Sir Trevor McDonald hosts a satirical game show called NewsKnight
Posted on 09/11/2007 10:08:57 AM PDT by Stoat
Sir Trevor McDonald has escaped accusations of racism, despite calling the late comedian Bernard Manning a "fat, white bastard."
He made the comment on his satirical ITV1 show, News Knight, one week after the death of the stand-up comic at the age of 76.
A total of 112 viewers complained to media regulator Ofcom, citing the broadcaster's "inappropriate and/or racist" comments.
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Sir Trevor McDonald hosts a satirical game show called NewsKnight
Bernard Manning was known for his racist jokes
But following an investigation into whether the comment contravened broadcast codes based on the Human Rights Act, Ofcom claimed that Sir Trevor's comments were "justified" last night.
"The programme was broadcast a full hour after the 9pm watershed, when more challenging material can sometimes be expected," it said
and argued that the comments were "clearly intended" to parody Manning's own comic style.
Sir Trevor, 67, made the remark in June as he introduced an item titled Racist and Dead.
He said: "personally I never thought of Bernard Manning as a racist comic - just a fat, white bastard."
Last night a TV pressure group described Ofcom's ruling as extraordinary and said Sir Trevor's comment had been "glossed over".
John Beyer, of Mediawatch, said: "If the comment had been made in reverse (a white man calling someone a 'fat black bastard') there would have been utter outrage and rightly so."
Perhaps this is ordinary programming for this particular time slot, (although the posted reader comments at the Daily Mail site suggest otherwise) but even if it is, that is beside the point of my posting this article.
Here in the USA, I would wish to suggest that if any white person were to call someone "a fat black b*****d" whether on TV or not, at any time of the day or night and in any context, that person's life would essentially be over, at least in the sense that it had been before.
There would be no rush to excuse, no breathless eagerness to "remember the goodness in the heart" of the person making the statement, and no efforts to 'frame it in the proper context'.
The person making the statement would instantly find their career ruined and would likely be looking at legal action which would destroy them financially, regardless of the ultimate decision of the judge and jury.
Anyone defending the person making the statement would be labeled a 'racist' and a 'bigot', and would be similarly pilloried.
Such is the state of our culture today.
He is fat and he is white, I don’t know anything about his parentage though.
Satire and Irony, I love it.
Besides, that guy looks like an old black moron.
Trevor McDonald is, I should say was, a much-liked News reader before this incident.
Manning was a portly white comedian who was known for making jokes about blacks and Indians, using words that are commonly considered slurs. He was also known for making fun of dead celebrities.
So Knight is having a bit of fun making a joke about Manning being a "fat white bastard" - precisely the kind of joke that manning would have made about a dead black comedian.
It's funny.
Thank you very much for the essential background information. This would suggest to me that in addition to preexisting political biases in his favor, Sir Trevor has a built-in cadre of liberal media apologists who will rush to his defense and circle the wagons.
Agreed, but here in the USA the humorous aspect would be irrelevant to the race pimps....if the person making the statement was white and if it was being directed at a black person.
He says that like it's a bad thing.
LMAO!
Sir Trevor McDonald?...that’s funny...He doesn’t look Scottish.
hahahahahahahaha!!
You never know, however.....after all, Chef's parents were Scottish.....
Has this Sir Trevor ever wondered the highlands of Scotland?...I think not!
Just a side bar question....Are there any soul food restaurants in Inverness or Edinburgh?...Inquiring minds want to know...
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