Lenny Henry embroiled in racism row

Sweetpea · 02-14-2008, 06:56 PM

An award-winning BBC reporter has accused Lenny Henry of insulting her white colleagues by calling for affirmative action employment polices at the corporation.

The comedian claimed that racism was still rife within broadcasting and asked why ethnic minorities were often found only in menial roles.

But he was criticised by Olenka Frenkiel, a leading investigative reporter who has produced acclaimed reports for Newsnight, Correspondent and the Today programme.

“Lenny Henry calls for a black dg (Director-General). Any black dg?”, she wrote in the BBC magazine. “Regardless of merit, or who they are or what they might have done?”

Lenny Henry embroiled in racism row - Times Online

Is Lenworth getting a tad above his station?

skinny · 02-24-2008, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

An award-winning BBC reporter has accused Lenny Henry of insulting her white colleagues by calling for affirmative action employment polices at the corporation.

The comedian claimed that racism was still rife within broadcasting and asked why ethnic minorities were often found only in menial roles.

Good luck Lenny

**Will** · 02-24-2008, 03:37 PM

Lenny is like a broken record, he bores the shit out of me with it, and he's not funny any more. I used to work in Broadcast, and have worked in over five different studios. He's talking shite.

poppy · 02-24-2008, 05:22 PM

Think he is missing the lime lite. He is such a has been, he had to invent something to grab the tabloid headlines. Rather like a child stamping a foot and screaming " look at me"

**Will** · 02-24-2008, 06:29 PM

Yes, that sounds plausable enough.

skinny · 02-24-2008, 07:39 PM

My first post was tongue in cheek.

This post is to explain that even though i have never been a great lover of his work i find it extraordinary for him to come out with these quotes...

“Lenny Henry calls for a black dg (Director-General). Any black dg?”, she wrote in the BBC magazine. “Regardless of merit, or who they are or what they might have done?”

These are the quotes of a leading investigative reporter, fair enough, but why hasn't she quoted Lenny Henry literally?

This quote seems to me to be quite a sweeping statement, and quite vendictive...if that's the right word

Shah said: “Thirty years after Lenny came into the business, there is not one black person, not one Asian person good enough to be a Controller. It is an outrage and I think Lenny’s call for affirmative action is the least we can do.”