Counter thread defending my colleague and very good acquaintance @LeoKearse
1. Leo’s Markle reference is not about race, it is purely about perceived ingratitude, and Leo would absolutely make this joke if they were both white.
2. Using ‘Farsi’ in the joke wouldn’t work as well, as a) Some people wouldn’t know that was the actual correct language and b) ‘Iranian’ is supposed to sound slightly dumb, as part of Leo’s comic persona is being somewhat obtuse/obnoxious
(a bit like Jimmy Carr, who VCM defended after his arguably actually racist joke). You can tell Leo uses this technique because he often employs a slightly silly voice when he does it (and I don’t mean that he is Scottish).