Mrs. Brown's Boys is a British-Irish sitcom created by and starring Brendan O'Carroll as Agnes Brown, a loud and inappropriate Irish matriarch. The show centre's on Agnes' interactions with her adult children, friends, and neighbors, using slapstick and politically incorrect humor. Known for breaking the fourth wall and crude jokes, it has built a large following since its debut in 2011. The eagerly awaited Christmas Day special is set to air on BBC One at 11:05 pm. The New Year episode will air on New Year's Day at the slightly earlier time of 10:30 pm.
O'Carroll, 69, nearly faced cancellation after a clip resurfaced of him making a comment about Tyler Perry's skin colour, sparking outrage. During a video interview with the Don't Look Up star, O'Carroll was asked by hosts Lauren Laverne and Harry Judd about the possibility of Perry appearing in Mrs. Brown's Boys. In response, O'Carroll touched his face and remarked: "So far we haven't had anyone of his colour in there so I don't know if we could have him in."
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BBC Studios / Elaine Livingston)He continued, expressing his openness to the idea: "But you know what, I'd love that, but I think more importantly I'd love to do another movie with him." Perry seemed taken aback by the comment, responding with a laugh, saying: "Nobody my colour," while O'Carroll gestured to his skin again. He then added: "Time to change the world. Diversity rules, here we go."
Viewers were stunned by the exchange and quickly voiced their opinions on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Brendan O'Carroll just made a racist remark on the one show and not one person called him out. Shame on you BBC #TheOneShow," one user wrote minutes after the segment aired in 2022. Another tweeted in disbelief: "Did Brendan O'Carroll just say Tyler Perry couldn't be in Mrs. Brown's Boys because he's black on The One Show!?!" A third noted: "Brendan O'Carroll's attempt at being funny towards @tylerperry on BBC One Show tonight was quite embarrassing, I'm sure no malice was meant but that comment was wrong on so many levels."
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BBC Studios / Elaine Livingston)Perry later defended O'Carroll, saying he didn't believe the comment was racist. In an interview with Ireland's Sunday World newspaper, Perry stated: "I think it is a very scary place if everybody wants censorship if they say something that somebody else doesn't agree with, or if they use a word that somebody else finds offensive. So I think it should be on a case-by-case basis to understand what intention is there. If you talk about comedy and comics and the things that make us laugh, when you try to start to censor you are going to do a great disservice to what comedy is."
O'Carroll and Perry's chat on The One Show followed their collaboration in the Netflix comedy A Madea Homecoming, where O'Carroll made a guest appearance as his character, Agnes Brown, in the 12th movie of Perry's long-running film series.
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