Frank Skinner finally responds to ex-footballer Jason Lee bullying controversy years later

English comedian Frank Skinner and his frequent collaborator David Baddiel came under fire years ago when they poked fun at a footballer during a sketch on their comedy show Fantasy Football League. The program ran from 1994 to 1996 and saw the duo making jokes about current athletes and the game. More than one sketch, now looking back, certainly went too far. And one of those includes the time they targeted former Nottingham Forest player Jason Lee.

In case you missed it, the sketch saw Skinner and Baddiel dressing up like Lee, with Baddiel going as far as wearing a pineapple on his head to imitate Lee’s hairstyle, and donning blackface makeup. Of course, that type of behavior would absolutely not fly today and it’s astounding that it did back in the 1990s. Blackface is widely considered racist and is extremely offensive to people of color, which is why Lee was deserving of an apology.

Now, years later, Frank Skinner is looking back and admitting his mistakes. According to the Mirror, Skinner spoke with The Guardian all about comedy and free speech. In the interview, he addressed the Jason Lee bullying controversy and shared that it was wrong on so many levels. Here’s what he said:

"“It was bad, yeah. I spoke to Dave about it recently, from a how-the-f**k-did-that-ever-happen point of view. I still don’t know how it happened. I know why we took the piss out of him, because I’d watched him on Match of the Day missing several goals, so a sketch about him being unable to put a piece of paper into a bin worked. But when Dave walked out from makeup [in blackface] that night, I still don’t know why one or both of us …. or someone there didn’t say what the f**k is happening?”"

Continuing, Skinner admitted he and Baddiel are ashamed, explaining:

"“I can’t look back on it now without seeing it as bullying. There was a big response to it. People started to send in loads of pictures of pineapples, and so it ran and ran and ran. Looking back, it was a bullying campaign. And it’s awful. And yeah, I’m ashamed of it. And we’ve said that to each other without any Guardian journalist to impress. It wouldn’t be too much to say we’re both deeply ashamed.”"

Though Baddiel has previously admitted his regrets about the insensitive sketch, this might be the first time Skinner is actually addressing how terrible it was. As noted by The Guardian, Skinner did not own up to his mistakes in his 2001 autobiography, even getting defensive over the accusations of racism. Clearly, his tune has changed since then and it’s a huge relief.