Big Brother fans were outraged when a housemate’s T-shirt was edited out of an episode.
The ITV reality show has sparked controversy for censoring what appeared to be a pro-Palestine T-shirt in the episode which aired on Tuesday (October 22). Contestant Ali Bromley wore the top depicting a watermelon symbol in the shape of Israel and in the colours of the Palestinian flag – red, green, white and black.
The symbol has become connected with the pro-Palestine movement amid the ongoing Gaza conflict, and is said to be associated with anti-Israel sentiment. The top is reported to be a Freedom Melon Tee from Wear The Peace, which donates proceeds to the charity Pious Projects of America, who use the funds to supply aid to people in Gaza during the ongoing conflict in the region.
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The T-shirt attracted complaints, with Campaign Against Antisemitism writing on X: “How is this becoming the norm?”. The account stated that it had complained to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom.
(Image: ITV)
The episode was later removed from ITVX and then re-uploaded with the image on Ali’s top edited out. While some people were critical of the T-shirt being worn on TV, others were unimpressed by the show editing it out.
One posted on X: “Why are you censoring a woman wearing a t-shirt in the pattern of a watermelon @bbuk/@ITVX by editing the show to remove the pattern? Oh, because It depicts something else that is political? Get a grip producers.. What has UK TV become.”
(Image: ITV)
Another questioned what ITV’s reasoning was, suggesting the move “undermines the core values of Big Brother”. Someone else posted: “Come on, @ITV @ITVX @ITVXhelp, do the right thing and restore the original edits of recent @bbuk episodes. You refer to Big Brother as “the original social experiment” but yet edit certain things out dismissing your own marketing and core values of what the show is about.”
One fan wrote: “It is completely unfair to edit out someone’s views in a social experiment full of people with different views. You cannot pick and choose. Says a lot about ITV I think.”
(Image: ITV)
A Big Brother spokesperson has been widely quoted as saying: “All housemate items are checked by our production team before they go into the Big Brother House to ensure they comply with the rules and compliance requirements. Big Brother does not allow any personal items into the house that could be deemed harmful.
“We regret that the implications of this particular item of clothing were not fully understood in our bag checks or prior to broadcast of (Tuesday)’s show. We apologise to any viewers who have been offended by the broadcast and assure viewers that Big Brother was unaware of the implications of the image.
“The item of clothing has been removed from the house. The housemate has been spoken to and they have expressed that they are unaware of the implications and did not wish to cause any harm or offence. Any offensive messaging associated with the image does not reflect the values or beliefs of Big Brother.”
Daily Star has contacted ITV for comment.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
