Richard Curtis has apologised for spoofing hit movie The King's Speech during the Comic Relief fundraiser in Britain on Friday (18Mar11) after the sketch was slammed by stammer groups.
The Love Actually writer/director co-founded the Comic Relief charity with funnyman Lenny Henry in 1985 and stars flock to appear on the annual U.K. telethon, which raises money to for a number of good causes.
Henry kicked off this year's (11) show with a spoof of Colin Firth's Oscar-winning movie - about stuttering monarch King George VI - and the scene showed the comic growing exasperated at the royal's speech impediment.
The sketch drew complaints from bosses at The British Stammering Association, who claimed it could lead to bullying, and now Curtis has apologised for the skit.
He tells BBC Radio 5 Live, "I'm very sorry about that. Comic Relief does spend money on bullying... and I'm sure that we were just thinking about the huge fame of that film at the moment and the immediacy of it.
"I would never want to give that impression (of bullying) and if we did I am sorry about that. It was meant to be a big joke about a very famous film rather than anything to do with stammering and offence. I would apologise for that."
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