Trisha Goddard has said that Leigh Francis’ use of blackface on Bo’ Selecta “emboldened casual racism”, while revealing that she has accepted his recent apology for the comedy sketches.
Last week (5 June), Francis apologised in an Instagram video for the “offensive” impressions, saying that he had been on an “learning journey”.
“It emboldened a lot of casual racism towards myself and others [he] parodied with big lips and noses,” Goddard said.
Francis regularly portrayed black celebrities including Goddard, Craig David and Mel B on the Channel 4 show, using prosthetics and blackface to exaggerate their appearances.