A clip showing Mrs Brown’s Boys star Brendan O’Carroll allegedly making a racist joke towards US actor Tyler Perry has resurfaced amid an ongoing race row.
The Irish comedian, 69, who plays the title character in the BBC comedy, recently sparked outrage after alluding to a highly offensive slur during rehearsals for the show’s Christmas special.
The broadcaster halted the show to launch an investigation after the remark was flagged to bosses, while O’Carroll said he ‘deeply regrets clumsy line’.
But, it is not the first time O’Carroll has been at the centre of a race scandal, as just two years ago he again found himself in hot water after being accused of making an ‘incredibly racist remark’ about a US actor.
The 69-year-old was appearing on The One Show in 2022, alongside fellow comedian Tyler Perry when he made a joke about his ‘colour’.
O’Carroll appeared on the show with Perry to promote their new Netflix movie A Madea Homecoming, which is a crossover film of Mrs Brown’s Boys and Madea.
The actor, who plays the character of Agnes Brown, was asked if he thought his fellow guest could feature in Mrs Brown’s Boys.
The 66-year-old pointed to his face and said: ‘So far we haven’t had anyone of his colour in there so I don’t know if we could have him in.
‘But you know what, I’d love that, but I think more importantly I’d love to do another movie with him.’
Perry awkwardly laughed off the remark but said it back to him: ‘Nobody my colour.’ He added: ‘Time to change the world. Diversity rules, here we go.’
The film, which is directed by Perry, itself features a number of jokes poking fun at different characters’ difference in race.
In one scene, Mrs Brown greets Madea by crossing her arms and saying ‘Wakanda forever’, in reference to the Black Panther symbol.
Another clip shows the actor at dinner with Perry’s character, where she says ‘I’m Mrs Brown’, with one of the costars replying: ‘I’m a brown too.’
Mrs Brown starts to reply ‘you’re more bla…’ but is cut off by her on-screen daughter slapping her.
The One Show clip has resurfaced amid an ongoing race row involving O’Carroll, in which he ‘implied’ the N-word during rehearsals for the show’s Christmas special,
During a reading of the script while in character as Agnes Brown, O’Carroll is said to have said ‘I don’t call a spade a spade, I call a spade a…’
He then started to utter the N-word before he was stopped by a co-star, whose intervention was allegedly delivered while in character as Agnes’ daughter.
O’Carroll’s representative told the Mail: ‘We would also like to clarify that the ‘n’ word was absolutely not spoken, it was implied.
‘Agnes (Mrs Brown) began the word but was stopped from finishing it by her daughter Cathy, as she knew she would be.’
Reports that O’Carroll made a ‘racial joke’ first surfaced in the Daily Mirror.
The new revelation raises questions about the BBC’s initial handling of the incident.
In initial statements about the incident, neither the BBC nor O’Carroll acknowledged the severity of the offensive slur.
Cast and crew were reportedly stood down while the corporation ‘tried to get to the bottom’ of what happened.
The rehearsals then resumed in Glasgow at the broadcaster’s Pacific Quay studios in Scotland and shows will go ahead as planned.
The BBC said: ‘Whilst we don’t comment on individuals, the BBC is against all forms of racism, and we have robust processes in place should issues ever arise.’
O’Carroll, 69, apologised for making a ‘clumsy attempt at a joke’ in character as Mrs Brown where a ‘racial term was implied’.
His full statement said: ‘At a read-through of the Mrs. Brown’s Boys Christmas specials, there was a clumsy attempt at a joke, in the character of Agnes, where a racial term was implied. It backfired and caused offence which I deeply regret and for which I have apologised.’
Those who witnessed the remark were reportedly left ‘shocked’ by the slur which was ‘flagged with the BBC afterwards’.
Mrs Brown’s Boys has been a regular feature on the BBC’s Christmas schedules for more than a decade.
The show has also had several mini-series runs, including a four-part series last year, which was the first since 2013.
In the programme O’Carroll’s character, who is known affectionately as ‘mammy’ in the series, is a foul-mouthed Irish mother.