Sky News slammed over Kay Burleys racism interview Whole thing was a mess

Kay Burley racism segment sees viewers slam Sky News

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The presenter interviewed writers Timi Sotire and Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff on Sky News about their takes on whether or not “Britain is a racist country”. The 60-year-old questioned the pair on why they were comfortable in using the term “white supremacy”. After the broadcaster shared a clip of the chat on her Twitter page, Charlie slammed the way in which the discussion was conducted.

The writers co-edited Black Joy, and joined Kay to talk about their book.

Asked if they think Britain is racist, Charlie replied: “Yes. No doubt about it, it is.”

She continued: “I mean, it’s not uniquely racist. I think the white supremacy exists in much of the world.”

“And I think that it’s very unusual, if not impossible, to grow up in this country without being touched by racism if you are a black person.

“That’s frankly our experience.”

The presenter asked: “When you talk about white supremacy, when people think about that they think about the deep south and the United States of America.

“But you’re comfortable using that phrase relating to Britain?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” replied the New York Times editor.

“I think it’s to do with systems and frameworks and who has the power.

“And in this country the people that hold the majority of the power are white people.

“White supremacy isn’t just a term to describe this kind of extreme versions of racism that you might see and exist, it’s also about systems.”

In view of her 30,000 followers, Charlie re-posted the clip Kay had shared.

She wrote: “The whole thing was a mess.

“1. They asked us to put “ethnic” fabric behind us for the Zoom

“2. They put up a picture of Munya when teasing the introduction of “the author”

“3. They didn’t brief Kay on the pronunciation of Timi’s surname, which was butchered

“4. “Is Britain racist?” She added: “We were expecting some “challenging” questions but this was very rogue and unrelated to the conversation we were having.

“A reminder on picking and choosing broadcast segments carefully.” 

Responding, Nadine White wrote: “Tragic. Sorry that you and Timi went through this, Charlie.”

Zing Tsjeng commented: “‘Ethnic fabric’?????? I’m sorry you and Timi were put through this!”

Kelly Wickham Hurst penned: “I’m so sorry you both had to sit through that.

“I winced at the ethnic fabric suggestion as well as the nod to racism being in the south of the United States. As a person from the north in the US I can assure you it’s all over here. Not just one region.”

A Sky News spokesperson said: “During Black History Month Sky News has focused on giving a platform to Black voices.

“This interview focused on the celebration of Black culture, whilst acknowledging the challenges faced by Black people in the UK today.”

Express.co.uk understands that all guests are told to try to make their background more dynamic, and that the Sky organiser never asked the writers to use something “ethnic”.

 

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