Big Brother bosses reportedly removed audience members after they were seen wearing pro-Palestine clothing.
The series is currently racing ahead on ITV2 after it was renewed for a second season late last year. However, the show has been hit with controversy due to the political stances of some of its housemates.
Now, producers at the show’s spin-off programme Late & Live reportedly had to ask some audience members to leave the set on Monday (November 4). This is due to the fact that they had been wearing pro-Palestine clothing, which was the centre of a furore last month.
READ MORE: Big Brother fans ‘concerned’ as housemate ‘disappears’ just one day into new series
Click for more brilliant Daily Star showbiz stories
Speaking to The Sun, a source close to the show said that three people had been seen wearing the T-shirt, which displays a watermelon, designed to look like the borders of Israel. When producers asked them to remove the items of clothing and change into plain tops, they refused and were promptly escorted out of the studio, based in Harlesden in North West London.
(Image: ITV)
The insider claimed: “The recording of Late and Live was taking place when suddenly crew came out and told the audience members in question there was an issue with their T-shirts. With the show in the middle of recording they were asked to step out while it was dealt with away from the cameras.”
They added: “Big Brother has plain clothing like T-shirts on standby in case fans turn up with big well-known brands on their clothes which aren’t allowed on air and these were offered to the fans, but they refused and were then escorted out.” As a result, the show was pulled from ITV’s streaming service ITVX for a day and was later re-uploaded with the shirts being edited out.
ITV said that this was done for “compliance reasons”, in case of a potential complaint to regulator Ofcom. It comes amid an ongoing row over censorship in the Big Brother house, which some fans have ironically pointed out.
(Image: ITV)
The debacle began when housemate Ali Bromley was seen wearing the T-shirt during an episode of the show, which aired last month. Shortly after the instalment of the reality show aired, many people complained to the watchdog about the display of the T-shirt, which they argued holds anti-Israeli sentiments.
In total, 552 complaints were made to Ofcom about Ali’s shirt, with bosses telling Ali she needed to hand in the item of clothing immediately. Ali had already worn other shirts, including one which advocated for trans rights, which had not caused as much upset.
(Image: ITV)
The decision to remove the shirt from the house caused an uproar among fans, with many slamming ITV for its decision to air “genocidal” views for millions of viewers. The episode in which Ali was seen wearing the shirt was later re-edited to censor the watermelon, only angering fans further.
Big Brother airs every Sunday to Friday at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
