Jameela Jamil says Oprah Winfrey ‘would have never made it in the U.K’

Jameela Jamil has said chat show host Oprah Winfrey, 66, would have ‘never made it’ in the U.K because of the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry. 

The Good Place actress, 34, explained why she felt she had to move over the U.S to pursue her career in television, in an interview with Playboy Magazine. 

Jameela said: ‘We’re still behind in giving women important jobs that lead to long standing, dignified careers, the rest of us either get pushed out or get pushed into being nothing more than sex objects, whether we want that or not. 

‘I remember coming to America five years ago and seeing (black US broadcaster) Robin Roberts hosting Good Morning America and knowing that Oprah is a really big deal (in the US) – Oprah would never have made it in the UK.

‘I couldn’t believe that I was seeing women in their 50s and 60s of different races on the biggest shows on US television. That was a big moment.’

Jameela claimed she knew she had to move over to the U.S because if she had stayed in the U.K. she would have been sent to the ‘glue factory’. 

The television personality was born in Hampstead to a Muslim Indian father and a Muslim Pakistani mother. 

Aged 23, Jameela began her career on T4, where she hosted a pop culture series from 2009 until 2012. 

She then became the radio host of The Official Chart, and was co-host of The Official Chart Update alongside Scott Mills on BBC Radio 1. Jameela was the first solo female presenter of the BBC Radio 1 chart show. 

Following a breast cancer scare, Jamil left London and moved to Los Angeles, with no plans of acting, instead intending to work as a screenwriter.

Her agent told her Michael Schur, who co-created Parks and Recreation, was looking for a British actress for a new upcoming comedy series.  

The show premiered in September 2016, with Jamil being a regular cast member of the NBC fantasy comedy series The Good Place, where she plays Tahani Al-Jamil, alongside Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. 

Jamil’s character became known for her tendency to name drop.

Jameela’s outspoken interview comes after she hit back at trolls who claimed she would be the ‘first actress to catch coronavirus’ because of her long history with ailments. 

The Good Place star took to Twitter last week to share a slew of Tweets predicting she would be one of the first celebrities to say they have been struck down with COVID-19.

Jameela vented: ‘If you’re gonna make a joke about how I am going to be the first actress with coronavirus, ya late and ya basic.  

‘Joking about my mental and physical health doesn’t hurt me as much as other more vulnerable people with chronic illness/invisible disability/actual Munchausens (sic).’