British actor Daniel Kaluuya has joked about Meghan and Harry’s race row during an appearance on US television, saying he is “what the Royal Family was worried the baby would look like”.
The Oscar nominee made his hosting debut on the long-running comedy show Saturday Night Live and discussed British and American racism.
Part of his monologue referred to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last month in which the couple alleged a member of the family – excluding the Queen or Prince Philip – made a racist comment when Meghan was pregnant with Archie.
Kaluuya, who was born in London to Ugandan parents, made light of the serious allegation during his SNL opening piece.
He said: “First of all, I know you’re hearing my accent and thinking ‘oh no, he’s not black, he’s British’.
“Let me reassure you that I am black. I’m black and I’m British. Basically I am what the Royal Family was worried the baby would look like.”
Meghan, 39, told Winfrey that an unnamed member of the Royal Family had “concerns and conversations” about how dark Archie’s skin tone might be before he was born.
She also claimed they did not want him to be a prince or offer him security.
Opening the show, Kaluuya compared racism in the UK and US, saying: “People ask me what’s worse, British racism or American racism,” he told the audience inside New York’s famous Studio 8H.
“Let me put it this way, British racism is so bad white people left. They wanted to be free, free to create their own kind of racisms.
“That’s why they invented Australia, South Africa and Boston.”
The 32-year-old star also spoke about his Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas and The Black Messiah, and reminded viewers of the technical issues that marred his acceptance speech during the virtual ceremony.
“I was muted! Can you believe that? I told the best joke of my life and I was muted,” he said.
Kaluuya, who is nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Bafta and an Oscar, nodded to his breakout role in Get Out and said: “I felt like I was in a Sunken Place!”