The BBC has found itself in hot water with viewers after portraying Meghan Markle as a “trailer trash” American on a BBC show segment that’s been slammed as “disgraceful” and “vulgar”.
The segment aired on a new BBC spoof comedy, Tonight With Vladimir Putin, which aired in the UK over the weekend.
The show’s two pilot episodes featured well-known public figures acted out by comedians in front of a live audience, with performance capture technology used to turn the actors into 3D digital characters.
A segment called “Meghan Markle’s Royal Sparkle”, however, has enraged BBC viewers for depicting the Duchess of Sussex as American “trailer trash”.
The segment involved a fictional version of Markle taking questions from people in the studio of the chat show, which she appears on to “get to know” the people of the UK and to boost her social media profile.
One person asked: “What makes you angry?”
Markle, whose character was written and voiced by Gbemisola Ikunelo, replied with a story about how Kate Middleton once asked to borrow her hairbrush.
“I say no because that’s gross, and then I leave my room and come back and I can tell she’s used my hairbrush anyway because it’s covered in skanky hair that’s going grey and I say, ‘Stay the f**k out of my trailer or I’ll cut you, Kate’.”
Another person asked about Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry, to which she replies: “Are you trying to lay claim to my man? We can go right now, b*tch, you and me.”
Furious social media users took to Twitter air their thoughts about the episode, which were immensely negative.
Disgraceful and shameful. Who wants to see such a vulgar comedy. Please rethink and revise the material
BBC comedy portrays Meghan Markle as ‘trailer trash’ American who threatens to knife Kate Middleton' | via @telegraph https://t.co/yT3u7YP0Zu— Epsilon (@Epsilon41624750) June 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/clematismeghan/status/1142798759165931521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1142798759165931521&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Fentertainment%2Fcelebrity-life%2Froyals%2Fbbc-slammed-for-hateful-depiction-of-meghan-markle%2Fnews-story%2F893d36b441028257c10cb46f98f07f89
This genuinely might be the worst thing the BBC has ever put on TV. Apart from the baffling decision to include the Meghan Markle stuff, it is less funny than Mrs Brown’s Boys https://t.co/Ovx0OtGpgx
— Anita Singh (@anitathetweeter) June 22, 2019
Ikunelo told the Telegraph she was “interested in finding the humor in the ridiculous” by showing such an “over-the-top, shouty” version of Meghan’s “incredibly agreeable and friendly” demeanor.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Viewers will clearly recognise this performance as a spoof and highly satirical within the context of a program which lampoons a wide range of public figures and the public’s perception of them.”
