Lorraine Kelly Admits Regret Over Not Challenging Guest's 'Inappropriate Comment' On Show Last Week

The presenter made the admission as she and author Candice Brathwaite discussed white people's role in calling out racism.

Lorraine Kelly has expressed regret over not challenging what she’s described as an “inappropriate comment” one of her guests made last week.

During Monday’s edition of her ITV daytime show, Lorraine interviewed author Candice Brathwaite, when the conversation turned to white people’s role in calling out anti-Black racism.

Candice told the presenter: “I always tell white people your feeling of discomfort is not going to match how George Floyd’s family is feeling today. It’s not going to match how victims of police brutalities’ families will ever feel. Your discomfort in approaching these conversations with your children, with your partner, with your family…

“You’re uncomfortable for, what, five minutes? Six minutes? We watched a Black man die for nine minutes. There is just no measure with that. I implore people to feel that discomfort because it’s only through that we’ll be able to make a change.”

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Lorraine Kelly
ITV

Lorraine then told her guest: “Someone last week made an inappropriate comment and I realised it was inappropriate at the time. I didn’t do anything about it and I should have. So I will.”

She also said that Candice’s book, I Am Not Your Baby Mother, had helped her understand her own role in helping dismantle racism, noting: “It helped me personally to think sometimes you shouldn’t just be polite, sometimes you have to say – in the nicest possible way. You don't have to be confrontational. But we can all learn.” 

The interview also saw Lorraine and Candice discussing the mass protests that have taken place across the US and UK against police brutality since the death of George Floyd.

Last week, Star Wars actor John Boyega won huge praise for a powerful speech he delivered at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London.

As a result of lockdown measures, Lorraine is currently presenting the last hour of Good Morning Britain, which airs every weekday from 6am on ITV.