Former Nottingham Forest footballer Jason Lee has issued a statement on social media regarding David Baddiel using blackface when impersonating him during sketches on Fantasy football League in the 1990s.
Baddiel meets Lee and apologises face-to-face in the documentary Jews Don't Count, which airs on C4 tonight (Monday, November 21) at 9pm.
Lee, who now and fronts the podcast Absolutelee and whose work is now focused on diversity and inclusion, posted the following series of tweets:
"It’s been 25 years since Baddiel and Skinner’s Fantasy Football League included sketches impersonating me in blackface. Yes, the sketches were racist, culturally offensive, and bullying. @Baddiel rightfully accepts this now.
I often see in the press and online ‘David’s apologised publicly, in writing & in interviews.’ While that may be so, I don’t consider any of those previous instances an apology to me. The apology came recently when David came to meet me personally and apologise directly.
That apology is featured in his Channel 4 documentary, Jews Don’t Count, and the full conversation between us can be found in the first episode of my new podcast, AbsoluteLee.
While the conversation between David and myself was challenging for us both in different ways, I respect that David finally found the courage to come and speak to me after all these years.
Although I do hold him responsible as the person who directly blackfaced, there was also a team of people around him who thought the sketches were ok and who have avoided having to accept responsibility for the part they played.
David is speaking out against the antisemitism he has sadly experienced, and as you’ll see in the podcast, I felt that to continue doing so, it was important that he genuinely addressed the anti-Black racism he perpetuated with the Fantasy Football sketches.
Not to avoid a backlash, but because it is the right thing to do. Having spoken to him I believe he understood this.
Since finishing my playing and coaching career, my work has been focused on diversity and inclusion. I believe we must all do the work to better understand the experiences of others, which is why I am committed to allyship for all communities facing discrimination.
I hope people will take something positive from the conversation & we can draw a line under what happened, & continue our work to address racism & discrimination, not just in instances when we are personally affected, but also for each other. That’s how real change is made."
Listen to the Absolutelee podcast here.
David Baddiel's documentary Jews Don't Count airs on C4 tonight (Monday, November 21) at 9pm.
