Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh called the Royal family’s balcony appearance during the Coronation “terribly white”.
The actress, who plays a Regency duchess in the Netflix series Bridgerton, offered her opinions during ITV’s coverage of the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Andoh said that the appearance of the Royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the ceremony was “terribly white”.
Contrasting the appearance of the family with the earlier events at Westminster Abbey, she said: “We’ve gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to a terribly white balcony. I was very struck by that.”
She added: “I am also looking at those younger generations and thinking, ‘What are the nuances that they will inhabit when they grow?’”
It is understood a number of complaints have been made to media watchdog Ofcom regarding her comments, which have been branded “nonsense”.
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, the director of the racial tolerance campaign group Don’t Divide Us, said: “It’s telling that Adjoa Andoh feels so confident to use an official public platform to joke about whiteness, implying it’s somehow a lack or deficit, and diversity itself were a moral virtue. This is nonsense.”
Andoh has spoken frequently on the issue of race and diversity in the theatre and TV industries.
She starred as Richard III in a recent staging of Shakespeare’s work, and is known for playing Lady Danbury in the Netflix hit Bridgerton, and its spin-off Queen Charlotte, in which the wife of George III is depicted as mixed-race.
Andoh has previously defended this depiction, stating in a panel decision that Queen Charlotte was in fact mixed-race and that this was evidenced by “contemporary documents”. However, historians have dismissed the supporting documentation.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, the actress said she “felt marvellous” when the statue of Edward Colston was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol in 2020.
The Coronation of Charles and Camilla was intended to be a diverse event, with people of many faiths and backgrounds operating in the ceremony, and on the guest list.
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