Becky Hill has called out a joke made by Jack Whitehall at this year’s BRIT Awards. At the ceremony earlier this month, host Whitehall called the singer “Wetherspoons Whitney” – referring to the chain of affordable British pubs – on the assumption that she was less well-off because of her Midlands accent.
“It’s an eclectic mix of nominees this year, from the soaring vocals of the Wetherspoons Whitney Becky Hill, to the atmospheric house of Top Jaw [in reference to the Instagram channel] with decks, Fred Again..,” said Whitehall, introducing the nominees for the dance act category.
Hill, who was born and raised in Bewdley, Worcestershire, called out the jibe via Instagram last night (Mar. 11). Posting to her stories, she shared a screenshot of a message pointing out the privileged backgrounds of various attendees at this year’s BRITs.
It was highlighted that Charli XCX – who scooped five awards that night – attended the £38,319-a-year ($50,206) Bishop’s Stortford College, while producer of the year winner A.G. Cook went to the £27,747-a-year King Alfred’s School ($37,472). Abigail Morris, lead singer of The Last Dinner Party, is an alumnus of Bedales, which costs £52,075 ($67,351) a year. The post also stated that Whitehall was educated at The Dragon School in Oxford, which has annual fees of £52,000 ($67,254).
“Imagine being called a ‘Wetherspoons Whitney’ by some privately-educated nepo baby who has a TV show with daddy the showbiz agent on national TV,” wrote Hill. “My parents worked so hard to provide a middle class life for me, even tho [sic] they couldn’t afford it, no one gave me a leg up, I wasn’t near London so I couldn’t go to the BRIT School. So if you associate a Midlands accent with a Wetherspoons that says more about the silver spoon in your mouth, jolly ol’ boy.”
In a subsequent post, she shared a selfie with a caption reading: “Me and my working class attitude off to work today. Remember not to be out of touch today kids, even if ur [sic] daddy is rich. Shout out Jack Whitehall for the fuel to my fire.” Whitehall is yet to respond to her comments.
Last week (Mar. 12), Billboard UK reported on the disparity in the music industry between those educated at state schools and those from private institutions, highlighting a 2024 report from the non-profit organisation The Sutton Trust. Their research indicates that best-selling musicians are six times more likely to have been privately educated than educated at a state school, and that the former take up more than half of enrollment at prestigious music conservatoires such as London’s The Royal Academy of Music (60%) and Royal College of Music (56%).
Hill, meanwhile, is scheduled to perform at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at the iconic Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire in July. She released her second studio album Believe Me Now? last year, which peaked at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.