Bob Geldof blasts 'trite and silly' criticism of fundraising celebs

Live Aid founder Bob Geldof blasts ‘trite and silly’ criticism of ‘white saviours’ such as Stacey Dooley trying to raise money for famine relief in Africa

• Dooley came under fire for posing with Ugandan toddler in Comic Relief filming
• Labour MP David Lammy said: ‘The world doesn’t need any more white saviours’
• Now Geldof, who created Live Aid, has spoken of his irritation at the criticism 

Bob Geldof has hit back at criticism of celebrities who were branded ‘white saviours’ for posing with children while trying to raise money for famine relief in poor African nations.

Stacey Dooley was among the stars slammed by Labour MP David Lammy when she posted an image on Instagram holding a Ugandan toddler while she was filming for Comic Relief in 2019.

He said at the time: ‘The world doesn’t need any more white saviours,’ while other press coverage said that ‘white saviours belong in the 1980s’, as the broadcaster was accused of spreading colonial stereotypes.

Sir Lenny Henry, co-founder of Comic Relief, also said: ‘African people don’t want us to tell their stories for them. What they need is more agency, a platform and partnership.’ 

Now Geldof, who created the Live Aid concert that raised £150m for famine relief has spoken of his irritation at the condemnation.

Bob Geldof, pictured in Ethiopia in 1985, has hit back at criticism of celebrities who were branded ‘white saviours’ for posing with children while trying to raise money for famine relief in poor African nations

Stacey Dooley was among the stars slammed by Labour MP David Lammy when she posted an image on Instagram holding a Ugandan toddler while she was filming for Comic Relief in 2019

 

He told Times Radio: ‘Black saviours, white saviours, green saviours, I’m with them all.

‘I don’t think most people give a f*** about [the criticism]. It’s just a wormhole that people have disappeared down, where everything can be deconstructed.

‘But it’s trite and silly, in my view. If someone is hurt and I personally see it, and I’m aware of it, I’ll do what I can to make them less hurt.’

The Dooley row resulted in Comic Relief suffering an £8m fall in donations for its Red Nose Day appeal compared with 2017 and the campaign announcing it would stop sending white celebrities to Third World countries.

Screenwriter Richard Curtis, who set up the charity after visiting Ethiopia during the 1985 famine, said: ‘If people who live in this country with African backgrounds feel as though they’re sort of in some way demeaned or negatively affected by Comic Relief, then we really have to listen to that.’ 

Bob Geldof walking with children in Ethiopia in 1985 after setting up the Live Aid concert which raised £150m for famine relief

Boomtown Rats frontman Geldof established Band Aid after being inspired by Michael Buerk’s BBC news report on Ethiopia’s famine

Curtis, who wrote Four Weddings and Funeral and Notting Hill, both starring Hugh Grant, said he understood the criticisms and was looking to address the problem.

‘It is a really complicated issue because we feel this desperate passionate need to raise as much money as we can, but if we’re doing harm as well, that won’t do.’

Boomtown Rats frontman Geldof established Band Aid after being inspired by Michael Buerk’s BBC news report on Ethiopia’s famine but admits their ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ hit drives him ‘mad’ when it is played in shops every winter.

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