Mo Gilligan seemed to reference Miriam Margolyes at the NTAs (Getty Images)
Comedian Mo Gilligan appeared to reference Miriam Margolyes‘ recent controversial comments on This Morning while presenting at the National Television Awards.
Gilligan took to the stage to announce the winner of the Factual Entertainment award, which went to Channel 4 show Gogglebox.
But before he did so, he said to the audience: “If you know me, I’m Mo Gilligan. And if you don’t know me, then I’m Andi Peters.”
His joke came after lesbian actress Margolyes was accused of racism after a conversation with This Morning host Andi Peters.
On 3 September, she asked Peters: “What accent would be normal for you?” He explained that his accent was “normal”, adding: “This is what I am.”
But Margolyes pushed further, asking about his “mix”, saying: “You’ve got a Black daddy and a white mummy.” Peters corrected her, saying both his parents are Black.
She then referred to him as “high yalla”, which is considered an offensive slang term in the US to describe a Black person with a lighter complexion.
Peters addressed the live television situation during a social media conversation with Jeremy Vine, writing: “Thanks JV. As you know we have to be ready for ANYTHING!”
Margolyes later addressed the situation at an event to promote her memoir in Southend. According to The Sun, she said she had no idea who Peters was before she met him and didn’t want to hurt or embarrass him.
She reportedly added that she was interested in learning about the experiences of other people.
However, her choice of words again cause backlash, because, as seen in a TikTok video from the same event, she said: “How do Black people feel? How do Brown people feel? How do cripples feel? How do fat people feel?”
On X, one person said: “Well for a start. Disabled people don’t like being called ‘crippled’.”
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