Jack Whitehall: 'I've damaged Cheryl Cole's chance of making it in US'
The well-spoken comedian, who recently took to the stage at the Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball in New York, said that British stars with plummy accents launching their careers in the US are only leading Americans to believe that is how all English people speak, making it more difficult for celebrities with thicker accents to be understood.
Whitehall told The Sun: "There is the whole Cheryl Cole thing, worrying they weren't going to understand you [as reported before she left The X Factor USA], but I think mine and Cheryl Cole's voices are different enough.
"I think I have probably just perpetuated the preconception [that everyone in Britain has a posh accent]. I've probably damaged Cheryl Cole's chances of another relaunch in America as they are all going to assume people talk like me."
He also slammed rumours that all US women love a British accent, saying: "It is a lie that as soon as you go to America and open your mouth they are wooed by your dulcet tones. You definitely need more than that - you need some actual lines. What you are saying has to be good as well.
"I spoke up in the hope that I would get some female attention. I! didn't get much. [But] I wasn't going out there on the pull."
Whitehall admitted that it was "terrifying doing a gig somewhere [he] hadn't done one before" because he was "slightly out of [his] comfort zone" and was "very nervous".
He also said that he finds it easier to make British audiences laugh, adding: "If some material is not going well in England, you can throw in a joke about The Only Way Is Essex or something and people will get it, whereas in America your back catalogue is far more limited."
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