Comedian Mo Gilligan elicited gasps and nervous laughter from the audience at the National Television Awards on Tuesday night by referencing a recent controversy involving actress Miriam Margolyes.
While presenting an award, Gilligan, 38, introduced himself by saying, "If you know me, I’m Mo Gilligan. And if you don’t know me, then I’m Andi Peters." The remark was a direct nod to comments made by Margolyes, 85, during an appearance on "This Morning" the previous week, where she used an offensive term to describe the skin color of ITV presenter Andi Peters.
The term Margolyes used, "high yalla" (or "high yaller," "high yellow"), is described as an outdated and offensive slang term used in the United States for a Black person with a light complexion. The exchange, which occurred after Margolyes impersonated a Northern Irish accent and asked Peters about his own, led to intervention from ITV bosses, and the clip was removed from the ITVX recording of the show.
Peters, 56, had clarified that both his parents are Black, to which Margolyes responded by stating she believed he was "high yalla" because he was not "deeply black." Peters noted he was unaware there were different shades. Margolyes later addressed the backlash, stating she did not intend to embarrass Peters and was interested in discussing his identity and how different groups feel about themselves. She also used an offensive term for disabled people while discussing broader topics of identity.
Gilligan's joke at the NTAs sparked immediate debate on social media, with some viewers finding it humorous and others deeming it to have "fell flat."