Hamza Yassin: What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?

What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Hamza Yassin said elsewhere, not written here

There’s a tweet somewhere saying, “If you like Africa so much, why don’t you go back there.” It was because I dedicated one of my dances to my three mothers – Mother Africa, Mother Nature and my mother.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 September 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

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Chaka Khan American singer

A friend said, “If you remembered everything you did, you’d kill yourself.” He’s sort of crazy, but he’s probably right.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 May 2024 source ↗

Layton Williams

Racial and homophobic slurs – the F- and N-words. When I moved to London, people screamed the F-word from their cars, and that stings.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 December 2024 source ↗

Roger McGough

A lady came up to me in Tesco last year and said, “Excuse me, but didn’t you used to be Roger McGough?”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 January 2026 source ↗

Adam Lambert American singer

“You’re never going to make it.” It was some guy I was dating. I had the last laugh.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 February 2023 source ↗

More from Hamza Yassin

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Question How close have you come to death? Death & what remains

Being about nine metres away from a polar bear. In northern Canada, a young polar bear was very intrigued by our food. I was flying the drone at the time and the polar bear looked up and started paying attention, so then we flew the drone further away and he followed it while we got into our vehicles.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 September 2023 source ↗