Jessica Rabbit

Carol Thatcher & the return of the ‘Golliwog’ (‘sambo’, ‘nig-nog’, ‘darkie’ et al)

The Carol Thatcher incident appears to be very similar to the Prince Harry debacle written about here a few weeks ago, one where a public figure uses a derogatory and socially unacceptable term to describe or refer to someone of a different ethnic minority. For Prince Harry it was ‘Paki’: Carol Thatcher ‘golliwog’. For those who are unaware of the story, here is a precised version from the Guardian website:

Carol Thatcher faces being banned from the BBC after she referred to a tennis player as a “golliwog”.

Thatcher, the daughter of former prime minister Lady Thatcher, made the remark in a private conversation in the green room of The One Show after the broadcast of the BBC1 programme on Thursday night.

According to insiders, Thatcher – who won ITV1 reality series I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! in 2005 – was chatting with The One Show host Adrian Chiles and guest Jo Brand about the Australian Open when she described an unnamed player as a “golliwog”.

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