Ageism is as bad as racism, says Skinner

AGEISM should be viewed as being equally as bad as racism, Frank Skinner has suggested.

The comedian questioned why it had “never had the full impact” of other “isms” despite its discriminatory nature.

Skinner, 66, said ageism was seen as “a cuddly little peccadillo”, when in reality it invalidates older people.

“Some people despair when they get old,” he told Saga magazine. “They look back to their teens as a golden time. Physiologically, I think I was already an old man when I was about 12.

“The best thing about it is people accept excuses for you not doing things.

“You can say stuff like ‘I’ve got trench foot’, or ‘I’ve got rickets, so I can’t make it tonight’ and they don’t question it because they think that’s what probably happens to old people.”

He recalled that a woman had once openly expressed her ageism against people over 50 to him. “A woman said to me ‘I am ageist – I’m not proud of it but I don’t like to see rock stars over 50 doing stuff’,” he said. “It’s weird that ageism has never had the full impact of the other isms, such as racism. People think it’s a cuddly little peccadillo and really, it isn’t. It means older people are not considered fully valid, somehow.”

Despite this, he admitted he was also wary of it, adding: “It’s very easy to think ‘it’s because I’m older’, but you’ve got to be careful about giving yourself a way out.”

Skinner previously “owned up” to using racist, homophobic and sexist language in his younger years, saying he felt comfortable with his behaviour because he has “evolved”.

“I’ll be straight with you now, I grew up in the West Midlands in the 1960s and 70s. I used racist language, I was sexist, I was homophobic. I completely own up to that. I have evolved and that’s a good thing,” he told the Hay Festival.

“When I look back, I’m OK with that.”