Absolutely Fabulous film in race row over ‘Yellowface’

The forthcoming Absolutely Fabulous film has become embroiled in a racism row after employing a white actress to play an Asian character.

Korean American comedian Margaret Cho hit out at the makers of the film over the casting of Janette Tough, famous for playing Wee Jimmy Krankie in the 1980s, for a cameo as a character called Huki Muki.

The stand-up comic said she was “upset” by the decision, accusing producers of “yellowface” – making up white performers to appear Asian.

In a series of messages on Twitter, Cho, 47, said: “I’ll name the production using yellowface – I’m upset because I love them. It’s AbFab – I really was looking forward to it too. That’s sad. Yellowface is racism. Sorry. It’s unacceptable. Not now. I was thrilled about ab fab movie but now I just can’t be. I’m very disappointed.

“I love AbFab but yellowface is something I cannot watch - I just can’t. It’s sad when heroes are no longer heroic. Too bad. racism. It’s hard enough to get into film and TV as a person of colour – and when roles written for us are played by white actors – it’s an outrage.”

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley will reprise their roles as Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone in the big-screen adaptation of the BBC series, which is due to be released next year.