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Footballer Jason Lee says David Baddiel subjected him to a ‘whole new layer’ of racist abuse by ‘blackening’ for the infamous pineapple skit on BBC’s Fantasy Football League.
Former Nottingham Forest striker Lee, 51, says Baddiel has ‘personally’ apologized for doing a blackface impression of him – 25 years after the now poorly known skit on the hit show with Frank Skinner.
The BBC show saw Baddiel and co-presenter Skinner mock footballers and managers, with Skinner admitting earlier this year that their repeated attacks on Lee amounted to ‘a bullying campaign’.
Lee described the skits on Twitter as “racist, culturally offensive and bullying,” adding that Baddiel “now rightly accepts this.”
But, he said, earlier apologies were not enough. I often see in the press and online “David has apologized publicly, in writing and 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 in person and immediately apologized.”
Former Nottingham Forest striker Jason Lee said he is still being abused 25 years after Baddiel’s sketches made fun of him
It comes after Lee and Baddiel shared a freezing encounter as part of the Jewish comedian’s new Channel 4 documentary, Jews Don’t Count, which examines anti-Semitism in society.
The full conversation will also appear on Lee’s new podcast, The AbsoluteLee Podcast, out tonight.
He continued, “While the conversation between David and I was challenging for both of us in different ways, I respect that after all these years, David finally found the courage to come talk to me.”
“I hope people take something positive out of the conversation and that we can draw a line under what happened, and continue our work to address racism and discrimination, not only in cases where we are personally affected, but also for each other.” . That’s how real change comes about.’
David Baddiel did blackface while impersonating Jason Lee on his 1990s show Football Fantasy League
Baddiel retweeted the former football manager’s thread, indicating that he agreed that he now accepts that the sketches were racist.
Record the times Today, Lee said, “Before Baddiel, I was called names for my skin color or ‘You’re not good enough.’ I was insensitive to most abuse.”
“But the situation with Baddiel was a whole new layer of abuse. Baddiel turned black.’
Lee said it wasn’t just Baddiel to blame and that the BBC should have intervened.
“So many people were complicit. BBC2. It sells, it’s popular, we all get paid. It functions. He was not held accountable,” he said.
In addition to sporting a black face, Baddiel also portrayed Lee as stupid and wore a pineapple on his head to imitate his hairstyle.
This led football fans to start chanting “He’s got a pineapple on his head,” which Lee said meant he had to stop his family from attending games.
The player said the abuse “traumatized” his children, adding: “It must be hard being a parent and watching your son go through that, going to a stadium and listening to people tell you child abuse.’
Speaking on Good Morning Britain last week, Baddiel said: “I shamelessly impersonated Jason Lee in Blackface on Fantasy Football 25 years ago.”
Speaking to Good Morning Britain last week, Baddiel said: “I shamefully impersonated Jason Lee in Blackface on Fantasy Football 25 years ago, and I felt it was important, if I’m going to make a documentary about Jewish representation and minorities “I should go to Jason and apologize and talk to him,” he said.
“At the end of the conversation, he said passionately that he would like to stand up for Jews and fight anti-Semitism in football.”
But Lee said that while the meeting was “long overdue,” he suspects its timing has something to do with Baddiel being “back in the public eye.”
“I never saw him before until he came in,” he said. ‘Time is everything. He’s back in the public eye… I fully understand that he’s mainly used this situation to benefit the documentary. To move forward, he had to deal with this situation.
The BBC show saw Baddiel and co-presenter Frank Skinner (centre) mock footballers and managers, but Skinner has since admitted their repeated attacks on Lee amounted to ‘a bullying campaign’
“With Baddiel, I wasn’t happy that you’re making a clown of me, trying to demean what I’m doing, and I’m not going to let that happen… I’m not a clown. I was violated on so many levels in those skits. I thought I should get royalties for being on that show so much.”
He continued, “They actually said I was stupid on the program. Then Baddiel comes in and tries to spin it and say, ‘I knew you were a brilliant player, blah, blah, blah.’
“He’s very intelligent, but how people process things in their heads is incredibly complex. He may not see the importance or relevance of embezzlement, but he would fully understand what it felt like to be abused as a Jewish person. It’s happening to him now, the realization: that’s how I feel, that’s how Jason feels.’