Ofcom Throws Out Complaints Over Dave's Brit Awards Performance

Ofcom has rejected the complaints they received following Dave’s performance at the Brit Awards last month.

The TV watchdog received a total of 309 complaints after Dave performed his track Black, in which he was heard rapping: “Black is pain, Black is joy, Black is evident. It’s working twice as hard as the people you know you’re better than.”

Dave also debuted a new verse during the ceremony, in which he called Boris Johnson a “real racist” and lambasted the media’s treatment of Meghan Markle, comparing it to how Kate Middleton has been written about in the press.

“It is racist, whether or not it feels racist,” Dave rapped. “The truth is our prime minister’s a real racist. They say you should be grateful we’re the least racist, I say the least racist is still racist.”

Ofcom has now said that they will not be taking the issue any further, insisting: “In our view, the performance was likely to be within most viewers’ expectations of this well-established awards ceremony, where it’s not uncommon for artists to express personal political views during their performances.”

Following his performance, Dave doubled down on his criticism of Boris Johnson, after Conservative MP Priti Patel slammed his performance during a discussion on Sky News.

Patel branded the suggestion that Johnson is racist “utter nonsense”, saying: “I don’t know what those comments are based on.”

The rapper then shared a snippet of Patel’s interview on social media, alongside past comments made by Johnson which have sparked accusations of racism. 

Among them were excerpts from columns Johnson had written, including one containing the phrase “flag-waving piccaninnies” and another in which he said: “Africa is a mess, but we can’t blame colonialism… the problem is not that we were once in charge, but that we are not in charge anymore.”

As well as delivering the stand-out performance of the night, Dave was also awarded the coveted Album Of The Year prize at this year’s Brit Awards for his release Psychodrama.

The album was previously awarded the Mercury Music Prize in 2019, beating stiff competition from The 1975, Little Simz and Slowthai.