I usually try not to get bogged down in royal “side stories” of commentator-beefs and public reactions to royal commentary, but this one if just too bonkers to ignore. So, ITV covered the coronation and there was a panel of royal experts and just regular people and celebrities. One of those celebrities was British actress Adjoa Andoh, perhaps best known internationally as Lady Danbury on Bridgerton. After the balcony wave from Buckingham Palace, Andoh said on air: “We have gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to a terribly white balcony. I am very struck by that. I am also looking at those younger generations and thinking: ‘What are the nuances that they will inhabit when they grow?’” Here’s the clip, and I’m sorry about embedding a tweet from a racist:
ITV giving a platform to racists now …. @andoh_adjoa … 🙄#AntiWhite #TerribleWhitePeople pic.twitter.com/VCFqKmrqQY
— Paul B 🇬🇧 🔴 (@pauldbowen) May 6, 2023
Yeah, Andoh was saying what literally millions of other people said or thought when the Windsors came out onto the palace balcony, which is: wow, those are some white people and that’s really not a good representation of a modern Britain. Well, the British reaction to Andoh’s completely normal commentary is to… accuse her of being a racist. Racist against white folks.
Ofcom has been flooded with complaints after a Bridgerton star told ITV that the view of Buckingham Palace balcony was ‘terribly white’ on Coronation Day. Numerous people have taken to Twitter to voice their outrage towards Adjoa Andoh’s views during ITV’s coverage of King Charles on Saturday.
One commenter slammed Ms Andoh’s comments as ‘ridiculous’, tweeting: ‘How can she get away with that? Anyone of white colour would have to make a public apology.’
A spokesman for Ofcom told MailOnline: ‘Any complaints we receive on this issue will be assessed against our broadcast rules, before we decide whether to investigate or not.’
The Netflix star has insisted that she ‘didn’t mean to upset anyone’ after sparking backlash amidst the crowning of King Charles and Queen Camilla. In a rush to quickly extinguish any backlash, Ms Andoh, who was speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday morning show with Paddy O’Connell yesterday, said: ‘I think I upset a few people yesterday. I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly going: “Oh it’s so white!” because the day had been so mixed and I didn’t mean to upset anybody.’
The details of any incident attracting more than 50 Ofcom complaints are published every Wednesday.
“Anyone of white colour would have to make a public apology.” I wish Britain was real. Jesus H. I mean, America has huge problems, obviously, and we have huge problems around race and racism. That being said, this kind of commentary would be completely normal on American television. What’s especially galling is that this was literally the discussion before, during and after the coronation: how King Charles hung the “whites only” sign on the balcony and they were all making such a big f–king deal about publicly excluding the mixed-race members of the family. Oh well!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Adjoa Andoh at Women in Film and TV Awards, London, UK,Image: 741883714, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon
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- Adjoa Andoh attends the press night of “The Lehman Trilogy” at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, London, UK,Image: 754863782, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their Coronation in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774233342, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Ian Vogler / Avalon
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace following their coronation, London, United Kingdom, 06 May 2023.,Image: 774245294, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Tim Clarke / Avalon
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- The Women In Film And TV Awards In London at the London Hilton Park Lane. Featuring: Adjoa Andoh Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 02 Dec 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
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- The British Royal family make an appearence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- The British Royal family make an appearence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- The British Royal family make an appearence on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
I mean…it was all white people on the balcony. Did I miss someone of color on it? That’s what Charles and William wanted. Why pretend otherwise?
Considering the months spent by the media explaining how Meghan wasn’t invited, wasn’t wanted, how we had Kate to “thank” for meghan not coming, how they didn’t want anyone to wear a tiara because they didn’t want meghan to wear one and she hadn’t rsvp’d yet, how their children weren’t invited, how Meghan would have to sit in the back and that if she did come there was no way she would be allowed on the balcony.
The British media is the mouth piece of the royal family. So. Yes. The balcony was all white and all white by demand and design.
And OffCom – who did nothing to over 25k complaints about Piers’ denial of Meghan feeling suicidal and OffCom who did nothing to the 40k complaints about Jeremy Clarkson’s misogynistic column. Just watch – OffCom is going to go wild for the sake of these 50 complaints and attempt to fine the station or Anjoh. The Brit media is lily white and it’s racist.
….. Just watch
Yes!!!
She called them on it and they don’t like it.
It was literally an all white balcony. She could have said parasites. Would they have preferred that more subjective comment over one that was literal truth based upon simple scientific observation??
The UK Prime Minister is a POC and so is the Mayor of London – but the goofy people in the palaces keep on trucking along like it’s 1955.
Exactly! What she said was factually correct: the people on the balcony were all white. I’m sorry if that is a “bad look” for Britain, but that’s entirely on the royal family, not on the people who merely pointed it out.
Oh my god they sure do hate it when people point out the truth. She sure wasn’t lying. Anyone with working eyes could see the all white balcony.
So ridiculous. And she had no reason to apologize.
Right! And correct me if I’m wrong, but a blonde lady was nodding along with what she said. Shouldn’t *she* have to apologize too? British twats…🤬
Not only has she nothing to apologize for, Ngozi Fulani has still yet to receive a proper apology from Camilla or Susan Hussey.
I think her comment could have been that it would have been so interesting to see all the royal family representing all the ethnicities of the nation like she has seen in the abbey, or something like that maybe? She was only saying the plain truth
Them crying about this sounds about white. Aren’t they tired yet?
If a white person would have made that same comment the reaction would not have been half as bad. The attacks against Meghan have become acceptable and it easily translates to every other woman of colour, especially in the UK media sphere.
Andoh merely pointed out the obvious, but it got the racists riled up that the monarchy is the literal embodiment of white supremacy and they don’t want it said out loud.
Correct and agree with all your points. And they could have had color but chose not too. PUPOSELY chose not to include Meghan and the King’s grandchildren. She spoke no lies.
Agreed & we’ve seen it now a few times. Let’s see if Britain gets tired of attacking & destroying black women who simply say the truth.
She stated a literal fact – the balcony is all white. Entirely, completely, solely white. How is that being racist?! Why do (some) white people want so badly to be oppressed?!
My only quibble with what she said was about the “diversity” of the coronation part. That was mostly white and, IMO, black and brown people only brought in as props. Charles, The Other Brother, and their nasty wives are all racist as the day is long.
sometimes I am so very sorry to be British. And Paul Bowen should go f8ck himself.
Just said exactly this on another thread Janey – I’m frigging ashamed of this country 🙁 Sorry everyone, we’ve become (always were?) a pathetic, sad, ignorant, arrogant, unintelligent, archaic, embarrassing waste of earth.
I mean, spot the lie 🤷♀️
The only lies are coming from King Camilla, her lapdog, William, and William’s current wife.
Maybe they objected to her use of the word “terribly,” though in England it doesn’t necessarily mean “horrible.” Though, in this case, the balcony and entire senior royals are horrible and horribly white, thus, “terribly” was an apt adjective.
You always got to love it when the racists try to turn the word on Black people and call them racists for bringing up race. YOU’RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE.
As Kaiser said, Adjoa didn’t say anything different to what other people were saying. People are upset because she said the truth. Plus if Meghan was on the balcony the press would have trumpeting the diversity of the Royal Family.
There’s nothing wrong with a family being all white. I don’t want white people go out and having children with POC just so they can say they feel like they aren’t racist while treating those family members like ornaments.
That’s something separate then what’s going on in this situation with Meghan and the kids not being present.
There’s nothing wrong with being white or being a white family. There is something wrong with presenting yourself and your family as the ideal of a family that represents an entire country and for everyone in that family to be white and presumably heterosexual, and that is the Windsor’s entire schtick. It’s not really a fair representation of a country and that’s what I think she was pointing out. If they don’t want those comparisons then they should not hold themselves up as the family to be emulated.
But it doesn’t make that family relevant as the symbol of a country that isn’t all white. That is what makes the monarchy out-of-date.
@equality, out of date and out of touch. The British press had been printing for MONTHS that Megan, the so called “defender of the faiths” daughter in law and her biracial children hadn’t been invited, so where was the outcry about that. I’m British and a veteran to boot and I say HELL YES the balcony was all white, reinforced by the fact that every single woman in the official “,working Royals”, photograph (apart from Anne) actually WORE long white dresses. No apology was necessary because, since when are people expected to apologise for telling the truth,? Only in the toxic UK it seems
You’re completely missing the point of her comment. There ARE POC in that family. And they have been essentially exiled and pushed out to preserve the IMAGE of an al-white family. That is what she was referring to.
Also, there was such a push to emphasize diversity in the Abbey and then…..the all-white balcony. It just showed how performative the Abbey diversity was because the balcony did not have to be all-white, that was a choice from the royals. They drove out Meghan and they were successful, so now the all-whtie balcony is what they wanted and what they got.
@Jess “I don’t want white people go out and having children with POC just so they can say they feel like they aren’t racist while treating those family members like ornaments.”
Ummmm…👀👀
Of course there’s nothing wrong with a family being all white – although any DNA ancestry test will reveal that most aren’t.
Re your above quote: People who think they might be racist aren’t going to have children with POC just so they can feel they aren’t, esp when they could just adopt children of color. Thankfully, most wouldn’t go through the extremely rigorous and expensive adoption process just to treat those children like “ornaments”. And actual racists would never (knowingly) procreate with POC anyway.
Ms. Andoh was simply stating a fact that anyone looking at that scene could see. She shouldn’t have to apologize for that. The RF not only didn’t want to use Meghan or her and Harry’s biracial children as “ornaments”. They didn’t want them there at all and try hard not to acknowledge their existence unless they have to.
There’s nothing wrong with a family being all white. But when you’re whole entourage is white…it’s a problem. Take a look at your wedding pictures…all white? You’re probably racist or not an ally. These are just facts that POC pick up on in order to avoid negative situations.
So the coronation is essentially a wedding. The whole family is white and British…the pages, the ladies in waiting, the cousins…they have POC in their family that have the same skin color but at least we can say they’re mixed…but no…Harry’s babies and wife aren’t allowed.
There were options outside of Meghan, but these people are racist to the core. They don’t want to be associated with any people of color unless they are performing a service. Facts.
Except that their family is not all White. It’s literally the equivalent of sending out a Christmas card with a picture of your family that EXCLUDES anyone not White. That’s what they did with their balcony dumbfuckery, and people have the right to call this by its right name.
I hope Adjoa just rolls her eyes at this. She stated an observable fact.
Her white colleague at the far end of the sofa was nodding her head, smiling and saying yes as Adjoa made the comments. It was clear as day. The Abbey was diverse and the balcony was only white. That’s a fact, not an opinion. Why are people upset?
I was shocked by the other commentators reaction (Mylene Klass).
That said she has form for being disingenuous and self serving.
What exactly would she be apologizing for? “Sorry I pointed out the obvious.”
She said the quiet part out loud. It’s so funny because if they didn’t want to be dragged for being an all white family (supposedly representing a diverse nation), it was easily rectified. They hate being reminded that they made a huge mistake chasing away the woman of color.
Hit dogs holler and all that.
When your first reaction is to tweet that, we’ll. It’s true.
Adjoa should have doubled down and mention that she’s half-white and her husband is white.
Best those snowflakes are their own game. 😂
I would die laughing if Adjoa Issued a statement saying “No, no, it’s okay, I have white friends so I can say that” or even better “my family is very much not an anti-white family”.
How dare they come for Lady Danbury who said exactly what everyone else said! Glad she has Shonda in her corner and hope she starts spending more time in the US where she can be treated with the respect she deserves. Definitely another illustration of why so many Brit performers who make it big move to the US.
She speaks the truth – The photos don’t lie.
The truth hurts. They’re pissed off because a lot of those people squealing helped drive away the only color in that dysfunctional racist shot hole of a family. The truth hurts. Most racist hate when you hold up a mirror and force them to see themselves
She just spoke the truth!
“Reverse racism” doesn’t exist because making connections between race and character or behavior (racialism) must be accompanied by a power differential, often deeply entrenched in history, that affects the stereotyped person’s outcomes, health, opportunities, safety, etc.
I say this as an almost 60 year old white woman: SHE’S RIGHT. Jfc-she pointed out that the service showed a more diverse image (which, hello, England is an ethnically diverse country it should represent as such) and the balcony was white.
Charles apparently said he wanted diversity, but the message is, if you’re black, you are warmly welcome to entertain us (looking at you Lionel), but you cannot marry into our family. Charles is too blind to realize that you cannot talk about diversity and be taken seriously when your DIL is driven to suicidal thoughts by the actions and words of your family and the BM. If Meghan and her children were on the balcony, that would signal to the world that diversity is welcomed and real. Everything else is performative. They have used the balcony to show the world how they really feel about diversity- that’s why it’s such a big deal to be on that balcony, and the media writes a hundred stories about it. It is the battle ground for white supremacy. It’s the last stand. What Adjoa said was clear and simply put. There is no need to “explain” what she meant or paraphrase her. Perhaps, ironically, Charles will be the one to bring up racism as a topic to be discussed openly like it is beginning to in the US. I think Adjoa said what needed to be said on their national television. It’s past time.
@Tasmin what you’ve outlined above is the average Brit.
Yasmin Alabiah-Brown wrote a great article explaining the phenomenon in your tweet.
Sadly a lot of Brits still believe that not being racist means not using the N-word and the end of slavery.
But they want the right to keep behaving in a way that is deeply distressing to black and brown people and then say ‘it wasn’t intentional’.
I think the reason they took Adjoa;s comment so personally is because it was clear that there should also have been a bi-racial princess on the balcony whom they shooed away.
Brits are going to have to accept that the conversations on race will happen, regardless of whether they want it to or not.
As a native Californian going to the UK to study abroad in college I was shocked at the racism I encountered there. I grew up in sunny socal suburbia where racism was discussed but not very present in my everyday life, and as a 20 year old college student I almost spat my tea out when a “well-meaning” English person first commented that I “was surprisingly good at English, given your background.” The ingrained casual racism I fought there everyday was exhausting.
^^ @ClareV I have had more than one boss tell me that I am very eloquent. The last occasion was in 2020 and I must admit despite dealing with this crap for years in the UK that I was shocked.
He genuinely felt he was paying me a complement and it was sad to watch. I did not respond or qualify his statement so I am sure he got the message because he never said it again.
Months later there was an exact fact pattern i.e. telling black people they’re eloquent in our firms yearly online diversity and racism training.
Congrats on how well you speak your own language. What an outrageous comment. I was in England many years ago and I was surprised at how shockingly rude many of the people I encountered were. Never went back.
Ms. Andoh made a perfectly correct comment. Charles family is no longer ‘all white’ so saying out loud it is noticeable that only white family members are on the balcony is perfectly correct and nonpolitical. So sorry for this smart and charming woman because the racists are relentless with their denials.
No one on that balcony even had a tan — it was that white. Which, I mean, would be fine were it Sweden (oh wait, Mads has a tan), Norway (nope, Durek is engaged to ML) … Luxembourg. Yes, this would have been fine were it Luxembourg. But Britain literally has a non-white princess, and they didn’t want her there because they wanted the balcony to be white and tanless. So why complain when people point out that they got what they wanted?
The real issue isn’t the color of the balcony, it’s the fact that the balcony still exists.
She speaks truth. She deserves praise. Let them make it right and shut up.
I’ve observed that many white folks are perfectly comfortable with open acts of racism. They’re comfortable watching non-white people being treated like second class citizens. They’re comfortable with blatant racist comments and racial abuse.
It’s the confrontation of racism they cannot tolerate. To speak about racism is the actual evil. To discuss how racism impacts a POC personally is the true offense. Many white folks are a-okay with racism and the perpetrators, it’s those who call it out and point it out who are considered the problem. Those who dare to push back are the *real* problems.
In the eyes of so many, racism is no big deal. Victims of racism need to shut up and put up.
Awesome post @Beverley. I couldn’t agree with you more!
Charles did not invite his 2 biracial grandchildren and let his biracial daughter-in-law know–once again–that she wasn’t really welcome. It isn’t racist to point that out.
For comic relief: Is that Rose’s son directly in front of William?
Why does William always look constipated? That is his most common public face.
Have you seen how they eat? He probably always is constipated! Unless he drinks enough beer to counteract it.
I’m serious. Veg cooked beyond all recognition. Meats and heavy sauces. It’s amazing they are as healthy as they seem to be! (Charlie notwithstanding. Everyone expects him to live to 98 himself, but we will see.)
She simply stated the obvious. Do all these people have no eyes?
It is like in the emperor‘s new clothes…the outrage because someone just stated a fact.
I think this sort of reaction by the UK media and public stems from their own projected shame.
Brits are very much aware of the structural inequalities that exist in the UK but there is a very real and coordinated effort to ensure that black Brits don’t adopt the language and activism of African Americans. It’s a very real fear which has been spelt out in UK parliament by the likes of Kemi Badenoch. Racism and the implication that some one has behaved in a racist way are hot potatoes in the UK and the press will seek to destroy someone alleging racism.
The UK NEVER wants to have a discussion on race because as far as the establishment and politicians are concerned, racism is ghastly and only something that happens in the US.
So the end result is that victims of racism are bullied into silence. I’ve seen the exact same strategy used in France with prominent black entertainers like Omar Sy.
Paradoxically I suspect that ITV invited Adjoa onto the show because they perceived her to be non threatening given that she’s in an interracial marriage with bi-racial children. Again I see the parallels with Meghan.
Anyone of white colour would have to make a public apology – oh so now they are all about things being “equal”? I think she should apologize just as soon as every person of color in GB has the same amount of privilege, access, and economic advantages etc. for…I don’t know, say hundreds of years. Then maybe. Actually, I take that back. She has nothing to apologize for.
She could have stopped at “the balcony was terrible,” and she would have been correct, too.
She has nothing to apologize for. But white people sure do. (For the record, I’m white.)
So fun fact: I’ve been watching The Power on Prime. I decided to check out the audio book from the library. It’s read by Adjoa Andoh!!!
The balcony is such a ridiculously anachronistic tradition. Especially now that it’s obvious how racist they are.
William is so bored with racism. And his dad is allowing “research” into their familial profiteering from human trafficking aka slave trading. Look they’re trying to end racism and they’d appreciate it if everyone just stopped talking about their obvious racism now. I mean everyone stop oppressing these tolerant racism solving white all-lies.
Disappointed to see a comment about race – if the event was for a predominantly black family it is doubtful anyone would be concerned about not seeing any white people.
Indeed, it would be doubtful. You would be concerned the event was happening at all.
You might think so, but you might be surprised. When Meghan guest edited Vogue and put women on the cover who were doing things to help out others, she got slammed for not enough white faces, and not including the queen! So I can easily see it happening.
She shouldn’t have apologized or just said an I’m sorry if you were offended non-apology. She was right but gotta keep getting work, so smile and suck it up.
They better leave this incredible actress alone. She spoke no lies.
So, they asked what color Archie would be, but nobody can say the balcony was all white? Got it!
That amazing actress doesn’t owe ANYBODY an apology. Ever since the incident with Ngozi Fulani and that Hussey women, I have been SHOCKED by the very REAL professional backlash that British POC experience if they DARE to point out that the BRF really doesn’t represent Britain at ALL, or DARE to discuss a hurtful and bigoted experience they had. Here in the US, POC making similar public statements would probably get lots of racist haters on social media, but that would be it. They would NOT have to worry about their professional lives and livelihoods being destroyed. In fact it might even be the opposite. Britain REALLY becomes enraged when POC stand up for themselves. I don’t think we’re going to see real change in those effed up attitudes, until the older generations die off. Which fortunately is happening, but I hate to say it, I’m close in age to the Sussexes, and I think that we’ll see the biggest social shift in racist views, when my parents generation (which is Charles and Camilla’s generation) dies off.
I’m a POC who grew up with a level of internalized racism and belief in my white-adjacency, but one day I woke up. Along with that I really started to see and feel the all white spaces. Andoh is just saying out loud what so many of us BIPOCs think all the time.
She needs to apologize? She certainly does. She should apologize for stating the obvious. Now, are the white supremacists happy?
Andoh was completely spot on. The royals don’t accept diversity under their own roof. As POC we’re expected to stay in our lane, and not to raise our heads above the parapet, so to speak. We mention any type of issue around race and racism in this country and people lose their minds. Those same people whinge about their rights and free speech but don’t care for anyone else’s.
Well…she isn’t wrong. 👀
And that’s why many people tuned out the coronation. Why would they want to associate themselves to something they feel where they don’t belong. The ratings for Charles coronation in the UK weren’t great. And that already speaks volumes what people really think of the BRF. As I mentioned previously, Harry is sitting in the audience at Westminster Abbey just watching a brand struggling to survive in the 21st century. While he and Meghan are embracing and adapting to the 21st century. The BRF are sinking while HM are swimming.
But do non white people even want to be on that balcony ? that the question she should be asking.
Where is the lie though?
Very stupid woman. By the way, the ruling families in Africa are terribly black. Can anything be done to remedy that, I wonder…. But come on, Andoh IS only an actress. Why on earth anybody thinks actors are endowed with superior wisdom the rest of should heed, I have no idea. Especially when you consider that they spend their whole careers mouthing words other people have written and pretending to be characters they aren’t. And that somehow makes them authorities on the daily issues of our lives? Please….
Sad to be part of a dying empire, in’nit?