THE new A-Team film is to carry a warning advising white men in their 30s not to impersonate B.A. Baracus.
The message will appear at the start of the feature, telling all those who never outgrew the original TV series not to repeat the phrases ‘I ain’t getting’ on no plane, fool’ and ‘you crazy fool, Murdoch’ in pretty much the same voice that they also use to impersonate Samuel L Jackson.
A spokesman for the British Board of Film Classification said: “The character of B.A. Baracus has long been considered a kind of ‘free pass’ for white people who would normally feel uneasy about publicly imitating an angry black man.
“This type of behaviour is never less than excruciating and cannot be condoned. At best it’s socially and politically iffy, at worst it reeks of Justin Lee Collins.”
Tom Logan, a sales executive from Stevenage, said: “I think it feels okay because Mr T is a cosy teatime thing, sort of like the Antiques Roadshow if it had loads of muscles and chains and could kill you with its bare hands.”
He added: “Calling someone a ‘sucka’ because they’ve incorrectly configured their email settings is going to be brilliant though, isn’t it?”
Stephen Malley, one of those IT consultants from Swindon, said: “It’s a shame because Mr T is the only black voice I feel I can still do in the workplace without the personnel department getting heavily involved in my life.
“I remember a time, not so long ago, when you could arrive at your desk in the morning and let out a hearty ‘Katanga, my friends!’ but if I did that now it’d be all over one of those fancy London newspapers and they’d send me to live in Gloucester.
“That said, I am working on my Nelson Mandela and a very respectful Ainsley Harriot.”
