Jameela Jamil Refuses to Apologize for Calling Britain ‘the Most Evil Empire,’ Cites 165 Million Indian Deaths

Jameela Jamil is defending herself against a wave of criticism after clips circulated online in which she compared Britain to the Marvel villain Thanos and called British people “the most evil people in history.”

Jamil, 40, made the remarks while discussing her role as Tahani Al Jamil in NBC’s “The Good Place.”

“I’m so lucky to have been part of that show. It was so well-written, and Megan Amram, who is one of the lead writers on that show, just wrote the shit out of Tahini, so together we all crafted her,” Jamil said. “But I just had to make her a bit more of a b****. They wanted her to be very sweet. Americans think British people are so sweet, which is so crazy because British people are truly the most evil people in history. They are Thanos. Britain is Thanos. They owe 43 trillion to India. We colonise the world.”

Later in the conversation, Jamil was asked about relocating to the United States after leaving London to pursue acting.

“I mean, I lived here for 10 years, so I’m fairly, you know, acclimatised. I got here a year before Donald Trump first became president. So I’ve seen this country go through, it’s like ebbs and flows. I was here for the pandemic. So this definitely feels like a scarier time than ever,” she said. “Generally, I feel emotionally perhaps. And also like Britain is f*****. Yeah, it doesn’t feel as though you know, I’m going back to some sort of literal race war happening right now. Brexit paved the way for American chaos. You know, they put the stone in the road.”

After clips spread on social media, Jamil responded at length on Instagram, saying the comments came from one of two comedy podcasts that aired the same day, the other of which, she said, opened “with me gushing about how much I love England and the British.”

She said her empire comments were made “in a notably tongue in cheek way,” adding: “The hosts join in. We riff. We laugh. It’s all quite playful given we are on a light pop culture podcast.”

“The right wing media and its pundits jumped on the second podcast only, entirely ignoring the first podcast. Because a pile on gets more clicks,” she wrote. “They remove context and tone from what I say and frame my comments as if they’re about the British people of today. I am British. I say ‘we’ in the video. I would be lambasting myself if I were discussing British people in 2026 as ‘evil.'”

Jamil said Britain “will always be my home,” pointing to her family’s history under colonial rule as the reason: “Because my family lived under the violent British colonialism in India. It only ended in 1947?!! Less than 80 years ago! It’s scarily recent.. the violent 190 YEAR occupation in which it is estimated 165 MILLION Indians died, and our people were abused, murdered, raped, starved, enslaved and stolen from… my dad was a child during all of this.”

Citing what she described as a 97 page Oxfam report, she wrote that “the British Empire extracted 64 trillion worth of India’s wealth,” adding: “This travesty was never repaired. People wonder why there are so many Indians in the UK… it’s possibly because this is where OUR money is. Why shouldn’t we be here? What would you do in such a position?”

“It’s subjective as to who the most evil empire actually was. Historians have argued about it for hundreds of years,” she continued. “Perhaps as someone so directly impacted by it, to the point it touched my own parents, that’s what informs my bias of absolute horror.”

Despite the criticism, Jamil said she still loves Britain: “I see the young people take to the street and fight for change and growth. I’m proud to walk among them. I’m proud of how multicultural London is. I LOVE our NHS. I love our resistance. I love our resilience. I just believe you can’t erase the past, and you shouldn’t.”

She said she has since received racist slurs, violent threats and messages telling her to go “back to my country,” writing sarcastically: “This has made British people look amazing to the rest of the world. This is the best way to make sure people don’t think you’re evil. Nailed it.”

Jamil argued the controversy has driven interest in colonial history: “This media hysteria has lead to tens of thousands of young people around the world digging deeper into exactly how bad the british empire was… A win is a win! I am not the enemy of the British people.”

“The wealthy elites who stole the wealth of other countries, didn’t give it to most of you! They kept it for themselves,” she wrote. “Given how much Britain stole, and so recently, we should all be living in a country that is prospering. Where is all the money? They don’t want you to think about that… It’s a classic divide and distract and conquer.”

She concluded by blaming right wing media for the abuse she has received: “I hold the right wing pundits and media directly responsible for the impact on my safety and how much abuse I have received. Twisting words and taking them out of context has grave consequences. Shame on them for riling up so many scary men against one woman for clicks… Sending everyone love. Hoping we all come to our collective senses and start asking the right questions.”

According to IBTimes UK, reaction online was divided, with critics accusing Jamil of speaking from a position of privilege and some calling on her to renounce her British citizenship, while defenders, including broadcaster Narinder Kaur, framed the pile on as an attack on a British woman of color expressing an opinion rooted in history. According to EasternEye, Jamil was born in London to parents of Pakistani and Indian heritage and began her career as a British television and radio presenter before finding international fame on “The Good Place.”