Comedian says America loves 'Downton Abbey' because there's no black people in it

Australian comic Barry Humphries, who is most famous for his drag act as Dame Edna, thinks he knows the reason for the hugely popular success of the British TV series "Downton Abbey" in the United States: there are no black people in the show.

TheGrio Staff

Jan 5, 2016

Australian comic Barry Humphries, who is most famous for his drag act as Dame Edna, thinks he knows the reason for the hugely popular success of the British TV series “Downton Abbey” in the United States: there are no black people in the show.

While that’s not entirely true — season four saw American jazz musician Jack Ross appear in four episodes — it’s hard to deny that the show has an almost entirely white cast.

During the same interview with The Radio Times in which Humphries claimed the show’s success was “because there are no black people in it,” the comedian also lamented the idea of the rise of political correctness as well as what he saw as “puritanism” holding back modern comedy.

Humphries also claimed that the BBC blocked him from joking about Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn without also taking aim at David Cameron.

The “Downton Abbey” joke is just the latest in a line of controversial jokes made by Humphries. The comedian has said that it was “quite important” for him to stir up offense, comments that he made shortly after making an offensive joke about Mexicans.

“It’s very easy to become a safe figure and tempting, too, to want to be all things to all people,” he said.