Podcast duo sorry for jokes about black women

James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu won a Mobo Award for their podcast earlier this year

Award-winning podcast duo James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu have apologised for engaging with "racist jokes" on a rival show.

James and Fuhad, better known as Shxtsngigs, appeared last month on US comedian Andrew Schulz's Flagrant podcast.

The pair faced backlash afterwards for laughing along with comments Schulz made about black women that were criticised by listeners as being based on racist stereotypes.

They opened Monday's episode of their podcast by saying sorry and that there was "no excuse" for their behaviour.

The podcasters, who won a Mobo Award in February, had been on a six-week trip to the US when they appeared on the Flagrant podcast.

It has tens of thousands of monthly listeners and sells itself as being "unfiltered" with presenters who "could care less about sensitivities".

In the episode with James and Fuhad, released on 17 July, they discussed the "black girlfriend effect".

The phrase inspired a TikTok "before and after" trend where mixed race couples would post pictures showing how their relationships had changed them.

In the podcast, Fuhad starts by saying black women "glow up the other culture" - make their partners more stylish - with James adding that their boyfriends may get a beard, tattoos and a fade haircut.

"They shave their hair because they start losing it," Schulz interjects.

"Because he's so stressed to be around this black girl complaining all the time."

James and Fuhad laugh along as Schulz continues: "They grow their beard because they need a cushion when they get slapped.

"I think the black girlfriend effect, it might be a protective instinct."

US comedian Andrew Schulz hosts the Flagrant podcast, which claims to deliver "unruly hot takes"

There was a backlash online with fans saying the jokes played into the "angry black woman" trope of an overly emotional and aggressive personality.

Addressing the online reaction on Monday's podcast, James says: "Andrew was making a joke, frankly a racist joke, and we were laughing at it.

"There’s literally no excuse."

James says he expected to be the person who would "stand up, kick those cameras down... [and] smack homeboy in the face".

"But when you're in there, you're in shock," he says, likening it to "fight or flight".

"It’s not even about pity laughs or anything," Fuhad adds. "We just wanted to get out of that situation."

James acknowledged their reaction "really, really hurt people that look to us for support and look to us to feel protected".

"We’re sorry. For me it’s one of them ones where you don’t realise that, when you’re part of a community, you don’t realise you can hurt your own community," he says.

"We don’t condone, we don’t appease that behaviour.

"We don’t rate it and we don’t want you guys to think we were sat in that room rating what was going on."

'Racism disguised as jokes'

Jorden Berkeley says she was disappointed James and Fuhad "just laughed along"

Fan Jorden Berkeley says she was "instantly disappointed" when she saw the clip of James and Fuhad on the podcast.

She uploaded a reaction video on TikTok where she said it was "so exhausting being a black woman".

"Black women are really fed up of being the butt of racism disguised as jokes," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

"What's really upset black women is that a white man can be in a room with black men and can be racist and there be no challenge. That's incredibly upsetting.

"I don't think anybody was expecting Fuhad and James to fight with Andrew Schultz on his podcast but even the slightest of pushback would have gone a long way.

"They really have to reflect on the fact that they just laughed along."

Jorden, a social worker who also provides life coaching for other women, says the angry black woman trope is "remixed and refashioned all the time" and shapes how women of colour are treated in all areas of society.

"But we're allowed to defend ourselves and we're allowed to speak up for ourselves," she says.

She's happy James and Fuhad apologised but feels let down they addressed it to their "community" rather than black women specifically, calling it "very general".

Jorden doesn't think she'll continue to support the podcast.

"It's left a really, really bad taste in my mouth."

'Let our community down'

Shxtsngigs is one of the top-ranking podcasts on Spotify in the UK, with millions of Instagram followers and just under two million YouTube subscribers.

In February, James and Fuhad were recognised at the Mobo Awards and in May sold out a live show at the O2 in London.

James said on Monday that they had travelled to the US "to show how much we love our community, how much we love our supporters" and there was an "irony" that the trip was "why we’re having this conversation".

However they said they had learned from the mistake.

"We hold our hands up, we apologise," says Fuhad.

"You learn from your mistakes and we hope we don’t let our community down again."

BBC Newsbeat has contacted representatives for Shxtsngigs as well as Andrew Schulz for comment.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.