Becky Hill has spoken to NME about Jack Whitehall calling her ‘Wetherspoons Whitney’ at last year’s BRIT Awards, asking: “How fucking dare he punch down?”
The incident happened last year when the comedian and actor took aim at the singer while hosting the 2025 BRIT Awards – calling her ‘Wetherspoons Whitney’ and insinuating that she was less well off because of her Midlands accent.
At the time, Hill hit back, sharing a post on Instagram that highlighted how many of the night’s winners had come from highly privileged backgrounds.
Her post pointed out that Charli XCX – who won five awards that night – attended the £38,319-a-year Bishop’s Stortford College, A.G. Cook went to the £27,747-a-year King Alfred’s School and The Last Dinner Party were alumni of Bedales, which costs £52,075 a year. It also shared that Whitehall was educated at the £52,000-a-year The Dragon School in Oxford.
“Imagine being called a ‘Wetherspoons Whitney’ by some privately educated nepo baby,” she wrote.
“My parents worked so hard to provide a middle class life for me, even tho they couldn’t afford it, no one gave me a leg up, I wasn’t near London so I couldn’t go to the BRIT School. So if you associate a Midlands accent with a Wetherspoons that says more about the silver spoon in your mouth jolly ol’ boy.”
Now, speaking to NME this week about her upcoming third album ‘Rebecca’, Hill spoke about her intense new single ‘More! More! More!’, and revealed that it was inspired by the frustration of seeing working class people being “trodden on”.
After explaining that the song was inspired by that feeling of self-sacrifice that came with trying to make her career take off, Hill explained what she hopes the song will mean to listeners.
“I do think that grind is something a lot of people are struggling with, especially in this cost of living crisis. People are pushing themselves to the limit in fear that they aren’t going to be able to feed their family, keep the lights on or support themselves,” she said. “A lot of us feel trodden on, and we accept it.”
“There’s a lot of that on the album,” she added, going on to say that there is a song called ‘Daddy Range Rover’ that also tackles the same topic. “That song is about the ‘Wetherspoons Whitney’ thing because how fucking dare [Whitehall] punch down.”
“I’ll take the Whitney [comparison]. I’ll take ‘landfill Whitney’, but how fucking dare he punch down and call me a Wetherspoons Whitney, because where the fuck is he frequenting?” she continued.
“I was always brought up middle class. My parents pretended we were middle class, we couldn’t afford the middle class lifestyle, and both of them… my dad, in particular, was brought up working class, and I definitely have that mentality.”
Hill’s new album is set to arrive on September 25, and will see her embrace a new “punk” energy as well as make nods to Blur and The Prodigy. Visit here to pre-order
“This album has definitely got something to fucking say for itself,” told NME in that same interview, also adding that the songs tackle themes of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and pressure she felt from the music industry.
Among the live shows Hill has lined-up for this summer is a slot at the top of the bill for the new Everywhere At Once festival, which has been made by Music Venue Trust and The National Lottery, and will see artists perform at grassroots venues across the UK.
Joining Hill on the line-up is The Lathums and Tinie Tempah, and the event is being spearheaded by Music Venue Trust, Save Our Scene and Association of Independent Promoters. Visit here for tickets and more information.
