Cheryl Cole Is Under Fire After The BBC Made Her The Host Of New R&B Show

The BBC and Cheryl Cole have come under fire after the broadcaster appointed Cheryl as host of a new 12-part podcast about R&B music called ‘You, Me & R&B’.

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The idea behind her appointment, I’m guessing, is that Cheryl is still a household name in the UK and so it makes sense to use her to draw in more casual listeners rather than just R&B enthusiasts. That’s not the way a large section of the internet saw it however, as they believe the show should have been hosted by a black presenter and was just another example of “black talent being pushed to the side and ignored.”

This is bullshit!! @BBCSounds you couldn’t use any of the number of black r&b artists here in the UK?

— Malbec loving Mammy 🍷 (@Bella41368329) August 31, 2021

Wow. @BBCSounds really ignored the thousands of black presenters wanting to host something like this, and instead hire a woman who once punched a black woman in the face in an unprovoked attack to do it instead?

The systemic racism of the @BBC really knows no bounds, does it?

— Parody (Roj) – He/Him (@RojParody) September 1, 2021

Cheryl Cole doing an rnb show is like Rkelly doing CBeebies 🤷🏾‍♂️

— ATP aka 80p 🇯🇲 (@andretheprod) August 31, 2021

Cheryl Cole hosting a podcast about R&B after attacking a nightclub toilet attendant is VERY tone deaf pic.twitter.com/2f7CRaJmwf

— Ash (@ash____c) August 31, 2021

Really disappointed in @BBCSounds in an age where we are calling for more people of colour you choose an out dated pop star to present this show and not someone who lives and breathes this music, r&b is so embedded in black music and you chose Cheryl ?!?!

— Nikkita Beghi (@nikkitabeghi) August 31, 2021

How on earth did anybody at the BBC think this was a good idea? Someone who leathers black toilet attendants in toilets who’s only qualification is miming and dancing badly in a girl band? There are so many more deserving people who have actually put in the work. Ridiculous.

— Anthony Carl (@Paz_uzu666) August 31, 2021

That seems to be the majority consensus, although some people are #TeamCheryl or at least #TeamCan’tWeAllJustGetAlong?

Why bring colour and race into the debate? @CherylOfficial has a passion for R&B, and somewhere down the line, @BBCSounds decided she was the best person for the job. It’s getting to the point where white people can’t get hired in fear of racial accusation.

— Sarah Fleetwood (@MrsFleets007) September 1, 2021

The best person for the job is the best person for the job, regardless of colour

— 🌳🌲Big Tree Lover🌲🌳 (@TreesAreMyLife2) August 31, 2021

When was RnB about Colour ? Enimem was white RAP artist… followed by all colours.

This seems reverse racism to me…

— Dr J #FBPE 🌊💙💯🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇯🇴🇺🇸🇮🇪🇪🇺 (@DrJoeMcCarthy) August 31, 2021

Well it’s a tricky one really. As I said the producers of the show understandably want a mainstream name attached to the program and someone like Cheryl Cole ticks that box. However doesn’t authenticity also come into it? I mean for one thing, Cheryl is a pop star, and not even a good one at that. Maybe someone like Jamelia, Miss Dynamite or even Lady Leshurr could have been a good fit. The fact she beat up a black nightclub toilet attendant in 2003 doesn’t help matters either now that that’s all over the timeline again too.

Time will tell whether the BBC caves to the backlash and replaces Cheryl, although for now they’ve put out this statement:

We feature a wide range of voices spanning different genres across our extensive music output,” a spokesperson told The Independent.

Many of our shows are fronted by DJs who are experts in their fields, others are hosted by people with a passion for their topic. Cheryl’s You, Me and R&B shares personal stories from her youth, soundtracked by her favourite genre.

Maybe they could balance this all out by having Stormzy present a documentary on the BeeGees or something? I’d watch that for sure.