White Yardie

Harry Gregory, better known by his stage name White Yardie, is a British and Jamaican comedian, actor and social media personality. Born in the United Kingdom, he was raised in Jamaica.

White Yardie
Born
Harry Gregory

United Kingdom
CitizenshipBritish, Jamaican
Occupations
  • comedian
  • actor
Years active2015–present

Biography

Life

In a Channel 4 interview Gregory stated that due to his mother's previous miscarriage, when she became pregnant with him and did not feel comfortable with the local hospital, she temporarily relocated from Jamaica to the United Kingdom to receive prenatal and postnatal care. When he was 3 months old, they went back to Jamaica.[1]

He grew up in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. His father, a sound system operator, moved from Jamaica and to the UK back and forth all through Gregory’s childhood, with Gregory sometimes living with friends. "There are people who feel like me nuh know or understand certain things because there is a stigma attached to the colour of my skin that I was a privileged child, when that is really inaccurate. Me nuh grow nuh different from any other Jamaican child," he told a Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner, in 2019.[2]

After graduating high school and several of his friends moving to relatives in Canada, UK and the US, he found himself moving to relatives in Peckham, southeast London, in 2002. There were two Jamaicans on his block in Peckham, Gregory and a black youth called Yardie, and Gregory quickly received the nickname White Yardie, being a caucasian/white person from Jamaica[3]

Career

He began his comedy career through social media outlets predominately Instagram. He transitioned from social media expression via video to sharing satirical stories in front of a live audience. He was nominated for Best Comedian 2016 by the UK Entertainment Awards.[4]

As of 2020, he is a regular contributor to AFTV fan YouTube channel and website directed at supporters of Arsenal F.C., founded by former BBC reggae radio host Robbie Lyle.[5]

He has preformed as comedy events such as Come Kin Yuh Teeth, Ring in Jamaica 60[6] in Birmingham, TDS Presents Comedy Fest in Reading, White Yardie + Joe Clair Father's Day Special, Laugh Out Loud: Father's Day Comedy Show in Saint Croix,[7] Wahala: White Yardie vs. Axel Blake [8] in London, Deighton Carnival 2022,[9] Jamaica Vs The World Comedy Warehouse[10] and more.

In August 2022, he was the official host of the Food & Groove Festival in Manchester, featuring foods from around the world and music artists such as Omar, Loose Ends, Wayne Marshall aka The Marshayne, Alexander O'Neal and Carroll Thompson.[11]

Controversy

In November 2021 White Yardie had to defend himself after his Jamaican heritage as this was called into question on Channel 4 debate programme Unapologetic, hosted by Zeze Millz and Yinka Bokinni. When Millz asked if he "classes himself as Jamaican", White Yardie stated: "I do class myself as part of the Jamaican culture but it's one of them ones where I have never given myself any titles of anything. People have given it to me. I would class [myself] as Jamaican because of my experience and also I spent the majority of my life in Jamaica, and also my whole life is lived as a Jamaican lifestyle. " [12][13] In the same TV debate, Journalist Nicolas-Tyrell Scott asked Gregory when he "decided" to be Jamaican. TV watchdog Ofcom confirmed it received over 51 complaints over the line of questioning, while many viewers defended White Yardie on social media.[12]

Film & Television
Year Title Role Notes
2019 Blue Story Karina's Dad A musical crime drama film written, directed, and narrated by Rapman
2021 Unapologetic Himself Debate program on Channel 4

References
  1. "Jamaican is not a race ( culture and race are not the same )" – via www.youtube.com.
  2. "Comedian White Yardie stays true to Ja's motto". jamaica-gleaner.com. 28 September 2019.
  3. "From Jamaica to the World - Life as a White Yardie | #87talks" – via www.youtube.com.
  4. Manzini, Be. "75% #OutOf100 – Be Manzini Reflects on the 2016 UK Entertainment Awards (UEAs) | The British Blacklist".
  5. Kempton, Ben (28 August 2021). "Rise of Arsenal Fan TV's Don Robbie who's had 1 billion views". MyLondon.
  6. "COME KIN YUH TEET WID JN MONEY". Eventbrite.
  7. "Laugh Out Loud Is Back On St. Croix For Father's Day Weekend Show". viconsortium.com.
  8. "LONDON: White Yardie Vs Axel Blake WAHALA". BLACK COMEDY UK.
  9. Sutcliffe, Robert (10 March 2022). "Deighton Carnival back for 2022 with parade and White Yardie show". YorkshireLive.
  10. "Jamaica Vs The WORLD | Comedy WareHouse, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 29 May 2022". stayhappening.com.
  11. Sidat, Leena (12 April 2022). "Food & Groove Festival comes to Manchester this summer". Manchester Evening News.
  12. Adejobi, Alicia (17 November 2021). "White Yardie defends his Jamaican heritage after awkward debate". Metro. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  13. Shand-Baptiste, Kuba (19 November 2021). "Debating White Yardie being Jamaican shows how mixed up we are about race and nationality". inews.co.uk.
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