Are charities such as Comic Relief problematic?

For the average citizen, Comic Relief is probably considered to be the highest point of annual collective compassion in the United Kingdom. Certainly, you would be rather hard pressed to find someone willing to publicly turn their nose up at anyone who chooses to participate in the organisation.

From the comedians and celebrities that keep Red Nose day and Sport Relief trending to the innumerable ordinary Men and Women that willingly donate their hard earned money to impoverished communities around the world, it is difficult to conceive of a public figure that would condemn such an institution. An institution founded in 1985 by white comedy scriptwriter, Richard Curtis and black comedian Lenny Henry in response to a famine in Ethiopia.

The reason that Comic Relief sends highly successful and, more importantly, highly recognisable celebrities to promote the charitable works of the organisation, such as when Russell Howard and Ed Sheeran were previously sent to Liberia, is in order to appeal to the British Public

Or, at least, it was difficult to conceive until David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham responded to photographs of Strictly Come Dancing Star, Stacey Dooley, on her recent trip to Uganda for Comic Relief. In a recent interview with ITV News Lammy, who has accused Dooley of perpetuating a “tired and unhelpful stereotype” decided to double down on his divisive analysis of the situation. He asked:” why can’t we find African celebrities? Why can’t we film direct on the night from Africa, using African filmmakers to tell modern stories about that continent as well as the poverty?” A noble sentiment, on the surface. Until a single scratch beneath the superficial indignation reveals that David Lammy is completely missing the point. The reason that Comic Relief sends highly successful and, more importantly, highly recognisable celebrities to promote the charitable works of the organisation, such as when Russell Howard and Ed Sheeran were previously sent to Liberia, is in order to appeal to the British Public.

Sierra Leone, for example, is a place that the average UK citizen will probably know very little about, except that it is a country in West Africa. Therefore when organisations such as the Advocacy Movement Network which-amongst other things-has dedicated itself to ending the abhorrent practice of FGM on young girls is in need of funding, how can a UK based charity emotionally engage the British public enough to convince them to donate to their institution? By pulling them in with a recognisable face, a face such as Russell Howard, Ed Sheeran and even Stacey Dooley. Once the viewer is drawn in, they will be presented with footage of, to use Lammy’s own words: “poverty stricken Mothers, swarmed by flies, their children’s stomachs swollen with hunger”.

What about the claims made by Panorama, that Comic Relief has supposedly invested millions into arms, tobacco and alcohol?

It is all very nice and virtuous for politicians such as David Lammy to bemoan the lack of African celebrities but it ignores the reality that endorsements from UK celebrities (the majority of whom are white) are a crucial component to the charities attempts to raise money. The “triumphs of African nations”, although certainly impressive, would be far less likely to draw an audience the same way as a celebrity endorsement juxtaposed with images of destitution does. Perhaps this is in some ways a cynical conclusion to draw but that doesn’t make it any less true. Besides, cynical or not, one cannot argue with the positive end result. An end result such as, to use an example cited in David Lammy’s own article: “Africa deserves better from comic relief” wherein he recalls how in 2012 the British public “in 2012…broke the £100m barrier for the first time”.

It seems to me that the statements made by David Lammy as well as some of the subsequent letters sent into The Guardian seem to prioritise their own subjective sensibilities over providing tangible aid to certain areas of Africa that are struggling. It reminds me very much of the offense taken by some to a handful of lyrics from Band Aid’s “Do they know it’s Christmas?” over the eight million pounds raised by the band in response to a famine that had transpired in Ethiopia.

There are numerous more substantive criticisms that one might be able to make towards Comic Relief and celebrity endorsements. The question of the sincerity of some of these celebrities is an intriguing one. What about the claims made by Panorama, that Comic Relief has supposedly invested millions into arms, tobacco and alcohol? True or not, verifiable or not, such a scandal does serve as a poignant reminder as to the importance of scrutiny and criticism of large-scale organisations regardless of their perceived good intentions. Yet, the scrutiny that David Lammy attempts to extend to Dooley and to Comic Relief is completely absent from his own, ill-thought out and overtly emotional statements.