Cummerbatch the racist

[Gob]

Benedict Cumberbatch says he's "devastated to have caused offence" after referring to black actors as "coloured" on a US talk show.

He was talking about diversity in British acting when he said it. Anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card says the term is "outdated" and can cause offence. The Sherlock actor has since apologised and says he makes no excuse for "being an idiot".

[Long Run]

Color him red.

[Gob]

I wonder what NAACP has to say?

[Econoline]

[dgs49]

Who, exactly, took offense to that term? No one of consequence.

[Lord Jim]

Who, exactly, took offense to that term?

Oh, some uppity knee-grows, I should imagine....

[Joe Guy]

Who, exactly, took offense to that term?

Oh, some uppity knee-grows, I should imagine....

....and they're inconsequential in places like Pennsylvania.

[Gob]

Dr Martin Luther King backs Cumberbatch.

Since we meet only a few days after Cumberbatch has used the word “coloured” in a US TV discussion about opportunities for black British actors, it is striking that Oyelowo should cite him as an example. In fact, he considers the whole miniature controversy a distraction from the subject of inequality. “Everyone has ended up ignoring the issue Benedict was talking about and focusing on that one word. It’s actually stopped us talking about race. Look, Benedict is a good friend. He was simply expressing, as someone who has no dog in the fight, that his friends are getting better opportunities in the US than here. That’s something worth examining. Instead, we get hung up on terminology.” Oyelowo isn’t immune to it himself. He recently experienced internal panic after referring to his children in an interview as “biracial.” “I thought, ‘Is that what we’re saying? Is it ‘biracial’ or ‘mixed race’? Do I love my kids any less if I use one or the other?’”

[Gob]

While we are on the subject, diversity quotas anyone?

EastEnders boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins has said he will not bring minority characters into the BBC soap just to fulfil diversity quotas.

He told the Radio Times defining such characters with plots around ethnicity, sexuality or disability would turn the soap into "a blancmange".

"The day I start box-ticking is the day I leave," he said.

Last year, the BBC Trust said the show "isn't a documentary and has to appeal to audiences throughout the UK".

Speaking last summer, Diane Coyle - the former acting head of the Trust - said "there are almost twice as many white people living in [EastEnders'] fictional E20 as in real life E17", adding that the corporation needed to step up its efforts to reflect contemporary Britain.

BBC director general Tony Hall announced plans last year to increase the BBC's diversity, pledging that 15% of on-air staff would be black, Asian, minority or ethnic (BAME) by 2017 - increasing it from the current 10.4%.

Although EastEnders has not been told it must meet any target, Mr Treadwell-Collins said he would not adhere to one if asked.

"As soon as someone starts imposing editorial decisions, we fight back, because we know what we're doing," he said.

During his tenure at EastEnders, Mr Treadwell-Collins has overseen the introduction of two characters with disabilities, including market trader Donna Yates, in addition to a number of ethnic and minority characters.

He also created the storyline in which Muslim character Syed Masood struggled with his faith and sexuality.

Mr Treadwell-Collins also recently cast Richard Blackwood in the soap, describing him as "an authentic Londoner".

Michael Buffong, a former director of EastEnders, and now artistic director of black theatre company Talawa, said that reflecting the diversity of an area didn't have to be a "box-ticking exercise".

"You can just do it because that's what it looks like," he told the BBC.

"This argument about diversity and representation has been going on so long - we've tried everything else, we've tried waiting - why not have quotas? At least there will be a change."

He said he would like to see greater representation on TV and across the entertainment industry as a whole. "The answer is make programmes more diverse. Give black actors roles - it's not an incredibly difficult formula."

Last month, Channel 4 announced its new diversity charter. As well as setting employment targets, it also includes guidelines to ensure "every new Channel 4 commissioned programme in every genre works towards increasing diverse participation on and off-screen".

Sky also announced last summer its commitment to 20% BAME representation in all new non-returning programmes and 20% BAME writers on all team-written shows.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I thought all people are ethnic?

[BoSoxGal]

I don't really see a difference between saying 'person of color' or 'coloured person'. I gather that in the past 'coloureds' was used derogatorily, at least in the US. Was that also true in the UK?

I would like to see us get past some of the PC language, although I think the N word should probably be off limits for other than black people pretty much forever.

Minor errors like Cumberbatch's should probably be viewed through the lens of the speaker's character and reputation for lack of racist attitude - of course I am assuming and hoping that Sherlock is not actually a racist.

[MajGenl.Meade]

As Big RR might say, if people want to call it an insult they can and if other people don't want to call it one they can as well and they are both right and everything's just fine. But seriously.... Alf can clarify it all. Coloured isn't an insult but coons is.

[Gob]

Them were the day, when you could call your mother in law a fat cow, Spike could play a Paki, and jokes about wogs and coons were de rigueur