Jameela Jamil has sparked a social media row after a racist post directed against Rishi Sunak appeared on her Instagram account. The expletive-laden post appeared on Friday (January 6) in response to Government attempts to curb powers to strike.
The Government announced on Thursday it is pressing ahead with plans to introduce new legislation for “minimum safety levels” during industrial action. The Bill will be introduced in Parliament in the coming weeks to ensure vital public services maintain a “basic function” when workers go on strike.
Ms Jamil, who has 3.7 million followers on Instagram, wrote: “I cannot stress this enough… F*** RISHI SUNAK. Unelected, out of touch, right wing, T****R.
“Trying to stop people from being able to strike in a country that his t**t government have absolutely buggered… is dictatorship, not leadership. Theses people are striking because their jobs don’t pay enough for them to SURVIVE. This billionaire clown wants to silence them. We cannot let that happen.”
A further comment which appeared on Ms Jamil’s Instagram account read: “PAY. AND. PROTECT. THE. PEOPLE. WHO. KEEP. YOUR. COUNTRY. FUNCTIONING. A. LIVING. WAGE.
“I am sick to death of people on the left who seem to think that racism is okay if it’s directed to someone on the right.”
Columnist Ben Obese-Jecty tweeted a screenshot of the Instagram post, commenting: “Jameela Jamil here referring to the Prime Minister and both current and former Home Secretaries as ‘coconuts’.
“I’ve written before about how the use of this type of language by celebrities with huge platforms legitimises this abuse.
“Why are so few prepared to call it out?”
But the political commentator Marina Purkiss defended the post, tweeting: “Yesterday it was @simonpegg. Today, @jameelajamil.
“I’m so here for celebrities using their platforms to shine a light on this corrupt clown show of a Government…”
Pegg shared his response to Mr Sunak’s plan to make pupils study maths until the age of 18 by branding the Prime Minister a “pr***”.
The Mission: Impossible actor vented his frustration on Instagram over the decision to favour maths over arts and humanities subjects.
It came after the PM unveiled his priorities for the year ahead, including a promise to reduce the UK’s national debt and cut huge NHS backlogs.
Pegg said: “So Rishi Sunak, our unmandated, unelected prime minister twice removed, has decided it should be compulsory for children to learn maths up until the age of 18 – what a pr***.
“What about arts and humanities and fostering this country’s amazing reputation for creativity and self-expression? What about that? What about the kids that don’t want to do maths? I hated maths.”
“I dropped Maths as soon as I could and I’ve never needed it other than the skillset I acquired at the age of 12. But no. Rishi Sunak wants a f***ing drone army of data-entering robots.”
He then said: “F*** the Tories. Get rid of them. Please! F*** you, Rishi Sunak, and f*** the Tories.”
Downing Street and Ms Jamil have been approached for comment.
