In response to genuine complaints they receive regarding the diverse range of actors featured in their shows, Channel 4 has released a video wherein some of their beloved stars unapologetically re-enact these quibbles in the unorthodox yet hilarious manner distinctive to their shows.
Entitled ‘Complaints Welcome’, the bold ad opens with Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson kissing his husband, Carl Hyland before suddenly exclaiming “I’m not homophobic, but do we have to have gay-kissing at dinnertime?”. Richardson then, of course, proceeds to chomp a turkey leg – an example of the outlandish humour you can look forward to from the video.
The diverse range of clips feature the likes of The Great British Bake Off‘s Prue Leith, Jamie Oliver, the Derry Girls (who “need subtitles”), and rapper Big Narstie (who is “too black”).
The Handmaid’s Tale is graffitied as “feminist propaganda”, Rachel Riley of Countdown denounces criticisms of her “totally inappropriate” outfit with “O whatever”, and artist Grayson Perry proclaims “It wouldn’t be so bad if he tried to make himself look like a normal woman!”. Furthermore, Catastrophe comedian Sharon Hogan’s statement “This just confirms my suspicion that women aren’t funny” is met with rounds of laughter.
Rather than quietly striving for constant political correctness, this snarky advert from Channel 4 is a brilliant challenge to the conservative backlash their inclusive shows receive.
Director of programmes Ian Katz explained: “This campaign celebrates one of the things at the heart of Channel 4’s identity: challenging the way our viewers think about the world. When there isn’t someone complaining about one of our shows we should be worried.”
Expanding on this, Channel 4 stated: “Channel 4 was set up to be different, to provoke debate, take bold creative risks and represent unheard voices from all around the country. So sometimes we may cause a bit of a stir, but that’s part of our job.”
The video concludes with an encouragement to viewers to send on their complaints to [email protected].
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN has been a vital, free-of-charge information service for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
During this global COVID pandemic, we like many other organisations have been impacted greatly in the way we can do business and produce. This means a temporary pause to our print publication and live events and so now more than ever we need your help to continue providing this community resource digitally.
GCN is a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model and we need your support. If you value having an independent LGBTQ+ media in Ireland, you can help from as little as €1.99 per month. Support Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.