James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu apologize for jokes about black women

Award-winning podcast duo James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu have apologized for participating in “racist jokes” on a rival show.

James and Fuhad, better known as Shxtsngigs, appeared on US comedian Andrew Schulz's Flagrant podcast last month.

The couple later faced severe criticism for laughing at Schulz's comments about black women, which were criticized by listeners as being based on racist stereotypes.

They began Monday's episode of their podcast by apologizing and saying there was “no excuse” for their behavior.

The podcasters, who won a Mobo Award in February, were on a six-week trip in the US when they appeared on the Flagrant podcast.

The show has tens of thousands of listeners every month and is advertised as “unfiltered,” with presenters who “don’t care about sensitivities at all.”

In the July 17 episode with James and Fuhad, they discussed the “Black Girlfriend Effect.”

The phrase inspired a “before and after” trend on TikTok, in which mixed-race couples posted pictures showing how their relationships had changed them.

In the podcast, Fuhad begins by saying that black women “make the other culture shine” – helping their partners have more style – and James adds that their friends might get a beard, tattoos and a fade haircut.

“They shave their hair because they are starting to lose it,” Schulz interjects.

“Because it stresses him out so much being around that black girl complaining all the time.”

James and Fuhad laugh as Schulz continues: “They grow a beard because they need a cushion when they get slapped.”

“I think the Black Girlfriend Effect might be a protective instinct.”

There was a backlash online with fans saying the jokes played into the Cliché of the “angry black woman” an overly emotional and aggressive personality.

Commenting on the online reaction to Monday's podcast, James said: “Andrew made a joke, frankly a racist joke, and we laughed about it.

“There is literally no excuse.”

James says he expected to be the one to “stand up, kick the cameras… (and) punch my buddy in the face.”

“But when you’re in there, you’re in shock,” he says, comparing it to “fight or flight.”

“It's not even about pity laughter or anything like that,” Fuhad adds. “We just wanted to get out of that situation.”

James acknowledged that their response “really, really hurt the people who look to us for support and a sense of protection.”

“We're sorry. To me, this is one of those cases where you don't realize that when you're part of a community, you can harm your own community,” he says.

“We do not tolerate this behavior, nor do we appease it.

“We are not judging this and we don't want you to think that we were sitting in the room judging what was going on.”

Fan Jorden Berkeley says she was “instantly disappointed” when she saw the clip of James and Fuhad on the podcast.

She uploaded a reaction video to TikTok in which she said it was “so exhausting being a black woman.”

“Black women are really fed up with being the target of racism disguised as a joke,” she tells BBC Newsbeat.

“What really upsets black women is that a white man can be in a room with black men and be racist without being pushed back. That's incredibly upsetting.”

“I don't think anyone expected Fuhad and James to argue with Andrew Schultz on his podcast, but even the slightest resistance would have made a big difference.

“You really have to realize that they were just laughing along.”

Jorden, a social worker who also provides life coaching to other women, says the angry black woman stereotype is “constantly being re-enacted and reshaped” and influences the way women of color are treated in all areas of society.

“But we are allowed to defend ourselves and speak for ourselves,” she says.

She is glad that James and Fuhad apologized, but feels disappointed that they addressed their “community” and not specifically black women, calling the apology “very general.”

Jorden doesn't think she will continue to support the podcast.

“It left a really, really bad taste in my mouth.”

Shxtsngigs is one of the top-ranked podcasts on Spotify in the UK, with millions of Instagram followers and almost two million YouTube subscribers.

In February, James and Fuhad awarded at the Mobo Awards and in May a live show at the O2 Arena in London was sold out.

James said Monday they traveled to the U.S. “to show how much we love our community, how much we love our supporters,” and it was “ironic” that the trip is the “reason we're having this conversation.”

However, they said they had learned from the mistake.

“We raise our hands and apologize,” says Fuhad.

“You learn from your mistakes and we hope we don’t let our community down again.”

BBC Newsbeat has contacted representatives from Shxtsngigs and Andrew Schulz for comment.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 on weekdays – or listen to Here.