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LBC callers divided over MasterChef star’s N-word allegation
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Jul 19, 2025
Sacked MasterChef host John Torode used ‘the worst racial slur there is’ amid ‘all sorts of complaints’ against him. On his podcast The Rest is Entertainment, Richard Osman said Banijay UK, the producers of MasterChef, gave Torode a second chance if he took a year off the show, which he refused. It comes after a racism allegation against him was upheld in a report, led by law firm Lewis Silkin, which also substantiated 45 out of the 83 allegations made against Gregg Wallace. Speaking on the podcast, Osman said: “On this particular occasion, it’s not ‘woke gone mad’. You know, he used, I think, probably the worst racial slur there is. And they found it to be substantively true." In an explosive post on Instagram, Torode reiterated he had "no recollection" of making a racist comment. The former TV host is now planning to take action and is speaking with an employment lawyer to "clear his name", The Mirror reported. 0:00 - Caller Lee: ‘if you continue to enforce racial divides, you're going to get continuous racial disharmony’. 02:24 - Caller Dave makes reference to US sitcom ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’. 04:47 - Caller Darren discusses how the word ‘queer’ has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community. 07:38 - Caller Mark says rappers ‘don’t represent’ him as a black person. 09:37 - Caller Portia says in the context of a song, it’s not offensive for a white person to say the word. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp
View Video Transcript
0:00
I'm sorry, but, you know, ultimately
0:01
let's look at the two instances, break it down. The first one is singing a song. Now, the lyrics are in that song, whether we like it or not
0:08
whether it's a word any of us would use or not is immaterial. They're in the song. If he's singing the song, they're in there
0:14
Why would you want to live in a world where a person of colour can use the correct lyrics and a white person cannot
0:20
and ends up with the, not the ultimate sanction, but ends up with a very severe sanction and losing his job
0:26
That's just shocking. I can't believe that you would ever agree with that. second of all um the other scenario where it was overheard you don't know the context as your
0:35
you don't know the context you know it could have been it could have been relaying a story could have
0:40
been quoting someone could have been anything okay so ultimately why wasn't that addressed
0:45
at the time you know you said it happened many years ago but it's only come to the fore over the
0:49
last whatever since the most recent investigation if that person overheard it was so graciously
0:55
offended by it should have been should have been mentioned well on that on that lee i i have to say
0:59
i i do agree with you um this this is thought to have happened in either in 2018 or 2019 no one can
1:07
be quite sure it would seem um and the person he was speaking to at the time who was uh engaged in
1:13
conversation with him where he apparently said the n-word not during the song bit but at a separate
1:17
moment um he he wasn't offended by it particularly but someone overheard it and was
1:21
so i would agree with you i think there is a there is a lag there isn't there
1:27
well it's it's it's you know where where are we going with with this as far as i'm concerned
1:33
you you mentioned the word that's being reclaimed right and using it in a in a positive way let's
1:39
let's say that i would argue that if you look at most of the lyrics most of the film um dialogue
1:45
that it's used in it's generally used in a in a more negative than positive way so ultimately if
1:51
you want people to not see colour and you want people to get along and race not to be there like
1:56
the racial divides not to be there you have to treat everyone the same that's okay so color can
2:01
use this these phrases then white people should be able to as well and vice versa so that it's
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being reclaimed means that it's being reclaimed by everyone ultimately lee regardless of the color
2:14
of your skin my point is that if you continue to reinforce racial divides you're going to get
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continuous racial disharmony all right i think the point here is generally um words matter and
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the people that say those words matter which unfortunately diane abbott has a tendency to put her foot in the mouth when she utters most words and it unfortunate she does that But I think it is offensive to use the N as you quite rightly pointed out
2:45
And it's important as to who says those words. And if there is clear evidence that, unfortunately
2:50
John Turow did put his foot in his mouth, then, well, unfortunately, people have
2:56
there are always consequences to everything we do in this. Heaven knows, you know, everyone picks up everybody else
3:03
But to give you, you were talking about TV programs earlier, one of your favorites
3:08
There is a gentleman called Larry David who has a show called Curb Your Enthusiasm in the States
3:14
And in that program, he takes a cynical comedic stab at the N-word where he gets his black lodger to call him his white N-word
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and he reverses the whole impact of what is and what is not acceptable
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So it's a bit like this is my territory. I can say my fellow man is whatever my fellow man is
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if I'm from that race or religion, but another individual is not able to say that
3:49
And I just want to pick up on one other point, and I'm sorry to say this
3:54
I've enjoyed all your programs and I've enjoyed all your callers, certainly this morning, with the exception of one individual
4:02
and that is your first interaction with Sammy Nylander. I've heard this chap before, and unfortunately
4:09
he's very good in whataboutery. If you were asking him about a particular subject
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he will always bring the agenda back to what he wants to speak about
4:19
and I applaud you for picking him up. Oh, well, that's very kind, Dave. I mean, come on the radio and he can speak, like anybody, like your good self
4:29
And I appreciate you doing so. Thank you very much indeed. So are we saying that there are just some words that cannot be said by some individuals
4:35
because of the historical context of that word, even if the movement is to try and readjust the historical context of that word and reclaim it
4:45
You can't ignore the historical context of that word. Yeah, Tom, you're exactly right. If it's been reclaimed, you can't say it
4:50
One of your, not the last caller, second to last, I think, the one that said it's okay to use the N-word
4:56
It's not. No, not the daughter, the one just before that. Yes, John, yeah
5:00
Yeah, it's not okay. There's people in the LGBTQI plus community that have reclaimed words
5:06
that were used against them probably in the late 70s early 80s That was a horrible word but they reclaimed it and used it amongst themselves I think it disgusting to hear that someone says what the big deal What the big fuss I not as articulate as some of your listeners
5:23
Actually, I've been listening to LBC when it was London's biggest conversation 13 years ago
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So it's been about 25 years since I last caught up and I'm infuriated at home
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while I'm off, waiting for my grandson to wake up, take him to nursery
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and I have to now call you to say, please, please, please
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as a black man living in the UK, born in London Borough of Greenwich
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I am respectful to all and everybody. And if there was a song that was disparaging
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or heinous towards a group or community of people, I wouldn't be singing that song on the way to work, would you
5:57
I get it. But if a black man writes a song in which it contains the N-word
6:03
listened to by the ears of white people, if a white person repeated that song lyric, including that N-word
6:09
would that be wrong? That would be not allowed? Yes, because I watch it on social media constantly
6:17
with girls and guys singing the songs and then they stop singing that part
6:21
They respectfully say, that's not something that I can use, so I stop singing it
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I see it constantly on social media. So we do have, rightly or wrongly
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we do have some words that cannot be used by people of a certain skin colour
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or people of, they can't use them, but it is socially unacceptable
6:38
for a person of a particular skin colour to say a particular word as it might be for a person who isn't gay
6:43
to say a particular word used by gay people. Right. And that's okay, is it
6:49
We agree that that's fine. Well, yeah, because at the end of the day, if there's a word
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so for instance, being part of the LGBTQ2R plus community back in the 80s
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people used to use specific words to belittle you or to be nasty
7:02
Well, queer. We can use the word queer. We can say the word queer. Queer would be one of those words, right
7:07
Right, for instance. So that word is then reclaimed by that community
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and they use it amongst themselves. I'm not in the LBGTQI plus community
7:16
Can I use that? I'm allowed to use that word though, aren't I? Yes, because we've changed the narrative of that word
7:22
That word's no longer a slur. And the N word, has the reality of that word changed
7:27
However, there are people in the kitchen, around the kitchen tables that do still use that word as a flower
7:34
Yes, there are. Which is part of the reason for reclaiming it, I guess. Basically, these rappers
7:39
they don't represent me as a black person. They're allowed to spout these lyrics
7:45
They're allowed to distribute these by the music moguls alike, but they not allowed to produce political records or records that maybe condescend to white people in any way and that where I think the main problem lies where it
8:00
been distributed and basically paraded and for I can say, the young lady who's
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sorry, the gentleman before me whose daughter was singing the lyrics, she's singing the lyrics
8:10
to a song but it was produced by Kanye West and distributed by the music moguls
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so that's where the problem lies the problem lies with the distribution of these records
8:20
They shouldn't be distributed in the first place. And they shouldn't be distributed in the first place because it contains the N-word
8:27
100%. So Kanye West is not allowed, shouldn't be using the N-word
8:33
Well, should Kanye West decide to use the N-word, if I decide to use the N-word, that's my decision
8:39
But to distribute a record using the N-word, I think that's totally wrong
8:44
I think that's the problem. It's the wide dissemination of the use of that word
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that you find problematic, Mark, as a black man. Well, I find the word problematic, period
8:56
No matter who's saying it, black or white. What then is your view of the sort of
9:01
the quotes, reclaiming of that word? I don't believe in that at all
9:06
I'm sorry, I really don't. So you can never remove the context, the historical context of that word from it
9:12
It will always be associated, however hard people try to disassociate it
9:16
I think it's the same as if you, for argument's sake, look at Judaism and if you look at, for argument's sake, the Germans
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If I turned around and said, turn whatever, the cooker on, for argument's sake
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I don't want to repeat that what I'd like to say, I think it's the same context
9:32
You can't use it in the same context. You can't distribute that and you can't say it. I'm not sure about that example, but I take your point
9:37
I think if this is used in the context of a song
9:41
and a non-black or person of colour used it, I actually don't think I am offended by that
9:48
At the end of the day, the music's been put out publicly and it's there for everybody to sing it
9:52
I think if the context of the term is used outside of that
9:56
and if any of my non-black or people of colour friends or colleagues said that to me, I would feel offended
10:03
because it's a different arena. If they sing it with you from a song that you..
10:09
You're going to karaoke one night and that comes on for some reason they've got the explicit version on
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And your white colleague sings it, you're okay with it? I am okay with it because it's out in the public domain
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it's for people to sing, it's music, it's been put out, people are making money off it
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But I think when you take that out and somebody uses it in another way
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that's when I have to question it. And it has happened to me before. I'm sure, unfortunately
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