Bobby Friction

Bobby DJing in Preston for a Radio 1 event

Paramdeep Sehdev (Punjabi: ਪ੍ਮਦੇਵ ਸੇਧੇਵ) (born 21 August 1971, Hammersmith),[1] better known as Bobby Friction, is a DJ, television presenter and radio presenter from west London.

Career

Sehdev joined BBC Radio 1 in 2002 co-hosting the Sony Gold award winning show, ‘Bobby Friction & Nihal’, and in 2005 joined the BBC Asian Network presenting the station’s Saturday afternoon ‘Album Chart Show’, before moving to ‘The Mix’, on Sunday afternoons. Sehdev also won his second Gold Sony award in 2005 for his BBC documentary ‘Vote Friction’, and then in 2006 he started his weeknightly ‘Friction’ show on the Asian Network. The show, seen by many worldwide as ‘the definitive’ Asian music show, won Sehdev his third Sony Gold in 2007 and in 2009 it won him "Best Radio Show" at the UK Asian Music Awards (UK AMA).[2] In 2011 it won Best Radio Show again at the UK AMA.[3] Since December 2012 he presents a weekly radioshow on East Village Radio: Friction on EVR.

Controversy

On August 16, 2015, Sehdev used social media to call for people to fight the "Sikh Taliban". He asked his followers to "fight them & stand up to them now". He continued, "Don't say you haven't been warned. They don't want love, they don't want peace, and they definitely don't want God." Sikhs in Britain have no connection to the Taliban, which is a Muslim political movement in Afghanistan.[4]

Sehdev later apologized, stating that he used the term "Sikh Taliban" "as a metaphor", and that he understood it had caused offence for "some Sikhs". He continued, "On reflection I can understand, given the broader context and history, why that term is an offensive one."[5]

Although Sehdev refers to himself as "Bobby Friction" instead of by his Indian origin name, he still has strong views on how other Indians should think and behave.[6] According to Jasvinder Singh of Dal Khalsa UK, "Bobby Friction" is a racist who has insulted the Sikh community "in a derogatory way" many times over an extended period. Singh requested the BBC to terminate Sehdev due to his frequent derogatory statements.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Births in England and Wales 1837-2006
  2. ↑ "2009 UK AMA Award Winners - on desihits.com". desihits.com. March 6, 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Jas Sembhi (March 10, 2011). "2011 UK Asian Music Awards Winners". desiblitz.com. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  4. ↑ "BBC presenter Bobby Friction apologises for using offensive term against Sikhs". Times News Network. August 20, 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "BBC presenter Bobby Friction apologises for using offensive term against Sikhs". Times News Network. August 20, 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  6. ↑ BizAsia Correspondent (August 15, 2015). "Bobby Friction embroiled in ‘Taliban Sikh’ controversy". Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Sikh Siyasat Bureau (August 14, 2015). "Dal Khalsa UK writes to BBC's Mark Strippel over Bobby Friction's offensive comments". Retrieved 11 September 2015.

External links

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