Celebrity doctor calls out British Curry Awards for lack of Asian representation
Celebrity doctor Ranj Singh has called out this year's British Curry Awards for its lack of Asian representation and for letting a white presenter deliver a racist joke targeting Indians.
Singh, 43, attended the prestigious award show, also known as the “Curry Oscars,” in London as a guest on Monday night.
The “This Morning” star tweeted about an issue after the ceremony, noting that he and others felt uncomfortable with how the event went.
I cannot stay silent...
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Dear @BritCurryAwards… please, let’s talk about this.
I’m not berating you as I know you have good intentions and are doing your best. And you have raised so much for charity.
But we are better than this.@JustEatUK pic.twitter.com/QcYTtNmUyW
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— Ranj Singh (@DrRanj) November 29, 2022
Singh thanked the organization behind the annual event for “doing their best to celebrate our Asian community” before writing, “However, when the host is white, the judging panel is entirely white, the performers on stage are over 90% white, are we really representing our community fairly?”
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“And to top it off we have a racist joke on stage, and are auctioning off a piece by Winston Churchill, whose relationship with India (and Bengali people specifically) is problematic?” he continued.
Many critics hold Churchill responsible for the deaths of around 4 million people during the Bengal famine of 1943. The late British prime minister also once said that Indians are “beastly people with a beastly religion.”
In another tweet, Singh shared a paraphrased version of the racist joke delivered by a white presenter during the event, writing, “Why has India never won the World Cup? Because every time they get a corner, they build a shop on it.”
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Paraphrased slightly, but this is a joke made on stage at the @BritCurryAwards by a white person tonight:
“Why has India never won the World Cup? Because every time they get a corner, they build a shop on it.”
I’m sorry but how is this OK? 😞@JustEatUK #BritishCurryAwards
— Ranj Singh (@DrRanj) November 29, 2022
Singh did not give further details about who delivered the joke, but he clarified in a follow-up tweet that it was not Hugh Dennis, the event’s host.
Just to clarify: this joke was not made by the host of the event, but by a guest presenter.
— Ranj Singh (@DrRanj) November 29, 2022
Paul Sagoo OBE, CEO of The Lemon Group, replied to one of Singh’s tweets to comfort the TV star, telling him that “we have much bigger battles to fight. Don’t let this get to you.”
In his reply, Singh wrote that fighting "racist and outdated stereotypes" should not be one of the bigger battles their community has to fight, “especially at events around us.”
“It is not up to us to apologize, make allowances for, or educate the people that do this. But it is up to us to call it out,” Singh continued.
I agree we have many battles to fight… but perpetuating racist and outdated stereotypes shouldn’t be one of them - especially at events around us.
It is not up to us to apologise, make allowances for, or educate the people that do this. But it is up to us to call it out.
— Ranj Singh (@DrRanj) November 30, 2022
Featured Image via ITV
