‘He encourages hate’: Stormzy says Boris Johnson has fueled racism in UK

Grime star said prime minister getting away with past comments had emboldened people to be more overtly racist

Stormzy has claimed Boris Johnson is responsible for emboldening people in the UK with racist views.

The grime star, who just released his new album Heavy is the Head, was interviewed by Italian newspaper La Repubblica when he addressed the issue of racism in Britain.

“It’s like, ‘Oh no, we’re not racist’. But there’s a lot of racism in the country,” he said. “The difficult thing with the UK is, as you said, in Italy it’s a clear problem, whereas trying to explain that Britain is a racist country [to a British person] is the most difficult thing ever. They think, ‘No, it’s not. Stormzy you’re successful. Look at London, there’s loads of black people...’ It’s a more difficult case to fight.”

He referred to Johnson as a “figurehead” who had made it more acceptable to say racist things: “If the top person can openly say this racist thing – the ‘piccaninnies’ remarks, ‘watermelon smiles’, comparing Muslim women to a letter box – if that is our figurehead, the top man, the leader we have to follow, and he openly says these things, he encourages hate among others,” he said.

“Before, people had to hide their racism,” he continued. “If you felt something bad about black people, about Muslims, you had to shut up. Now these people have the confidence to come out in public to say everything. This is scary to me, that scares the s**t out of me.”

Stormzy made an appearance last night (19 December) at Electric Ballroom in Camden, London with Harry Styles, who was celebrating the release of his album Fine Line. The pair performed Stormzy’s hit “Vossi Bop” together, and urged the audience to shout the lyrics: “F*** the government and f*** Boris.”

Heavy is the Head has received critical acclaim, with The Independent awarding it four stars and observing it contains “all of Stormzy’s best traits”.