American politician mercilessly mocked by Brits after butchering pronunciation of common slang term on Question Time
An American guest on BBC Question Time’s US election special has been mercilessly mocked after mispronouncing a common British slang word in Thursday’s episode.
Democrat Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta attempted to use the term “b******ks” after a member of the public said the phrase in their statement.
Shocked host Fiona Bruce interrupted the person in the crowd and said: “I’m not sure if I’ve heard that word before on Question Time but it’s a first,” while someone else shouted in response: “Welcome to America” .
Later in the programme, Malcolm tried to use the term, saying: ‘The idea that we haven’t unleashed American energy is – to use the word twice during Question Time – b******ks.’ However, he seemed to pronounce the slang term as “oxen.”
His attempt was interrupted by a member of the audience, who tried to correct him, but apparently mispronounced the word again by emphasizing a ‘U’ sound.
Democrat Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta attempted to use the term “b******ks” after a member of the public said the phrase in their statement
Joining Fiona Bruce (third from right) on the panel were BBC North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher (left), US-based British broadcaster Mehdi Hasan (second from left), Republican Martina White (third from left), Malcolm Kenyatta (second from right) and Bryan Lanza (far right), senior advisor to Donald Trump
Malcolm tried and failed to say the phrase a second time, adding, “Take me to the next show and I’ll learn.”
In an attempt to regain control of the program, an animated Fiona interrupted the heckler and politician and said, “Oh god, okay. Wow, wow. I have about 30 seconds left,” before turning to a lady in the audience to give her a chance to say something.
His attempt was mocked online, with viewers at home writing about the funny moment on X, formerly Twitter.
One person wrote: “I haven’t had any Americans mispronounce ‘b******ks’ multiple times on my Question Time bingo card.”
Another said: ‘Listening to Americans shouting ‘b******ks’ during Question Time is my TV moment of the year.’
A third joked: ‘I’ve never heard so many b***ks on the BBC. #QuestionTime #bbcqt.’
Shocked host Fiona Bruce interrupted the person in the crowd and said: “I’m not sure if I’ve heard that word before on Question Time but it’s a first,” while someone else shouted in response: “Welcome to America” .
The audience quickly started laughing and laughing at the mispronunciation
Reaction: The guest’s attempt was mocked online, with viewers at home writing about the funny moment on X, formerly Twitter
A fourth wrote: ‘Fiona Bruce getting a bit confused by Americans throwing around the word ‘b******ks’ has probably been the highlight of US Question Time. It’s a bit of a shame she doesn’t do another pair from the United States now.’
Another was equally amused by the scenes, writing: “Americans failing at British slang is very much my feeling.”
‘Unbelievable things during Question Time in the US, when the Democrat panelist says the word b*****ks (wrong), then someone in the crowd tries to correct him, but also says it wrong, and then he says b ** ****ks(wrongly),” another person wrote.
“And Fiona Bruce just wants everyone to stop saying b******ks,” the person concluded on his X post.