February 15, 2008 | Funny Bits

"Black man's willy" offends some Brits

The BBC has issued an apology to viewers for a discussion on a recent gardening show.

During the "Gardeners' Question Time" radio program, a caller asked the panel about the Rhodochiton volubilis, which has earned the name "black man's willy" because of the way it looks.

Amid some giggling, gardening author Bob Flowerdew said he had "only ever seen one close up - and not that color," while Horticulturalist Anne Swithinbank added: "I've never seen one in my life. They don't really like the cold, as you can imagine. They shrivel up and look very unhappy."

Some listeners considered the banter to be racially insensitive, while others did not approve of the double entendre. A spokesman for the BBC said, "Potential for racial offense is not always an easy thing to gauge. In this case, there was nothing derogatory of black people in the language used. ... Nevertheless, it is clear that some listeners did infer a derogatory intention in the words used, and did feel offended. We regret this."

We find nothing offensive about black men's willies. We think they're really quite nice, thank you very much.