Achim Raschka via WikimediaThe BBC has been forced to apologise for a Dizzee Rascal performance after an explicit pre-watershed segment left viewers unimpressed with the rapper.
Dizzee was performing his new single Bop N Keep It Dippin on the BBC show Sounds Like Friday Night when he forgot to censor his lyrics, letting slip the word ‘motherf*cker’.
Greg James, the show’s host, came on stage when the performance was done and apologised for Dizzee’s language.
You can check out the clip below:
[ooyala code=”Q5bm85ZDE6jXrK5X-6o7E1Z5OLpnz113″ player_id=”5df2ff5a35d24237905833bd032cd5d8″ auto=”true” width=”1280″ height=”720″ pcode=”twa2oyOnjiGwU8-cvdRQbrVTiR2l”]
Mr James said:
A quick apology if anyone was offended by any of the language there, it’s one of those live TV moments.
What are you gonna do?
Dizzee agreed saying ‘it was live, man’.
Unfortunately, it was too little too late for some of those watching who took to Twitter to vent about the explicit language:
Did Dizzee Rascal just say Motherfuck? #SoundsLikeFridayNight
— andrew newman (@andrewnewman3) November 3, 2017
I❤ Dizzee. I reckon they'll be apologising after this. #SoundsLikeFridayNight
— Prof. Guy Ashton (@GuyAshton1) November 3, 2017
#SoundsLikeFridayNight yes dizzee love the colourful language. Live show faux pas. Sick man innit.
— chris hart (@hart_jaynehart) November 3, 2017
#SoundsLikeFridayNight is Dizzee Rascal swearing? I can't really make it out.
— Michelle Kealey (@shellkealey) November 3, 2017
A BBC spokesperson later said:
The relevant lyrics to the track were changed throughout for the performance, but there was one moment he accidentally reverted to the original.
Greg apologised to the audience immediately afterwards.
However the controversy was mostly overshadowed online by the appearance of Jason Derulo, who’s alleged to owe Keele University’s student union £20,000, after failing to attend a gig.
He’d been booked to perform there on January 30, last year, but failed to appear on stage and while ticket-holders got a refund, those who booked him say he never paid them back.
As a result, students co-opted the Sounds Like Friday Night hashtag to raise awareness of Derulo’s alleged misdeeds.
I dreamed a dream…. #SLFN #SoundsLikeFridayNight pic.twitter.com/y4SDoNu21A
— Tom Snape (@Tom_KeeleSU) October 27, 2017
Are we using this hashtag now to talk about .@jasonderulo? Cool. He owes @KeeleSU £20,000 on this hashtag too #SoundsLikeFridayNight #SLFN
— Kate Mitchell (@katyjmitchell) October 27, 2017
When @BBCNewsEnts change the hashtag from #SLFN to #SoundsLikeFridayNight in an attempt to avoid that @jasonderulo owes a charity £20k… pic.twitter.com/W2LifC2D2i
— Becky Saddington (@beckysaddington) October 27, 2017
Missed #SLFN but I see the hashtag has been hijacked by people saying Jason Derulo owes £20,000 to a charity! ? #SoundsLikeFridayNight
— Dylan??????? (@Harkinson) October 27, 2017
#SoundsLikeFridayNight sounds like you changed the hashtag to try and ignore an obvious problem
— Shy Johnny (@TripleJDAndCoke) October 27, 2017
Awkward when @KeeleSu students find the new hash tag… a shame we still don't have that £20k #SoundsLikeFridayNight
— Lady Giraffe (@TheLadyGiraffe_) October 27, 2017
Others watching complained Liam Payne wasn’t very good and how the show was a poor replacement for Top of the Pops.
The whole thing sounds like a bit of a shambles, doesn’t it?
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.