Laurence Fox criticises successful black actors over industry complaints

Laurence Fox has hit out at black and working class actors for complaining about the industry once they have “five million quid in the bank”.

The former Lewis actor, 41, sparked controversy on Question Time, saying the charge of “racism” over treatment of the Duchess of Sussex was “boring”.

Now he has told The Delingpod podcast: “The most annoying thing is the minute a black actor – it’s the same with working class actors –  the minute they’ve got five million quid in the bank, every interview they do is about how racism is rampant and rife in the industry.

“And with working class actors, ‘There’s not enough working class actors’.

“You weren’t saying that when you didn’t have a f****** pot to piss in were you?

“You weren’t standing up for the working class actors until you’re now no longer materially working class.”

He told the podcast, presented by James Delingpole, that he no longer pays his licence fee and does not watch the BBC.

“TV seems to have a bit of an agenda, a lot of it. It’s trying to tell you something,” the actor said.

“I don’t want to be told something. I’d rather watch a story….

“There’s just so much that turns you off when you turn on the TV now because you feel like you’re being… ‘This is what you’re meant to think’.”

He said diverse casting when it is not historically accurate, “makes you conscious of race”.

And Fox, part of the famous acting dynasty, said: “I haven’t watched the BBC in many a year now or listened to it….

“They’d never see me for anything, but then I don’t tick the BBC boxes do I?… I’m not paying my licence fee anymore.”

Fox also told the podcast: “I’ve got nine nephews and nieces and none of them are white. So it’s not like we’re dealing with a world where the white man is going to be around for that many more generations.”