British stand-up comedian and presenter Mo Gilligan has pledged to support maternal charity Five X More by donating his presenting fee from the upcoming BRITs Awards.

Already a double BAFTA award winner, Mo Gilligan has now been confirmed as the 2022 BRITs host, the first Black solo entertainer to do so. Gilligan will be joined by Clara Amfo and Maya Jama who are also set to take on presenting duties for ‘The BRITs Are Coming’ Nominations show and BRITs Red Carpet show.

I believe in giving back so I’m going to be donating my fee for the @BRITs to @fivexmore they do extraordinary work and when the spotlight is on me I must shine it on others 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/IfDW4MKeuk

— Mo Gilligan (@MoTheComedian) December 30, 2021

At the time Gilligan commented on what hosting the BRITS means to him. He said: “It’s an absolute privilege to host the 2022 BRIT Awards. I’m truly honoured to be asked. We’re already in the extensive planning stages and all I can say is, I promise we’re going to give it all we’ve got to create an incredible night for music fans everywhere. Let’s go!”

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By donating his presenting fee to 5 X More, Gilligan is helping to shine a light on the issues of Black maternal healthcare and the very important work the charity does to highlight the discrepancies that Black women face generally in the healthcare space.

Gilligan who before he found fame, was uploading his comedy clips online till he got his big break in 2017, is now also paying it forward by raising awareness of the charity’s work.

In a tweet Mo said: “My year has been crazy, filmed The Masked Dancer, The Big Breakfast, The Lateish Show, The Masked Singer, The Big Narstie Show. Sold Out UK Comedy Tour, sold out the O2 Arena, released a book, won another Bafta, filmed a TV advert and became the host for the Brits next year.

To round up the tweet, he said: “I believe in giving back so I’m going to be donating my fee for the Brits to Five X More. They do extraordinary work and when the spotlight is on me, I must shine it on others.”

Five X More began its journey as a charity in 2019, when two mothers, Clotilde Rebecca Abe and Tinuke Awe, came together with the ambition of improving maternal mortality rates and health care outcomes for Black women in the UK. At their launch, the charity highlighted the shocking statistic surrounding the fact that Black women are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than white women are.

Since then, 5 X More has gone on to organize campaigns that support mothers, including starting a petition asking the government to make improvements for Black women’s healthcare.

Five X More: First UK Black women’s maternal health awareness week

Gilligan’s donation of his presenting fee to 5 X More is an important gesture and shows solidarity with the charity and welfare of the Black community. Showing appreciation of the gesture, Five X More replied to Mo Gilligan via their twitter account, they said: “We really appreciate all your support and for choosing to shine your spotlight on us!  Well done for all you have achieved this year and everything you do to support the community.”

We love to see it. A lovely example of rising by lifting others.

The Brit Awards 2022 take place at London’s O2 Arena on 8 February.

Learn more about 5 X More charity.