Prince William: Racist abuse in football ‘is despicable and it must stop now’

The Duke of Cambridge hosts an outdoor screening of the Heads Up FA Cup final on the Sandringham Estate. William watches with Tony Adams as Chelsea score.   1.8.2020

In September 2019, just as Prince William and his wife were already jeggings-deep in their plan to marginalize and exile the Duchess of Sussex, William gave a little interview. He’s the president of the Football Association, because he’s just a normal bloke who loves football and he loves attending football matches and having it count as work. He also loves saying “mental health in football” once every few months so that people will know that William is a mental health advocate. Well, what was interesting about William’s public comments in September 2019 was the fact that these lines passed his thin, pale, neo-colonialist lips:

“People are now talking a little bit about mental health issues but I imagine talking about racism is still quite a difficult subject, especially when it’s happening in such a public fashion with Premier League matches or [in the] Champions League. We’ve got to do something about it. I’m fed up with it. I’m so bored of it.”

At the time, I was extremely focused on the “I’m so bored of it” ABOUT RACISM that I probably didn’t devote enough time to the fact that William thinks public acts of racism against football players are “quite a difficult subject” to talk about. Anyway, this is William’s history: he’s on the record saying that he’s bored of racism… in football alone. Shockingly, that was not enough to end racism. In football. The racism is still happening, perpetrated by all of those racist dumbf–ks William and Kate regularly placate and appeal to. And…now that Prince Harry is carving out “hate speech online” as one of his central issues, here’s William to remind everyone that he also cares about racism and hate speech! He’s SUPER BORED with it.

The comments on these tweets were a whole mess because people decided to throw his Keen About Racism act back into his face and remind him of just how much he sucks for what he did to Meghan, or what he didn’t do (defend her). And honestly, the “William actively participated in the racist abuse hurled at Meghan” aspect is only one part of why this Keen White Savior act is falling flat. There were “nice” comments on these tweets too, thanking William for being the only person to ever talk about racism in football, which is insane. Anyway did William fix it yet? Surely all he has to do is announce that racism in football has to stop and that’s it? Why does he have to continue to be so utterly bored with it?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the London Bridge Jobcentre

william podcast

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.

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89 Responses to “Prince William: Racist abuse in football ‘is despicable and it must stop now’”

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  1. Belli says:

    I managed to get a peek at William’s Racism Checklist.

    1) Racism in football: Booooooring! But bad I guess, if I must say something.

    2) Historic and ongoing systemic racism and I equality that I and my family continue to benefit from and that secures our position and wealth: Not sure why I wrote this down as this doesn’t even exist and therefore I’ll never need to address it.

    3) Racist abuse against my sister in law: Very good and important (note to self, must call Dan Wootton later after gardening).

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      He was the Briefer in Chief to the rotten rota press and actively encouraged the pile on. Very short sighted of the incandescent dim wit. Briefing against family breaks the omerta. The press will turn on him sooner than he expects.

    • Myra says:

      I feel we don’t spell it out enough how much of a racist William is. We talk about institutional racism in the Palace and the media, but I would like to see the same energy as with Jessica Mulroney, if not more. His big rift with his brother prior to the wedding was because of his views on Meghan and how he lobbied others to interfere in his brother’s relationship. The very little interaction he and his wife had with Meghan, when out in public, not to mention the incidences of public snubbing on their part. It must bother him that it’s the not-white one who renewed public interest in their family and she still commands the spotlight from afar.

      • Becks1 says:

        I agree. I still think that William used a racial slur to refer to Meghan – remember Tom Bradby’s comment that “some things were said that cannot be unsaid.” (or maybe it was Keir Simmons who said it, I cant remember at this point.) Or maybe not quite a slur but something that was pretty pointedly racist (“Meghan needs to know her place” or something). Considering the kinds of comments william has made in public relating to race ( haha its so funny the uber driver is getting frisked), can you imagine what he’s like in private?

      • Nyro says:

        I doubt it was an actual slur, as that would be “inelegant”. It was probably even worse than that. Probably a whole talk about how Meghan’s ” background” and race made her an unsuitable wife. I can also see him basically calling Harry a race traitor. That’s how a lot of the racism towards Meghan is with the British zo-called upperclass. They’re too cowardly, if you will, to come out and say the n-word to a black person’s face the way a common American MAGA would. They’re the types who talk about “preserving culture” and “bloodlines” and whatnot. Very evil stuff.

      • Ginger says:

        I can see William telling Harry to preserve the royal bloodline. It’s probably why no one in the family was particularly excited for Archie’s birth.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        I’m old enough to remember when William attended a “Natives and Colonials” party dressed as a Zulu. Funny how quickly that was scrubbed by the palaces.

    • PEARL GREY says:

      William wasn’t so bored of racism when his football fan base were praising him for “keeping his bloodline white” after he took George and Charlotte to watch a game in October 2019. He wasn’t bored when his nephew was being called a monkey either. I also can’t recall any statement when his brother’s wife was being racially abused all throughout the comment sections of his social media accounts, or when Harry was subject to a white supremacist terrorist death threat plot for being a “race traitor” for marrying a woman of colour. Apparently racism is just fine when keeping it in the family.

    • Nic919 says:

      His casual “joke” about the Uber driver getting pulled over by the cops was also racist.

    • CC2 says:

      Also…what does that stateman accomplish? At least for Meghan, it would have a tangible effect given that he’s chummy with these reportets.

      Additionally, while we are piling on him…anyone pick up on the fact that he’s basically supporting the same thing as Harry regarding social media platforms being responsible? Or is it only Harry that wants to “censor” people? The double standards in the UK and Trumpets are annoying.

  2. VS says:

    He should sit and eat whatever food his assistant turned top ceo cooks for him……….are these people that stupid not to read the room?
    Or is racism + social media, the latest topics to copy from his brother? what a stupid man!

    He got dragged and I hope he never EVER talks about racism!

  3. Brit says:

    The dragging that he got on social media was glorious and it’s clear they need better advisors because in a desperate attempt to clearly rebrand, they are at a crossroads of their own making. You can’t let a media attack your sister in law, not say anything and benefit from said abuse and think that we’re supposed to take you seriously. You didn’t say anything when your own nephew was compared to a chimpanzee. It’s performative allyship for PR points and a desperate attempt to piggyback off of Harry and his social media platform cause he’s taking up. That family and media are truly disgusting.

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      The dragging gave me life. In his tiny mind, he thought addressing racism just before black history month will give him kudos and make him look ‘statesman like’ in America. As usual his antimidas touch was at work.

      • Noki says:

        I hardly saw any dragging,i mean they were a few who would mention Meghan and then the trolls would make light of it,but there were a lot more praises last i checked.😣

      • Brit says:

        @Noki, if William got a different reaction, we would be hearing about it a lot more. The morning shows barely covered it because they all knew how ridiculous he sounded especially when he didn’t speak up for his own family. He did get dragged by many.

      • Elizabeth Regina says:

        Maybe we are looking at different twitter feeds but every UK news feed (including the most virulent tabloids) and also the Kensington Palace feed itself was chocablock with dragging. Even from people who would normally scroll past.

      • Becks1 says:

        @noki check the retweets on the first post he made. The response is…..not good.

      • Ginger says:

        He got dragged HARD. There were so many quote tweets calling him out. It was glorious. The haters were praising him from their Meghan hate accounts, but that’s it. He also got dragged hard on Instagram.

      • Nyro says:

        Noki,

        If you didn’t see the epic dragging were nearly every single response was forcefully negative and calling William and the BRF out, then you must be on Tweeter instead of Twitter.

      • bloemheks says:

        DM curiously has comments disabled on this article.

    • Noki says:

      @Becks ok maybe thats why,i dont have twitter was refering to Kensington Royal.

      • Becks1 says:

        oh you mean on IG? Yeah you can delete comments on IG, which Kensington Royal absolutely does for William and Kate (never did it for Meghan though.) Twitter was a hot mess though, from a Kensington Palace standpoint at any rate.

  4. Elizabeth Regina says:

    Baldilocks: “We will fight racism on the football field, in the stands and on social media. But NEVER in our own family”.

    • sunny says:

      Lol! The truth. Racism in sports- not cool. But the racism that props up the institution his family is built on and their wealth- alright. Oh, and the racism he weaponizes against his sister-in-law and toddler nephew, well that’s just dandy.

      He really needs to avoid this issue because he looks just awful.

  5. Osty says:

    He should spare us his performative nonsense, cos if he really wanted to do anything about racism he would have called his friends in the media out

  6. Becks1 says:

    Twitter was NOT HAVING IT yesterday and it was glorious. The positive comments were all drowned out by the chorus of “where was this energy for Meghan Markle?” Some Cambridge stans tried to insist that the family supported Meghan but they were laughed out of the room, so to speak.

    I really think William is one of those white people who thinks that racism = a racial slur and a sign that says “whites only.” He doesnt have any concept of systemic racism, or white privilege, etc. He certainly has never looked at his own life and said, “hey, i’ve benefited because I’m a white man, because i’m a rich white man, and my family’s wealth is built on colonialization of non-white countries.”

    So this tweet coming out in the midst of the furor over Archie’s birth certificate….yeah. Whoops. Poor William ::eyeroll::

    • Sofia says:

      100%. This doesn’t just apply to William but a lot of other people when discussions about Meghan’s treatment comes up. They think that just because Meghan wasn’t mocked about her race and she wasn’t called the n slur, her treatment in the media wasn’t racist.

      • Ginger says:

        You have reporters like Camilla Tominey that said there were not enough white women on the cover of British Vogue but then gets SO offended when you call her racist. She then claims all Meghan supporters are “hysterical” and blocks them ( but not the racist Cambridge fans)

      • Nic919 says:

        What she the racist who linked the ladies from HUB to a jihadi group? I sometimes get my racist royal reporters confused.

      • Ginger says:

        Nic919, yes she is.

    • Brit says:

      He clearly didn’t get the response he was hoping for and today all the media is talking about are Meghan’s statement About that delusional and obsessive media and Harry’s lawsuit win. I think the Cambridge’s are clowns for giving access to a media who don’t even care about them because if they did, they wouldn’t be worried about Harry and Meghan coming back or them getting social media again. No wonder they’re jealous and threatened.

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      Karma built up a perfect storm of events that led up to the glorious dragging.
      Act one: Keen confirms she is indeed an exhausted CEO.
      Act two: Top CEO gets a dragging from most of the UK. (At this point, she should have just slinked away)
      Act three: the RF call on their attack dogs to distract from Keen’s faux pas by leaking birth certificate change and make Meghan look bad.
      Act four: Leak does not go as planned as The Sussexes made a statement backed with receipts. Act five: Bladilocks makes his performative allyship statement on racism.
      Act six: A glorious dragging of epic proportions with receipts by an even bigger global audience.
      Conclusion: You want the spotlight, now you have it. The end.

      • Brit says:

        And they still don’t care about William and Kate. They want Harry and Meghan and any kind of leak or correspondence they can get. That’s the irony.

      • Nyro says:

        The perfect storm, indeed. It’s been glorious!

      • Over it says:

        Couldn’t have happened to two more deserving people. Prince and princess clueless because hey we are white and therefore above it . I hope that more people continue to call william and Kate out . Don’t stop there the entire monarchy is responsible for the horrific treatment of Meghan and Archie.

    • tee says:

      He 100% has not done the work to truly become anti-racist, and this transparent performance of allyship is exactly demonstrative of that.

    • Amy Bee says:

      The Cambridge stans are ridiculous. They also tried to separate the issue of racism when people pointed out that the Royal Family considers racism to be a political issue. They said that he was talking as President of the English FA and racism in football which imo makes it even worse because this issue has become a serious in the last few years and all William could muster up during an engagement was that he was bored with racism.

      • Nic919 says:

        That was funny too. Imagine trying to defend someone with…. oh he’s just talking about racism in football not about his own sister in law.

    • Nic919 says:

      I love how the derangers tried to say William said something once and all they could find was that vague statement in 2016 supporting his brother for sending a statement. Some even tried to pretend that Harry calling out the racist press was William too because they shared a press office at the time.

      The takedowns were beautiful to see. And most importantly here, it was well beyond just squaddies coming after them. A lot of blue checks were pointing out the hypocrisy.

      • BnLurkN4eva says:

        Someone should have pulled out the receipt that shows that William in fact was not happy that Harry put out that statement and was incandescent with rage about it.

      • one of the marys says:

        Nic919 I am not on Twitter so when you write that a lot of blue checks were in those replies are those higher profile public figures? So they have a lot of followers who will pay attention, who don’t hide behind anonymous screen names etc I may have just answered my own question

      • Becks1 says:

        @one of the marys – yes usually blue checks have a lot of followers, but it also means that you’re a verified public figure. IG is the same way. Its a way to determine that someone is who they say they are. its considered kind of a “status” thing on twitter (I do not have a blue check, lol.)

        So basically it means that lots of people with large followings who are public figures were all over this yesterday.

    • TheOriginalMia says:

      I almost posted a gif of popcorn eating because the ratio was glorious. The hypocrisy of that post as if we all didn’t witness the racial bullying of Meghan at the hands of the Lamebridges, their stans and British Media. Have a thousand seats, William.

  7. ABritGuest says:

    This is the royal version of posting a black square& KP is being rightfully dragged for this. Absolutely meaningless whilst you were silent to abuse against Meghan& Archie, didn’t follow your own social media guidelines & allowed racist comments to stay (to this day) on your own social media pages. Heck sounds like some in the firm were even complicit in racism against Meghan & we’ve not heard anybody held accountable for that. They lack all credibility on this issue.

    It’s good to call out racist abuse & think William had to as president of FA with some high profile black players suffering racist abuse. but for too many in British society, overt racism on the football pitch is only type they recognise& condemn. Meanwhile everyday racism that is just as dangerous is indulged or ignored.

    I think I predicted that we would see the royals try to dip into the ‘woke’ pool more& more convinced now that you have Biden calling out white supremacy. not surprised William is calling out SM especially after Harry’s interview on similar issues was so well received.

    • Brit says:

      The problem is that they’ve built their brand on old racist, dog whistles and attacked Meghan for being “woke”, glamorous and Hollywood and now when they realize that they need the younger generation and the world is changing, then they want to rebrand. The racists that support them aren’t going like it and that’s why I feel the royals are at a crossroads because no one is taking that “rebrand “ seriously. They dug their own grave in their dealings with the Sussexes. The media and RF are desperate because they are both losing reputation wise and financially.

  8. Harper says:

    So as the president of the Football Association, William feels it’s his duty to speak out when online bullying and racism rears its ugly head. But as the future head of the royal family, he repeatedly turned a big blind eye to ongoing, persistent online bullying and racism against his own sister-in-law and ONE of his nephews (as he reminded us he’s got another nephew) on the very same social media account. I cannot wait for Meghan to have had enough with this clown and starts spilling the beans.

  9. Cecilia says:

    When i saw this i felt sick to my stomach and so insulted. If these people don’t go to the burning pits of hell….

  10. agnes says:

    Hypocrite.

  11. Snuffles says:

    This is some performative bullshit. But he probably only said something because of his official role and that it was probably disrupting his football watching enjoyment.

  12. Keen Kate says:

    William said he was bored of racism, he most likely has never really experienced it.

    He knows the UK is getting younger and younger and more aware. He needs to show he is modern. However, the young don’t like him or he is not really known to them. Too many of the the Cambridge fans are racist, xenophobic, sexist, etc… and they won’t like this!

  13. WaterBearer says:

    It’s weird the right wing press is not framing this as Prince William being woke. Funny that. That’s all I’ve got.

  14. Amy Bee says:

    Of course the British media is not going to report on the backlash but it was well deserved. His statement rings very hollow and insincere considering what he and his family has done to Meghan, their silence on the BLM protests and the condoning of the racist behaviour of the press towards Meghan and Archie.

  15. Kalana says:

    The Cambridges have submerged their brand in toxicity.

    They are associated with the venom directed at the Sussexes. You can’t be perpetually incandescent and disapproving and then make a mealy mouthed statement about racism. The same goes for the rest of the BRF.

    • Nyro says:

      Yep. Not only is being called out for his hypocrisy but Brexit Britain are also in the comments attacking him for talking about racism, calling him “woke” as a slur, saying he’s letting white English people down, etc. It’s amazing. Their Brexitt/MAGA base won’t stand for this either. Everyone’s calling him out and it’s what he deserves.

  16. Andrew’s Nemesis says:

    Remove the beam from your own eye, PwT.

  17. Tiffany says:

    He is bored with the fact that is favorite players are being called out on their racism and having consequences for it.

  18. BnLurkN4eva says:

    William advocating against racism is like Thomas Markle advocating on how to be a supportive father.

  19. notasugarhere says:

    This is the same William who sat through a stadium echoing with repeated racist chants. Why? Because he and Kate had trotted out the kids for a PR exercise. He wasn’t leaving until the press got plenty of photos/video of their awkward family interactions.

  20. February-Pisces says:

    Willie, kate and their merry band of courtiers have caused so much distress to minority groups the last few years through their treatment of Meghan, harry and archie. Seeing how they treated Meghan and the racial discrimination she faced, has been distressing to watch. As a person of colour, it has been a stark reminder that no matter how nice you are or how hard you work you will never be treated fairly no matter what you do. Meghan was always going to have to face more challenges as a person of colour, and what did the Keens do, they maximised that and used it to their advantage. They directly benefited from the discrimination Meghan endured and sat back and lapped up their white privileged. They are responsible for causing a racial divide just like trump has. They think their one tweet is some sort of proof they are not racist, when there’s 4 years worth of press coverage they collaborated with out there? Nah.

  21. Flying Fish says:

    Isn’t this the same idiot that said he was bored with the discussion of racism and has done absolutely nothing as his Sister-in Law and Nephew is hounded by racism statements and threats!
    Shut the FU William.

  22. Maria says:

    The comments on the KensingtonRoyal Instagram post were BRUTAL and I loved it!

  23. Digital Unicorn says:

    God i missed all this drama on Twitter and yes I was asleep most of the weekend. LOL

    Social media is not his friend and they always have the receipts. Wonder how long the new SM guy will last now? You know the one they poached from the Sussex’s.

  24. Nyro says:

    The dragging he’s getting over this has been beautiful to see. And the best part is, most of the comments going in on him are from the general public, not the Sussex squad. It’s wonderful.

  25. Gingerbee says:

    Why didn’t Baldy speak up about racism during the BLM protests, and for Meghan and Archie. The Clownbridges are getting dragged, and I am glad people are calling them out.
    He probably only mentioned that has to divert the negative attention that Catty was receiving.

  26. L4frimaire says:

    I saw the epic dragging and he deserved it. They are so tedious and irritating with their bandwagon jumping. I read somewhere that the only reason he said anything was because of what Marcus Rashford tweeted about the racist abuse he was getting, and it was going to lead to official investigations. It’s so obvious he’s trying to lay the groundwork for a photo op with this footballer because he’s a clout chaser. People rightly called out his racism and hypocrisy because it was so obvious, especially after those nasty stories about the Sussexes coming in the summer and trying to set Meghan up again, and that story about the birth certificate. This is why people drag their work, because it’s insincere and they show their ugly personal side too much, which completely contradicts their official message. He’s also all of a sudden talking about social media abuse, after Harry has already addressed it and is working with organizations through Archewell to address it. To call out racism when his own social media pages are a cesspool of racist hatred against his SIL and nephew, with the hateful posts there for everyone to see! It’s like he’s a snake oil salesman trying to dupe everyone for a quick buck.

  27. Sunshine says:

    Any positive comments you see on IG or Twitter are their trolls, pushed up by. It’s and some royalists.
    His tweet was not acknowledged by the recipient of the racism, Rashford, or the anti racism #kickitout or the FA because everyone knows it’s not genuine.

  28. Jaded says:

    You really believe a tweet from you is going to help stop racist abuse you effing hypocrite? You probably think your farts smell of roses too.

  29. Scorpion says:

    Lmao, the dragging, the memes and the gifs are nothing short of glorious…

  30. Annaloo. says:

    This Royal A-hole can start his fight against racism by amending his treatment of his sister-in-law first.

  31. RoyalBlue says:

    Baldilocks is well aware he is a racist and is well aware of his family’s role, past and present as being racist pricks. Which is why he will never visit a former colony in the Caribbean, because it looks poor when the colonizers pay a visit. Empire is slowly slipping away. All his future tours will be in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with a few middle eastern countries thrown in for good measure. He has to keep good relations with the Saudis after all.

    • Carrie says:

      No. Fuck right off. Don’t come to Australia. Don’t need to pay for their shit PR tours thanks very much. The sooner Australia becomes a republic the better. Racist mediocre prick and his complicit wife.
      #Rexit

  32. Amelie says:

    William was getting dragged hard by the Sussex Squad for his comments yesterday on Twitter. I did too lol. He’s only ever spoken up about racism when it comes to sporting events, as if that is the only place racism exists. He had a person of color within his own reach in his own family. He had plenty of opportunities to speak up, to educate himself, to be a better ally. He chose not to and that’s what he is remembered for.

    • February-Pisces says:

      And it wasn’t just the squad, but people who don’t usually tweet about the royals, and blue ticks too. He’s was getting dragged straight to hell.

      • Kalana says:

        It’s not a good look that the BRF hates Meghan so much. This is really ugly, grimy behavior that they can’t just pivot away from whenever they choose.

        IDK what they’re thinking. They really do seem to drowning in toxic, angry behavior. It’s genuinely bewildering because it’s such a bad strategy.

  33. Over it says:

    Even Elle magazine has an article about William speech and why he and his wife didn’t do the same for Meghan?

  34. blunt talker says:

    To say the monkey thing about Archie only a few days old I will never ever forgive the author who wrote that-Archie is an innocent baby and one day will see this article about him and his parents with that disgusting photo-I don’t have any proof but I think that was the straw that broke the camel’ back with Meghan and Harry-Their newborn described or compared in that way. A new mother would quite angry and rightly so for that article to be written about her baby-Any mother like Meghan would feel like that-That was a cut to the bone -The entire royal family never said anything or pushed back-If it had been someone else in the royal family all hell would have broke loose-William has stated before he always had Harry’s back-ON this one he has failed horribly-An innocent is just that innocent-The adults in the room should have protected him and his parents.

  35. Kalana says:

    So William was hitching his wagon to Marcus Rashford and it fell completely flat.

    Why associate your brand with being a toxic bully to your SIL? Racism is deranged behavior.