BBC Creative Diversity Boss June Sarpong Defends Broadcaster: Women of Color at BBC Need to ‘Stick With It, Because Change Is Happening’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran International Editor When presenter June Sarpong agreed to take on the most public-facing diversity and inclusion role at the BBC in the fall of 2019, the corporation — and indeed the world — was a different place. “I joined when the BBC was just coming out the other side of everything that had happened with [breakfast presenter] Naga Munchetty,” Sarpong tells Variety on her last official day at the BBC, capping off three years as head of creative diversity. “Feelings were heightened.” The U.K.

public broadcaster was smarting from a heavy backlash against the attempted censure of Munchetty, who was reprimanded for breaching impartiality guidelines after she criticized, on air, then U.S.

President Donald Trump for perceived racism. The decision was overturned by then BBC director general Tony Hall, but only after widespread outcry against the corporation for punishing one of its top hosts for calling out racism, which many felt should be exempt from impartiality rules.

Three years later, feelings around the BBC and issues of race remain tense, though Sarpong says she has tried to cultivate “an environment for honest discussions to take place.” The executive — who began her career as a DJ and MTV presenter before going on to host Channel 4’s T4 youth strand, and becoming a mainstay on shows such as ITV’s “Loose Women” — initially signed on for a two-year, three-day-a-week contract.