Peterson’s answer only succeeded in raising more eyebrows.
The 59-year-old started by saying that the issue needed to be “particularised” before adding that “racism is a global and vague term” and made inverted comma marks with his hands.
Peterson was immediately pulled up on the motion that he made with his hands by SNP MP Stephen Flynn who challenged Peterson as to what he meant.
Peterson said that he made the commas because it was “indicative of low-resolution thinking.” As he tried to explain himself further, Labour MP Stella Creasy interjected to tell Peterson exactly what had happened to Rafiq.
Peterson continued to try and explain his point of view by claiming that the “concept of structural racism is too imprecise and doesn’t address the issue” before making more hand gestures.
“Maybe let’s do less of the hand movements and look at the evidence,” Creasy told Peterson.
Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
