Footage of Ant and Dec wearing sombreros and shaking maracas in order to promote Saturday Night Takeaway has re-emerged following a divisive row on Tuesday’s I’m A Celebrity.
Nella Rose clashed with Nigel Farage in the camp as the duo debated what constituted “cultural appropriation” and what didn’t – leading the GB News star to use the example of stereotypical Mexican clothing.
Following the discussion, a number of the campmates flocked to Rose’s side to comfort her, including Jamie Lynn Spears, while the likes of Josie Gibson, Danielle Harold, and Nick Pickard were shown in conversation siding with the YouTuber.
The debate sparked floods of responses from ITV viewers at home and Ant and Dec shared their thoughts on the conversation once the scene ended.
“Another genuinely fascinating conversation that,” Ant said before Dec chipped in: “Do you know what was nice about the discussion? That it was a discussion, not an argument.
“I think it’s good if we can all see each other’s point of view without arguing, we’d get a lot further. Peach and love, man,” Dec concluded to which Ant replied: “Hard agree.”
Ant and Dec wore sombreros and played maracas in an Instagram clip back in 2021
INSTAGRAM/ANT AND DEC [VIA MIRROR]
And while Farage was vilified by Rose and a handful of campmates for expressing his side of the argument, a number of his supporters at home have pointed out that fan-favourite presenting duo Ant and Dec have carried out the exact example Farage was putting across.
Back in 2021, the Geordie duo came under fire from fans and even the British Mexican Society who said the pair should “know there is so much more to Mexican culture than lazy stereotypes”.
The clip in question was shared to their Instagram [via Mirror] to promote a new series of their Saturday night variety show and showed both Ant and Dec in brightly-coloured shirts, wearing sombreros and shaking maracas while traditional Mexican music played behind them.
“See what I mean,” Ant said in the clip as Dec shook the instruments. “It’s constant man. Imagine going on holidays with him.
“This is what he’s like. Morning, noon, and night. Maracas, maracas, maracas. It drives us crackers!” Ant added before he dashed off-camera to grab the Sombreros.
Dec said in the clip they were recreating a previous campaign they’d done almost two decades earlier: “In the promo shot we did in 2002, I had maracas and a sombrero but it is my least favourite promo shot of Saturday Night Takeaway.”
Despite not being a fan of the promo, Ant and Dec smiled along while wearing the ensemble.
It’s not the first time the pair faced “cultural appropriation” criticism as in early 2020, Ant and Dec were also slammed when they took part in a martial arts sketch on Saturday Night Takeaway.
Ant and Dec front Saturday Night Takeaway as well as I’m A Celebrity
ITV/SHUTTERSTOCK
The pair wore headbands with the Japanese Rising Sun flags – a symbol synonymous with a series of atrocities carried out by the nation in Asia.
ITV apologised at the time, telling Metro: “We apologise for any offence caused during the End of the Show Show by the costumes worn. This was clearly unintended and we have taken steps to re-edit that part of the episode for the Hub and for repeat broadcasts.”
Then there was the duo’s decision to don Blackface back in 2003 for another sketch as part of their light-hearted variety show.
The two went undercover as two Jamaican women and donned accents as they attempted to fool the cast of the ITV soap Emmerdale.
Nigel Farage faced criticism from Nella Rose for his views
INSTAGRAM/SHUTTERSTOCK
Ant and Dec released a joint statement about the previous sketches in which they said: “During past episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway we impersonated people of colour in the undercover segment of the show.
“We realise this was wrong and want to say that we sincerely sorry to everyone that was offended.
“We purposely stopped doing this several years ago and certainly would not make these sketches today.
“We had already taken steps to ensure footage was taken down and have again recently confirmed with ITV that these segments, and any other historical content, that could cause offence, does not appear on either the ITV Hub or the Saturday Night Takeaway YouTube channel.”
