Professor Green was subjected to a tirade of abuse from Britain First supporters in Rochdale after he challenged the controversial group’s racist abuse over the town’s grooming scandal.
The award-winning rapper, 34, faced off against Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen as she led supporters chanting ‘no surrender to the P*** scum’ in shocking scenes filmed as part of Channel 4 show White Working Class Men.
Professor Green, who grew up on a council estate before finding fame, was targeted by demonstrators who shouted: ‘Why are you defending rapists?,’ prompting him to shout back that he would ‘never defend rapists’.
He later added: ‘The country has not been very kind to you and that’s not the fault of anyone Muslim or foreign person. It’s a class problem it’s not a race problem.’
Britain First supporters in Rochdale, filmed by Professor Green for his Channel 4 documentary White Working Class Men last July. The rap star was verbally attacked by those who heard his confrontation with Ms Fransen
Professor Green confronted far right group Britain First in a new documentary about white working class men
Last night was the first episode in a two-part series exploring how white working class men have been failed by society.
Pro-Green – real name Stephen Manderson – who was raised by his grandmother on a London council estate before making his fortune in music shed light on the struggles they faced, admitting the future is ‘bleak’.
As part of the documentary visited Rochdale, where a group of nine men of Pakistani and Afghan origin ran a child exploitation ring targeting girls as young as 13.
In the explosive scene, Professor Green approaches Fransen questioning whether she thinks their controversial display ‘incites hatred’.
‘It makes sense to us to say don’t build a mosque on every corner of our Christian country,’ she tells the presenter, before adding: ‘I am here because I want these Pakistani Muslims to get their filthy hands off of our kids.’
When Green challenges the offending statement he is targeted by the surrounding group who accuse him of ‘defending rapists’.
The documentary divided opinion among viewers with some classing it a difficult watch while others said it was an important subject
The rap artist approached the group leader Jayda Fransen to ask if she believed she was inciting hate during a demonstration in Rochdale
ROCHDALE GROOMING CASE: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
Twelve men were prosecuted for sex trafficking, rape, trafficking and engaging in sexual activity with a child.
The abuse occurred between 2004 and 2009 and the men were sent to trial in 2012.
Nine were convicted, of them eight were of British-Pakistani origin and one an Afghan asylum seeker. Three were not convicted.
Shabir Ahmed, 63, was the ringleader of a child sex exploitation ring, grooming girls as young as 13 for sex in Rochdale and Bolton. He was given a 19-year sentence for conspiracy, two rapes, aiding and abetting rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking.
Greater Manchester Police came under fire for how it handled abuse claims in the town
Taxi driver Abdul Aziz, 41, was sentenced to nine years for conspiracy and nine years, concurrently, for trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Kabeer Hassan, 25, was sentenced to nine years for rape and conspiracy.
Taxi driver Abdul Huk was found guilty of sexual activity with a child and was jailed for four years.
Freddy Kendukumana, was convicted of rape and sexual activity with a minor and jailed for eight and a half years.
Roheez Khan was convicted of sexual activity with a minor and witness intimidation and jailed for 6 and a half years.
Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service came under fire for how they handled reported claims of rape and abuse and have since apologised.
‘I would never defend a rapist,’ says Green. ‘I am white working class. I haven’t come here to call names, so don’t tell me what I am.’
While speaking to a protester he later adds: ‘The country has not been very kind to you and that’s not the fault of anyone Muslim or foreign. It’s a class problem it’s not a race problem.’
The controversial topic divided viewers on Twitter however, the majority agreed rappers’ coverage of the controversial topic had been ‘articulate’ and applauded his efforts.
One wrote: ‘What a really well articulated, balanced and compassionate documentary’.
Another agreed adding: ‘Very interesting insight, good work here #professorgreen’.
Viewers were quick to congratulate the rapper on his ‘articulate’ coverage of the subject
For the documentary Green spent six months in different parts on the country, in an attempt to understand the challenges young men in poor working class backgrounds face in life – including education and work.
Green, who was married to socialite Millie Mackintosh, said he decided to make the two-part series after learning that working class men are the least likely social group to achieve five GCSEs or go to university.
Figures reveal just 10 per cent of white boys from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK go on to higher education – compared to 40 per cent for the rest of the country.
Funds needed to study are thought to be behind the shocking statistic, with the average graduate currently leaving university around £50,000 poorer.
Rap artist Professor Green, aka Stephen Manderson, followed six white men from underprivileged backgrounds living in the UK for his new Channel 4 documentary
The 34-year-old rap star, who was discovered aged 21, grew up in Hackney on a council estate with his nan, after his mother walked out on him at 16
‘People have fewer aspirations,’ Green told Sally Weale at The Guardian. ‘From the areas I went to for the documentary, there seems to be a real lack of drive and belief in them being able to achieve anything, and there’s an acceptance of that.’
The first episode sees him spending time learning about the lives of three young men, including self-styled Essex boy Denzil, right-wing sympathiser David, and Lewis, a smartly-suited teenager hoping to defy his upbringing and make it to Cambridge University.
Green says it wasn’t easy coming face-to-face with the realities of life for many young men in the UK.
He explains: ‘There was nothing that really surprised me. There were things that I thought were unfortunate, there were things that I thought were really sad.’
The rapper followed the six men featured in the two-part documentary for Channel 4 for six months and was privy to how they perceived both their backgrounds and their futures
David, 20, from Bolton: Orphaned at 15, illiterate, and living in a hostel
David, from Bolton, can’t read or write and was orphaned at just 15 when his parents died of health conditions within weeks of each other
Unable to read or write, David from Bolton admits his prospects are bleak.
He lost his father and his mother just weeks apart when he was 15 and is seen in the documentary going to his father’s graveside to plant flowers.
Left in the hands of the care system, he now lives in a hostel, can’t find work because he can’t read or writer and has little ambition for the future – although he hopes to ‘meet someone and settle down and have children’.
David takes Professor Green to visit his father’s grave; later in the show he reveals how he sympathises with right-wing organisations because he struggles to get work
Hopes and dreams: David says he’d love to settle down and have a family of his own
Green said hearing David’s story was ‘hard’ particularly because he couldn’t read and write
When Professor Green attends a Britain First rally with David and his friends, he faces animosity from a braying crowd after he questions their views.
The star said of the rally: ‘It was horrible, I hated every minute of it. I was really reluctant to go. But I felt as though I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t.
‘I suppose when people don’t have anything, the only thing they feel they have is their whiteness. They’re angry, their lives aren’t great, and there’s someone they can blame for it.’
Professor Green says: ‘Finding out that David had missed out on two housing opportunities because he was illiterate, and he had no-one to read the letters to him, because he’d lost his mum and his dad. That was hard.’
Professor Green, who himself grew up on a Hackney Council estate and didn’t pass any of his GCSEs, hopes the programme will spark more debate about the underachieving of white, working class males in the UK.
Living with his nan after his mother left at the age of 16, Professor Green describes in the documentary how he was the only white boy in his East London class.
The star says that he feels ‘lucky’ to have experienced a working class upbringing despite the riches that have come his way since he shot to fame at 21 after being discovered by a record label.
Ambition: How smart-suited Lewis, 18, defied the odds and is aiming for Cambridge
When Professor Green meets 18-year-old Lewis Croney, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, he admits he’s surprised by both his accent and his attire.
Defying the odds: Lewis Croney, from Hampshire, shocked Professor Green with his smart attire and middle-class accent
Professor Green follows Lewis as he hopes to get a place at Cambridge University…but the youngster admits he isn’t sure how he’ll explain his upbringing to his middle-class peers if he makes it to the prestigious seat of learning
Determined to get a place at one of the country’s top universities, Lewis is seen anticipating his A-levels results, that will guarantee him a place – against all odds – at one of the country’s top universities.
Professor Green, who meets Lewis at the hairdressing salon where his mother works, is shocked by the young man’s posh accent and smart attire.
Lewis admits that he may find it hard to reveal the truth to his future university friends about his humble background.
In an interview to accompany the series, Professor Green admits that money has changed his life but says he remains working class at the core.
He says: ‘My life’s changed substantially because of the money that I’ve made, but I’m not from money, I’m not wealthy. Wealth isn’t in my family, that’s not going to change. I’m still working class.
‘My children? I don’t know. I hope they’ll have the same values as me, but do I want them to be working class? I don’t know.’
‘All they have is their whiteness’: The star attended the beginning of a Britain First rally and ‘hated every minute of it’ after he clashed with members of the controversial group
Denzil: Self-styled Canvey Island wide boy who dreams of big money – by almost any means
A modern-day Del Boy, Denzil wants to get rich quick and will try anything to make money, including working as a male escort and selling sex aids.
Denzil, from Canvey Island, has tried working as an escort and selling sex aids to make money – and Professor Green joins him as he tries to get his latest venture off the ground – a pop-up rave
The star has revealed that he found himself dealing drugs after he’d sell cannabis on to friends to pay for his share – only for the money-making scheme to escalate
Professor Green follows him on his latest venture, as he attempts to put on a rave, encouraging people from London to travel east for a night of fun.
He admits that there will be people in the building selling drugs but says he ‘leaves all that alone’.
The Essex boy turned entrepreneur will stop at nothing to bring in the bacon, but Professor Green wonders how responsible he’s being, with a young daughter to provide for.
Working Class White Men, a two-part documentary, starts on Channel 4 on Tuesday 9 January at 10pm