British actor Danny Dyer has generated significant controversy and viral social media attention following a blunt, expletive-laden critique of Prime Minister Andy Burnham during a brief interview with the BBC.
When asked by a BBC reporter for his message to the newly installed Prime Minister, Dyer immediately questioned Burnham’s democratic mandate and the character of recent UK leaders.
“I don’t know who the Prime Minister is, mate, do you?” Dyer responded to the reporter. “Andy, yeah, no, but who is he? I don’t understand anyone vote for him, because I didn’t vote for him. So I think we’ve had successive, um, successive Prime Ministers that are c***s. End of.”
Dyer concluded the brief interaction by defiantly telling the reporter to “put that on the f***ing BBC.”
The actor’s comments reference the nature of Burnham’s ascension to the premiership. Burnham assumed the role of Prime Minister without a general election following the resignation of his predecessor, Keir Starmer, a transition process that often draws criticism regarding a lack of direct democratic mandate from the electorate.
Dyer’s remarks on the BBC echo a broader anti-establishment sentiment he has recently been expressing. In a separate, recent appearance at a “Stop the Sewage” protest in Leysdown, Kent, Dyer again utilized his platform to criticize what he termed “the elites.”
Speaking to the crowd at the protest, Dyer expressed his frustration with the rising cost of living and utility bills. “What the elites are taking the fing piss out of us for, so many different reasons, like the list of fing things, what things cost now for what you actually get,” Dyer stated.
He further argued that the public is being manipulated into internal division to distract from holding those in power accountable. “I think that we’re being corrupted from these higher elite f***ing people, making us like point the finger at each other, right? Making us hate each other instead of pointing up. We’ve got to stick together… because we’ve got to make a change.”
Dyer specifically highlighted the irony of rising water bills amidst ongoing controversies regarding sewage discharges into UK waterways.
The actor’s outspoken comments have been quickly seized upon by right-wing commentators, who argue that Dyer is accurately voicing the frustrations of the working class regarding the cost of living, high taxes, and issues like immigration and energy policies under the current Labour government. However, others have questioned the appropriateness of his language, especially when speaking to the national broadcaster.
Neither the BBC nor Downing Street have issued a formal response to Dyer’s comments.
