Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message.
This article has been tagged since February 2007.

Contents

[edit] Background

Main article: Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK)

A record 40,000 complaints have been received by OFCOM and Channel 4 and 30 of them have been passed to Hertfordshire police for investigation.[1][2] The complaints relate to the alleged racism by several of the housemates.[3][4][1] Viewers were outraged by ganging up on the actress by Danielle Lloyd, Jo O'Meara and Jade Goody poking fun of her accent, and voiced their concerns on Internet forums.[5] Jack Tweed reportedly called her a "fucking Paki"[6] although show producers have denied this, stating that the word used was "cunt" and was bleeped out.[2][7]

Shetty had been branded a "dog" by Lloyd who claimed the star "wanted to be white", and former housemate Jackiey Budden repeatedly referred to her as "the Indian".[8] When the actress cooked a chicken for her housemates, O’Meara refused to eat it commenting that Shetty's cooking was responsible for her "getting the shits." The clique have frequently complained about Shetty and mimicking her accent, protesting against her touching of their food during preparation. Lloyd speculated about eating habits: "They eat with their hands in India, don't they? Or is that China? You don't know where those hands have been."[2] Objecting to the disposal of left-over chicken soup and bones down the toilet, Tweed suggested that Shetty should pick the bones out with her teeth, prompting her reply "There's a lot more I want to do with my teeth." Lloyd commented that she should "fuck off home".[2]. Lloyd has also claimed that Shetty could not speak proper English,[citation needed] while Goody has continued to refer to Shetty as "Shilpa Poppadom" claiming that it was a reference to Indian food.[1] Shetty has been reduced to tears on several occasions, confiding to Ian Watkins: "I feel like I'm losing my dignity."[8]

[edit] Furor

Responses have come from a variety of sources. Carphone Warehouse has suspended its sponsorship of the show[9] and the Act Against Bullying charity has dropped Goody from their list of patrons in spite of the latter's past support, branding her behaviour as "unforgivable".[10] The Eastern Eye newspaper launched an online petition that has registered 20,000 signatures,[2] while Shetty's mother, Sunanda, told the BBC's Asian Network that she hoped her daughter would be able to handle the situation. "My daughter is a strong kid and I am sure she is handling it with dignity," adding that she was "saddened" by the "distasteful" treatment by the other housemates.[11] Former housemate Carole Malone also told the BBC Asian Network that the attacks were motivated by "jealousy" over her beauty and success.[4]

[edit] Diplomatic incident

The controversy reached the British Parliament as Labour MP Keith Vaz tabled an early day motion in the House of Commons about the racist treatment, saying: "We would not tolerate this kind of racism on other types of television programme and we should not do so on a programme that is watched by millions of people."[12][13] By 2007-01-17 the row threatened to escalate into an international diplomatic incident. British PM Tony Blair, in response to Vaz's motion, responded "We should oppose racism in all its forms."[14] Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, currently in India on a visit to promote relations, condemned the controversy as "offensive" and the opposite of what Britain stands for: "I want Britain to be seen as a country of fairness and tolerance. Anything that detracts from that I condemn."[2][15] Journalist Nick Robinson, accompanying Brown, stated that Britain's reputation was being "damaged" according to Indian diplomats.[16] Blair is facing a formal complaint from Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma that could sour relations and damage trade between the two countries as angry Indians marched in the streets and burned effigies in protest,[14] and where the show has been termed 'Bigot Brother'.[17]

[edit] Denials

Further rows in the house caused Shetty to speculate if she was a victim of racism, [18] but later denied it: "People say things in anger."[1] In a statement, Channel 4 denied claims of racist bullying against Shetty: "To date there has been no overt racial abuse or racist behaviour directed against Shilpa Shetty within the Big Brother house. However there has undoubtedly been a cultural and class clash between her and three of the British females in the house."[18]

OFCOM continues to receive complaints.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Rows 'not racist', say housemates. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Racism, ratings and reality TV: now Big Brother creates a diplomatic incident. politics.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  3. ^ Record complaints for Big Brother. media.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Anger over Big Brother 'racism'. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  5. ^ Celeb Big Brother in racism probe. itn.co.uk. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
  6. ^ Big Brother has a Big Mouth. timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
  7. ^ Big Brother racism complaints soar. media.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  8. ^ a b How the Big Brother row erupted. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  9. ^ Big Brother sponsor suspends deal. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  10. ^ Big Brother 'racism' complaints flood in to watchdog. entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  11. ^ Times exclusive: interview with Shilpa Shetty's mother. timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  12. ^ Allegations of Racist Behaviour on Big Brother. edmi.parliament.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  13. ^ Big Brother row reaches Commons. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  14. ^ a b Politicians enter Big Brother row. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  15. ^ Blair and Brown dragged into TV racism row. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  16. ^ GB slams BB 'racism'. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  17. ^ Big Brother crashes into politics. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  18. ^ a b Channel 4 denies Brother 'racism'. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
 This television program-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/e/l/Celebrity_Big_Brother_racism_controversy_4680.html"