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BBC Asks if Black People Really Like Fried Chicken on the Last Day of UK’s Black History Month

By | Published on November 1, 2016
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White woman explains her thoughts on Black people and chicken (BBC Newsbeat screengrab)

White woman explains her thoughts on Black people and chicken (BBC Newsbeat screengrab)

The BBC Newsbeat came under fire Monday after it posted a Twitter video sourcing the myth of Black people’s love for fried chicken.

Initially tweeted with the phrasing, “Black people and fried chicken – is there any truth in it?” the clip was removed and replaced with the following caption, removing the “fried” descriptor.

“Black people like chicken more than others – myth or reality?”

According to Newsbeat‘s Twitter account, the video is part of their documentary, That Black British Feeling. It also came at the end of Black History Month in the UK.

In the 1-minute clip, one white British woman recalled what her Black friend told her about poultry.

“A lot of Black girls that I know,” she began. “They’re always like, ‘yeah, I know I eat loads of chicken because it makes your bum bigger.’ ”

“If that was the case I would be having chicken every single day,” one Black woman retorted.

Then, a Black man rationalized that because of the prevalence of diabetes in Black families, chicken is the go-to meat over more fatty products like beef or lamb.

Reaction flooded in swiftly.

AR questioned how chicken became pinned on Black people since the community eats many other meats.

https://twitter.com/aroueno/status/793143055725555712

HabKat summed up BBC’s purported conclusion that being a Black Brit means eating chicken.

Solomon shook his head about BBC asking “a bunch of white people” about the truth of the Black stereotype.

B similarly called out how the program bypassed the deep history of Black people to discuss a stereotype.

https://twitter.com/NoTweetsByBilal/status/793175261965606912

Spooky Camila wondered why none of the producers at BBC Newsbeat thought about going in a different direction.

Rants pointed out the station also asked if it’s ever OK for white people to use the n-word. Some of them in the clip said it is.

And when Newsbeat tweeted the chicken stereotype video again later, it featured an even more cleaned up caption. That was something Black female-led KWSB‘s Twitter account called them out on.

“Black people like fried chicken more than others – what’s the reality?” the video description said.

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